Falcons Get 20th Victory With Senior Night Sweep Of Akron

Saturday, November 12

Bowling Green, Ohio

5:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

20-9, 10-6MAC

Akron

8-20, 3-13MAC

Akron

Bowling Green

November 12, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team closed out the regular season with a three-set sweep of Akron Saturday night at the Stroh Center, winning 25-18, 25-16, 26-24. The evening served as Senior Night for four Falcons – Delaney Arkeilpane, Madeline Garda, Alyssa Maloney and Jelena Sunjic.

Bowling Green closes the regular season with a record of 20-9 overall and 10-6 in Mid-American Conference play. It is the Falcons' first 20-win season since winning the MAC Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament second round in 2012.

Much like in a three-set win over Buffalo the night before, BGSU's offense was undeniable. The Falcons hit .427 for the match and committed just three attack errors. Sunjic had 20 kills on 33 swings without an error. Isabel Kovacic added 11 kills on 25 attempts and just one error, while Jessi Holly had nine kills on 24 attempts with only one error.

"When Jelena plays the way she played last night and tonight, she's unstoppable," BGSU Volleyball Coach Danijela Tomic said. "She had 20 kills again and no errors. That's something not many players can do and she did it back-to-back. But you win as a team and you lose as a team. Jelena couldn't be hitting that way if our serve receive wasn't good."

Bowling Green was unable to shake Akron early and the first set was tied at 16-16. But BGSU scored the next four points and pulled away for the 25-18 win. In the second set, the Falcons scored four of the first five points and were never threatened again, rolling to the 25-16 victory.

The final set was the most competitive and went back-and-forth down the stretch. Akron took slim one point leads at 21-20, 22-21 and 23-22, but a Madeline Brandewie block put the Falcons on top 24-23. Akron tied it at 24-24 before back-to-back kills by Sunjic and Holly gave the Falcons the win.

Isabelle Marciniak had 39 assists for the match and Garda added 15 digs. The nation's leader in digs per set, Garda is just two shy of the single-season school record with the postseason yet to be played. Akron did not record a block on the night.

"What the seniors have done for this program is something you want for every player," Tomic said. "They've left a legacy. They are great role models and great leaders. Every challenge we threw at them, they stepped up. I hope we can continue creating memories over the next few weeks, because I love all four of them."

With the win, combined with a Ball State loss to Northern Illinois, the Falcons clinched the No. 4 seed for the MAC Tournament. BGSU earns a bye through the first round of the league tournament and will play the winner of the No. 5 vs. No. 8 match Friday in DeKalb, Ill. for the second round. The semifinals will take place Saturday and the championship Sunday. The four-day tournament will be hosted in its entirety by Northern Illinois.