Falcons' 21-Win Season Comes To An End In MAC Tournament Semifinals

Saturday, November 19

DeKalb, Ill.

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

21-10

Miami University (OH)

24-5

Bowling Green

Miami

Photo by: Larry Clapper

Falcons' 21-Win Season Comes To An End In MAC Tournament Semifinals

November 19, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Statistics
NCAA Box/Play-By-Play | Final 2016 Statistics

DEKALB, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team saw its 2016 season come to an end following a 3-1 loss to Miami University in the MAC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday (Nov. 19) evening. Bowling Green lost the match by a score of 26-24; 14-25; 22-25; 20-25. The match was played at Victor E. Court in DeKalb, Illinois.

Bowling Green ends the season with an overall record of 21-10. The 21 victories triples BGSU's win total from 2015. The Falcons went 10-6 during the regular season in Mid-American Conference play. Miami will face Northern Illinois in tomorrow's MAC Championship Match.

"Our team left everything out on the floor," said head coach Danijela Tomic. "We didn't have any regrets leaving after this match, and I am so proud of them. The defensive effort that we had tonight led by Madeline Garda – she is the best libero in the country in my mind. It's just unbelievable. We fought until the end.

"This team made all BGSU fans and alumni proud with the effort that they displayed against a very good Miami team. They should hold their heads high. I'm sad for the seniors, but I'm also so proud of the legacy that they left. They showed our young players what it takes to develop a championship culture. There is a lot of responsibility now on our returning players to continue what our seniors started."

Seniors Delaney Arkeilpane, Madeline Garda, Alyssa Maloney and Jelena Sunjic played their last matches as Falcons. Arkeilpane, who moved to setter her junior year to give the Falcons a second setter for practice, has been praised by Coach Tomic consistently throughout the season for her leadership.

Garda had 36 digs in the match, and broke the BGSU single-season record for digs last night. She finishes her career with 1,700 digs, which ranks third most in program history. She still leads the country in digs per set (6.66) and total digs (726). Earlier in the week, Garda was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, and was a First Team All-MAC selection.

Maloney also shined in her last match in the Orange and Brown, as she racked up 12 kills and hit .346 (12-3-26). Maloney had a career year for BGSU, and finished the season with 278 kills and a .276 hitting percentage. Maloney eclipsed 700 career kills in the match, and finished her career with a total of 704 kills.

Sunjic had 20-plus kills for the fifth-consecutive match. She finished the match with 23 kills, which ran her career total to 1,329, which ranks seventh in program history. Sunjic, who was named First Team All-MAC earlier this week, finished the season with a .331 hitting percentage, which ranks 10th best in school history. Her 464 kills on the season also ranks 10th best all-time in BGSU history.

Kallie Seimet finished out her sophomore season on a high note, as well. Seimet had 21 digs, and finished the year with 20-plus digs in four of Bowling Green's last six matches. Behind Sunjic and Maloney, Nicole Slimko had eight kills.

Isabelle Marciniak finished off her historic freshman season with 45 assists and eight digs. Marciniak, an All-Freshman Team selection, was also named the Freshman and Setter of the Year on Wednesday (Nov. 17).

Bowling Green's run to the MAC Tournament Semifinals was the program's best run since the 2012 team captured a MAC title. The Falcons were picked to finish fifth in the MAC East, and earned a first-round bye at this week's conference tournament by earning the No. 4 overall seed.