Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, September 2
Bowling Green, Ohio
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Fort Wayne
Falcon Volleyball To Open BGSU Invitational Friday
August 31, 2016 | Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY VOLLEYBALL (1-2; 0-0 MAC)
vs.
BGSU Invitational
Fort Wayne Mastodons (2-1; 0-0 Summit) / Northern Kentucky Norse (2-1; 0-0 Horizon)
Sept. 2-3 | Bowling Green, Ohio | Stroh Center
Friday, Sept. 2 | 7 p.m. | BGSU vs. Fort Wayne | LIVE STATS | AUDIO
Saturday, Sept. 3 | 12:30 p.m. | Northern Kentucky vs. Fort Wayne | LIVE STATS
Saturday, Sept. 3 | 5 p.m. | BGSU vs. Northern Kentucky | LIVE STATS | AUDIO
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (.PDF)
vs.
BGSU Invitational
Fort Wayne Mastodons (2-1; 0-0 Summit) / Northern Kentucky Norse (2-1; 0-0 Horizon)
Sept. 2-3 | Bowling Green, Ohio | Stroh Center
Friday, Sept. 2 | 7 p.m. | BGSU vs. Fort Wayne | LIVE STATS | AUDIO
Saturday, Sept. 3 | 12:30 p.m. | Northern Kentucky vs. Fort Wayne | LIVE STATS
Saturday, Sept. 3 | 5 p.m. | BGSU vs. Northern Kentucky | LIVE STATS | AUDIO
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (.PDF)
FALCON VOLLEYBALL TO OPEN BGSU INVITATIONAL FRIDAY
For the second-consecutive week, the Falcons will be hosting an invitational inside the Stroh Center. After last week's Hampton Inn Invitational, the Orange and Brown will be staging the BGSU Invitational over Sept. 2-3. However, unlike last weekend's six-match invitational, the BGSU Invitational will consist of just three matches. Bowling Green will kick things off with 7 p.m. match on Sept. 2 versus Fort Wayne. On Saturday (Sept. 3), Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky will battle at 12:30 p.m., before the Falcons conclude the invitational with a 5 p.m. tilt against Northern Kentucky.Â
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) will be broadcasting both BGSU matches at www.falconradio.org/listen-live/. Additionally, all three matches will have live stats, which can be found at www.BGSUFalcons.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow BGSU volleyball on Twitter at @BGSUVolleyball for in-match updates.Â
TOMIC'S THOUGHTS
"We are looking forward to building on our solid play from last weekend, as we host the BGSU Invitational this weekend. We saw many good things from our team across opening weekend, but we also saw some weaknesses that we worked to improve on in practice this week. Fort Wayne is a familiar opponent. We played them the last two seasons, so I expect a competitive match on Friday, as it was our previous two meetings. Northern Kentucky comes to us after winning two matches last weekend, so our team and fans can expect another competitive match on Saturday.Â
"The two teams that we are facing this weekend have a different offensive style, which will be a good test for our team to see how we adapt and play against each other. However, our main focus is still going to be on us, and what we can do on our side of the net."
SCOUTING THE MASTODONSÂ
Fort Wayne – recently referred to as IPFW – hosted an invitational across opening weekend and finished in second place with a record of 2-1. The Mastodons opened the invitational with a loss to Murray State, but came back the next day with  victories over Ball State and Youngstown State. Through three matches, Fort Wayne is hitting .249 as a team, and averaging 12.08 kills/set, 11.67 assists/set, and 16.00 digs/set. The Mastodons return four starters from last year's squad that finished 7-25.Â
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky opened the 2016 season at the Indiana Invitational, and went 2-1 on the weekend. After being swept by host Indiana to start the invitational, the Norse knocked off Marshall and Evansville to conclude the event. After finishing 2015 with a 14-16 record, the Norse return 10 players, including four starters. Northern Kentucky starts off the year with four invitational tournaments away from home, prior to hosting eight Horizon League matches when conference play starts late September. NKU is averaging 12.8 kills/set, 11.3 assists/set, 12.2 digs/set. Northern Kentucky is hitting .227 as a squad.Â
BGSU TAKES ONE ACROSS HAMPTON INN INVITATIONAL
The volleyball Falcons began the 2016 season by hosting the Hampton Inn Invitational. BGSU went 1-2 on the weekend, while No. 23 Louisville finished 3-0, Oakland went 2-1, and VCU chalked up three losses. The Falcons swept VCU to start the season 1-0 for the first time since 2011. The sweep was BGSU's first since a win over Lehigh on Sept. 19, 2015. After a loss to Oakland in Friday's nightcap, the Orange and Brown nearly knocked off No. 23 Louisville. After taking the first set, 25-15, Louisville took sets two and three. But the Falcons won the fourth, 25-17, to force a fifth. Bowling Green led in the final set, 9-8, but Louisville scored six-straight points to secure the victory, 15-11.Â
MALONEY NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Alyssa Maloney, a senior middle from Homer Glen, Ill., was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Hampton Inn Invitational over Aug. 26-27. Maloney had 12 kills, 14.5 points and hit .409 in a season-opening victory over VCU. In a near upset over No. 23 Louisville, the junior registered 12 kills again, but this time hit at a .450 clip while also racking up three block assists. On the weekend, Maloney hit .303, posted 32 kills and scored 37.0 points.Â
SUNJIC SHINES IN NEAR UPSET OF NO. 23 LOUISVILLE
Senior outside hitter Jelena Sunjic, who had not practiced heading into the season, started for the first time against No. 23 Louisville on Aug. 27. The native of Metkovic, Croatia had a massive match, as she recorded 17 kills and hit a MAC-best .484. Sunjic, a preseason All-MAC selection, also picked up three blocks, two digs, one assist and registered one service ace. Sunjic did not play in the season-opening victory over VCU, but came on in the third set in the loss to Oakland in the second game of the invitational.Â
KOVACIC AND HOLLY HIT CAREER HIGHS IN KILLS
Sophomore Isabel Kovacic and freshman Jessi Holly established new careers highs in kills in all three matches at the Hampton Inn Invitational. In her first collegiate match, Holly nearly posted a double-double, as she had seven kills and 12 digs. She then notched 11 kills versus Oakland, and 12 against No. 23 Louisville. Kovacic registered double-digit kills in every match, as she recorded 10 against VCU, 12 versus Oakland and 14 in the match with No. 23 Louisville.Â
BRANDEWIE ATTACKS AT .857 CLIP IN SEASON OPENER
Sophomore middle Madeline Brandewie was nearly perfect in the Falcons first season-opening win since 2011. In seven attempts, the Columbus, Ohio native notched six kills with no errors – good for a career-best .857 attack percentage. Her previous career high of .364 (5-1-11) was set last season at Buffalo on Nov. 6, 2015. Brandewie finished the weekend with 14 kills, and hit .268 (14-4-35).Â
SCHOLTEN SETS UP THE FALCON ATTACK
Bowling Green's setter, junior Katie Scholten, got better as the Hampton Inn Invitational progressed. After setting up 33 kills and 34 kills, respectively, across the Falcons' first two games of the Hampton Inn Invitational, Scholten saved her best for last. In Bowling Green's five-set loss to No. 23 Louisville, the junior tallied 51 assists. The mark was nearly good enough to tie her career high of 55, which was established against Kent State on Oct. 30, 2015. Scholten ranks second in the conference in assists per set with 10.73.Â
GARDA POSTS CONSECUTIVE 22-DIG MATCHES
Senior libero Madeline Garda racked up 57 digs in the Falcons' three matches at the Hampton Inn Invitational over the weekend. Garda's tournament was highlighted by back-to-back matches in which she notched 22 digs apiece. Her 22-dig efforts against Oakland and No. 23 Louisville followed a 13-dig match in a season-opening win over VCU. The Lakota East graduate is averaging 5.18 digs/set. Garda's 57 digs ranks her second in the MAC – second only to Kent State's Challen Geraghty. Isabel Kovacic (36), Alyssa Maloney (32) and Jessi Holly (30) have racked up 30-plus kills apiece.
FALCONS OWN TOP HITTING PERCENTAGE IN THE MAC
After the first week of volleyball, Bowling Green sits atop the MAC with a .266 hitting percentage. Eastern Michigan ranks second, hitting .241, while no other school in the conference is hitting above .240. The Orange and Brown also have the least amount of errors in the conference with 46.Â
THE 41ST YEAR OF FALCON VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
Bowling Green State University volleyball dates back to 1967, when the program started as a club team. In 1976, BGSU started competing at the varsity level. The Falcons have racked up a program record of 676-567-3 (.544), including an overall MAC record of 273-246 (.526). The Orange and Brown last won the MAC Tournament and appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2012 – Danijela Tomic's first year at the helm of the program. The Falcons have won two MAC Tournament titles (2012, 1991), two East Division titles (2001, 2000), and have won the MAC regular-season title three times (1992, 1991, 1989).Â
TOMIC ASSEMBLES NEW STAFF FOR 2016
Danijela Tomic is in her fifth year at the helm of the program. She owns a 51-62 record at BGSU, and a 209-133 (11 seasons) overall record as a head coach. She guided the Falcons to a MAC Tournament title and a win in the NCAA Tournament in her first year at BGSU in 2012. Tomic has assembled a completely new staff for the 2016 season. Alex DelPiombo and Efrain Negron join the program as assistant coaches, while Evan Atal begins his first season as the director of operations. DelPiombo was recently an assistant at Samford, while Negron was the volunteer assistant at Appalachian State in 2015.Â
SUNJIC NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
Senior Jelena Sunjic was named to the East Division's seven-member Preseason All-MAC squad, the league announced on Aug. 22. Sunjic continues to rack up accolades as she prepares for her final season in the Orange and Brown. She was named to the MAC's All-Freshmen Team in 2013, before being named First Team All-MAC in 2014, and Honorable Mention All-MAC last season. Sunjic led BGSU in kills last season with 398, and enters this season with a career total of 865. Her 454.0 points also led the squad in 2015, and she is also nearing the 1,000-point milestone as she currently sits with 986.5 points.
BGSU SET TO HOST MOST HOME MATCHES SINCE 2005
BGSU is set to host a total of 15 home matches in 2016, which is the most in program history since 2005. After playing three matches in the Hampton Inn Invitational (Aug. 26-27) and two matches in the BGSU Invitational (Sept. 2-3), the Falcons will play non-conference matches against Marshall (Sept. 7) and Valparaiso (Sept. 13) before opening conference play versus Miami (Sept. 22).Â
BOWLING GREEN COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL EUROPEAN TOUR
The Falcons toured Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Italy spanning May 15-24. Coach Danijela Tomic was able to introduce her team to her family, as she is from Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Jelena Sunjic and Isabel Kovacic hail from Croatia and had the exact same opportunity. BGSU was able to visit a number of beautiful and historic cities on the tour, including Sarajevo, Kraljeva Suteska and Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Metkovic, Split, Zadar, Pag, Rovinj and Porec in Croatia; and Venice, Verona and Milan in Italy. The team was also able to gel on the court, playing a total of five matches.Â
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For the second-consecutive week, the Falcons will be hosting an invitational inside the Stroh Center. After last week's Hampton Inn Invitational, the Orange and Brown will be staging the BGSU Invitational over Sept. 2-3. However, unlike last weekend's six-match invitational, the BGSU Invitational will consist of just three matches. Bowling Green will kick things off with 7 p.m. match on Sept. 2 versus Fort Wayne. On Saturday (Sept. 3), Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky will battle at 12:30 p.m., before the Falcons conclude the invitational with a 5 p.m. tilt against Northern Kentucky.Â
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) will be broadcasting both BGSU matches at www.falconradio.org/listen-live/. Additionally, all three matches will have live stats, which can be found at www.BGSUFalcons.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow BGSU volleyball on Twitter at @BGSUVolleyball for in-match updates.Â
TOMIC'S THOUGHTS
"We are looking forward to building on our solid play from last weekend, as we host the BGSU Invitational this weekend. We saw many good things from our team across opening weekend, but we also saw some weaknesses that we worked to improve on in practice this week. Fort Wayne is a familiar opponent. We played them the last two seasons, so I expect a competitive match on Friday, as it was our previous two meetings. Northern Kentucky comes to us after winning two matches last weekend, so our team and fans can expect another competitive match on Saturday.Â
"The two teams that we are facing this weekend have a different offensive style, which will be a good test for our team to see how we adapt and play against each other. However, our main focus is still going to be on us, and what we can do on our side of the net."
SCOUTING THE MASTODONSÂ
Fort Wayne – recently referred to as IPFW – hosted an invitational across opening weekend and finished in second place with a record of 2-1. The Mastodons opened the invitational with a loss to Murray State, but came back the next day with  victories over Ball State and Youngstown State. Through three matches, Fort Wayne is hitting .249 as a team, and averaging 12.08 kills/set, 11.67 assists/set, and 16.00 digs/set. The Mastodons return four starters from last year's squad that finished 7-25.Â
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky opened the 2016 season at the Indiana Invitational, and went 2-1 on the weekend. After being swept by host Indiana to start the invitational, the Norse knocked off Marshall and Evansville to conclude the event. After finishing 2015 with a 14-16 record, the Norse return 10 players, including four starters. Northern Kentucky starts off the year with four invitational tournaments away from home, prior to hosting eight Horizon League matches when conference play starts late September. NKU is averaging 12.8 kills/set, 11.3 assists/set, 12.2 digs/set. Northern Kentucky is hitting .227 as a squad.Â
BGSU TAKES ONE ACROSS HAMPTON INN INVITATIONAL
The volleyball Falcons began the 2016 season by hosting the Hampton Inn Invitational. BGSU went 1-2 on the weekend, while No. 23 Louisville finished 3-0, Oakland went 2-1, and VCU chalked up three losses. The Falcons swept VCU to start the season 1-0 for the first time since 2011. The sweep was BGSU's first since a win over Lehigh on Sept. 19, 2015. After a loss to Oakland in Friday's nightcap, the Orange and Brown nearly knocked off No. 23 Louisville. After taking the first set, 25-15, Louisville took sets two and three. But the Falcons won the fourth, 25-17, to force a fifth. Bowling Green led in the final set, 9-8, but Louisville scored six-straight points to secure the victory, 15-11.Â
MALONEY NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Alyssa Maloney, a senior middle from Homer Glen, Ill., was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Hampton Inn Invitational over Aug. 26-27. Maloney had 12 kills, 14.5 points and hit .409 in a season-opening victory over VCU. In a near upset over No. 23 Louisville, the junior registered 12 kills again, but this time hit at a .450 clip while also racking up three block assists. On the weekend, Maloney hit .303, posted 32 kills and scored 37.0 points.Â
SUNJIC SHINES IN NEAR UPSET OF NO. 23 LOUISVILLE
Senior outside hitter Jelena Sunjic, who had not practiced heading into the season, started for the first time against No. 23 Louisville on Aug. 27. The native of Metkovic, Croatia had a massive match, as she recorded 17 kills and hit a MAC-best .484. Sunjic, a preseason All-MAC selection, also picked up three blocks, two digs, one assist and registered one service ace. Sunjic did not play in the season-opening victory over VCU, but came on in the third set in the loss to Oakland in the second game of the invitational.Â
KOVACIC AND HOLLY HIT CAREER HIGHS IN KILLS
Sophomore Isabel Kovacic and freshman Jessi Holly established new careers highs in kills in all three matches at the Hampton Inn Invitational. In her first collegiate match, Holly nearly posted a double-double, as she had seven kills and 12 digs. She then notched 11 kills versus Oakland, and 12 against No. 23 Louisville. Kovacic registered double-digit kills in every match, as she recorded 10 against VCU, 12 versus Oakland and 14 in the match with No. 23 Louisville.Â
BRANDEWIE ATTACKS AT .857 CLIP IN SEASON OPENER
Sophomore middle Madeline Brandewie was nearly perfect in the Falcons first season-opening win since 2011. In seven attempts, the Columbus, Ohio native notched six kills with no errors – good for a career-best .857 attack percentage. Her previous career high of .364 (5-1-11) was set last season at Buffalo on Nov. 6, 2015. Brandewie finished the weekend with 14 kills, and hit .268 (14-4-35).Â
SCHOLTEN SETS UP THE FALCON ATTACK
Bowling Green's setter, junior Katie Scholten, got better as the Hampton Inn Invitational progressed. After setting up 33 kills and 34 kills, respectively, across the Falcons' first two games of the Hampton Inn Invitational, Scholten saved her best for last. In Bowling Green's five-set loss to No. 23 Louisville, the junior tallied 51 assists. The mark was nearly good enough to tie her career high of 55, which was established against Kent State on Oct. 30, 2015. Scholten ranks second in the conference in assists per set with 10.73.Â
GARDA POSTS CONSECUTIVE 22-DIG MATCHES
Senior libero Madeline Garda racked up 57 digs in the Falcons' three matches at the Hampton Inn Invitational over the weekend. Garda's tournament was highlighted by back-to-back matches in which she notched 22 digs apiece. Her 22-dig efforts against Oakland and No. 23 Louisville followed a 13-dig match in a season-opening win over VCU. The Lakota East graduate is averaging 5.18 digs/set. Garda's 57 digs ranks her second in the MAC – second only to Kent State's Challen Geraghty. Isabel Kovacic (36), Alyssa Maloney (32) and Jessi Holly (30) have racked up 30-plus kills apiece.
FALCONS OWN TOP HITTING PERCENTAGE IN THE MAC
After the first week of volleyball, Bowling Green sits atop the MAC with a .266 hitting percentage. Eastern Michigan ranks second, hitting .241, while no other school in the conference is hitting above .240. The Orange and Brown also have the least amount of errors in the conference with 46.Â
THE 41ST YEAR OF FALCON VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
Bowling Green State University volleyball dates back to 1967, when the program started as a club team. In 1976, BGSU started competing at the varsity level. The Falcons have racked up a program record of 676-567-3 (.544), including an overall MAC record of 273-246 (.526). The Orange and Brown last won the MAC Tournament and appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2012 – Danijela Tomic's first year at the helm of the program. The Falcons have won two MAC Tournament titles (2012, 1991), two East Division titles (2001, 2000), and have won the MAC regular-season title three times (1992, 1991, 1989).Â
TOMIC ASSEMBLES NEW STAFF FOR 2016
Danijela Tomic is in her fifth year at the helm of the program. She owns a 51-62 record at BGSU, and a 209-133 (11 seasons) overall record as a head coach. She guided the Falcons to a MAC Tournament title and a win in the NCAA Tournament in her first year at BGSU in 2012. Tomic has assembled a completely new staff for the 2016 season. Alex DelPiombo and Efrain Negron join the program as assistant coaches, while Evan Atal begins his first season as the director of operations. DelPiombo was recently an assistant at Samford, while Negron was the volunteer assistant at Appalachian State in 2015.Â
SUNJIC NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
Senior Jelena Sunjic was named to the East Division's seven-member Preseason All-MAC squad, the league announced on Aug. 22. Sunjic continues to rack up accolades as she prepares for her final season in the Orange and Brown. She was named to the MAC's All-Freshmen Team in 2013, before being named First Team All-MAC in 2014, and Honorable Mention All-MAC last season. Sunjic led BGSU in kills last season with 398, and enters this season with a career total of 865. Her 454.0 points also led the squad in 2015, and she is also nearing the 1,000-point milestone as she currently sits with 986.5 points.
BGSU SET TO HOST MOST HOME MATCHES SINCE 2005
BGSU is set to host a total of 15 home matches in 2016, which is the most in program history since 2005. After playing three matches in the Hampton Inn Invitational (Aug. 26-27) and two matches in the BGSU Invitational (Sept. 2-3), the Falcons will play non-conference matches against Marshall (Sept. 7) and Valparaiso (Sept. 13) before opening conference play versus Miami (Sept. 22).Â
BOWLING GREEN COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL EUROPEAN TOUR
The Falcons toured Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Italy spanning May 15-24. Coach Danijela Tomic was able to introduce her team to her family, as she is from Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Jelena Sunjic and Isabel Kovacic hail from Croatia and had the exact same opportunity. BGSU was able to visit a number of beautiful and historic cities on the tour, including Sarajevo, Kraljeva Suteska and Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Metkovic, Split, Zadar, Pag, Rovinj and Porec in Croatia; and Venice, Verona and Milan in Italy. The team was also able to gel on the court, playing a total of five matches.Â
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Players Mentioned
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L/DS
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OH/RS
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OH/RS
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S
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OH/RS
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