BGSU Beats Eastern Illinois And Drake To Cap 3-0 Weekend

Saturday, September 10

Charleston, Ill.

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

5-3

Eastern Illinois

2-8

Bowling Green

Eastern Illinois

Photo by: Ruben Kappler, BGSU Marketing & Communications

September 10, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Final Statistics
Game 1 at Eastern Illinois: NCAA Box/Play-By-Play | HTML
Game 2 vs. Drake: NCAA Box/Play-By-Play | HTML

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team finished a 3-0 weekend at the EIU Panther Classic on Saturday (Sept. 10) with wins against Eastern Illinois and Drake. Both matches were played at Lantz Arena. The Falcons defeated EIU, 3-2, before downing Drake by a score of 3-1.

The Orange and Brown defeated Louisiana Tech last night. The Falcons are now riding a three-match winning streak, and own a record of 6-3 on the season.

"We found the best possible way to bounce back after our Wednesday loss to Marshall. We did that by winning all three matches this weekend," said head coach Danijela Tomic, who celebrated her birthday with the pair of victories today. "I am so proud of all of our players for showing resiliency and grit, but also true teamwork.

"Winning two matches in five sets, and then playing back-to-back matches today, it showed the mental and physical toughness that our team possesses. Having depth on our team this year helped us in all three matches, because we were able to make changes in our lineup when we needed it, and each player contributed to our success.

"Our seniors led the way on and off the court, and I am so proud of all four of them. It was great to see our underclassmen step up when we needed them. They helped us win, as well. Overall, this was a complete team weekend, and we will continue to build off of it."

Immediately following the match, Jelena Sunjic was named MVP of the invitational. Alyssa Maloney and Madeline Garda were named to the All-Tournament Team.

In the first match of the day, BGSU defeated Eastern Illinois in five sets – 25-17; 22-25; 22-25; 25-16; 15-13.

Four Falcons had double-digit kills in the win. Isabel Kovacic had a career-high 21 kills and hit .375 (21-6-40). Sunjic hit .652 (16-1-23) with 16 kills, while Maloney hit .200 (15-8-35) with 15 kills and Jessi Holly tallied 10 kills and hit .167 (10-4-36).
Garda posted 33 digs, Kallie Seimet notched 18, and Holly added seven.

In her second match back from injury, Nicole Slimko registered eight kills and hit .263 (8-3-19). Katie Scholten picked up 48 assists. Isabelle Marciniak also saw time at primary setter, and notched 16 assists.

The Falcons then had a quick break, before knocking off Drake, who entered the game with an 8-2 record, by a score of 25-20; 25-20; 23-25; 25-15.

For the second-consecutive match, Holly, Kovacic, Sunjic and Maloney recorded double-digit kills. Sunjic had 17, hit .224 (17-6-49), and Maloney had 12 kills and hit .320 (12-4-25). Holly and Kovacic added 10 kills each. Holly hit .214 (10-4-28), while Kovacic hit .222 (10-4-27).

After notching a career-high 37 digs last night, Garda posted a career-high 40 digs. Seimet added 11, and Marciniak, who led the team with a career-best 47 assists, pitched in with nine.

The Falcons will wrap up the non-conference part of the schedule next week. Bowling Green will host Valparaiso on Sept. 13, before heading to the UIC Invitational for three matches across Sept. 16-17.