Falcons Begin MAC Slate With Matches Against Miami And NIU

BOWLING GREEN BEGINS MAC SLATE WITH MATCHES AGAINST MIAMI AND NIU
After a very successful 10-3 non-conference slate, the Falcons of Bowling Green start conference play this weekend. BGSU will face Miami inside of the Stroh Center on Sept. 22 at 7 p.m., before venturing to DeKalb, Illinois, which is the site of the 2016 MAC Tournament, to face the Huskies at 8 p.m. on Sept. 24. The Falcons will get quite the test right out of the gates, as both Miami (East) and Northern Illinois (West) were picked to win their divisions within the MAC by the conference's coaches. Miami was predicted to win the MAC Tournament.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) will be broadcasting both matches this week. To access the links to the broadcasts, visit the volleyball schedule page at BGSUFalcons.com. Thursday's match versus Miami will be broadcasted live on ESPN3. Additionally, both matches will have live stats. Links to live stats and the Thursday's ESPN3 broadcast can also be found at BGSUFalcons.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow BGSU Volleyball on Twitter at @BGSUVolleyball for in-match updates.

TOMIC'S THOUGHTS
"We are excited about starting MAC play and being back home in Stroh. We hope to carry the momentum we have created against our non-conference opponents into the MAC. All the work we've done in the spring, summer and so far this fall was done in order to prepare us for the MAC, and I believe that our team is as ready as we could be. I hope that BGSU students and other Falcon fans will come in big numbers on Thursday, and help us create a home court advantage for our team.

"Playing our first two conference matches against Miami and NIU will be a great way to measure ourselves up against the top two conference teams. We have a lot of respect for both teams and know that we will have to play a high level of volleyball in order to beat them. We've been successful so far with our approach of focusing on one point at a time, one set at a time, one match at a time, and we plan to continue with that approach."

DOLLAR DAY AT THE STROH CENTER
Thursday's MAC opener versus Miami will serve as the program's annual "Dollar Day." Tickets to the match are on sale for just $1. That offer is valid until 5 p.m. on match day (Sept. 22). Furthermore, hot dogs, popcorn and soda will be sold for just one dollar inside of the Stroh Center. The dollar priced items from the concession stand will be sold from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. on match day. After that time, items will be sold at their usual rates.

WHO WILL WIN THEIR EIGHTH-STRAIGHT MATCH? (SCOUTING THE MIAMI REDHAWKS)
Bowling Green's match against Miami on Thursday (Sept. 22) will be epic. Not only is the match the MAC opener for both teams, as well as "Dollar Day," but the match also features a pair of teams playing some of the best volleyball in the country. Both BGSU and Miami will enter the match having won seven-straight matches. Miami, who was picked to win the MAC Tournament according to the preseason poll, owns a record of 8-4. The RedHawks have beaten two SEC schools in Missouri and Auburn, and have won three-consecutive matches via the sweep. Miami is hitting .226 as a team, and averaging 12.80 kills/set, 11.74 assists/set and 17.09 digs/set.

SCOUTING THE NIU HUSKIES – THE FAVORITES TO WIN THE WEST
The Huskies of Northern Illinois were picked to win the MAC West in the preseason poll. NIU currently owns an 8-4 record, and will open the MAC season on Thursday in DeKalb against Western Michigan. NIU has won three-straight matches, as they went 3-0 at the George Washington Invitational last weekend, which included a sweep of Tennessee. Northern Illinois started the year 5-1, but dropped three-straight matches at the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge in Hawaii, where they lost to ranked Hawaii, Washington, as well as Utah Valley. NIU is hitting .231, averaging 12.3 kills/set, 11.5 assists/set and 12.1 digs/set.

BOWLING GREEN FINISHES NON-CONFERENCE SLATE WITH 4-0 WEEK
Last week, Bowling Green earned a victory over Valparaiso on Sept. 13 at the Stroh Center, and then won all three matches at the UIC Invitational over the weekend (Sept. 16-17). The Orange and Brown swept the competition in all four matches. The Falcons started the invitational off with a win over UMass-Lowell, and then the next day, beat SIUE before knocking off the hosts, Illinois-Chicago. UIC entered the weekend with a perfect 10-0, but the Falcons won the match in straight sets.

THE BEST LIBERO IN THE LAND
Madeline Garda, BGSU's senior libero from West Chester, Ohio, leads all of Division I volleyball in digs per set with 6.50, and total digs with 299. No other player in the country is even averaging 6.00 digs per set, while only two other players have at least 290 digs. Garda totaled 92 digs last week, which was good enough for an average of 23 digs per match and a staggering 7.67 digs per set.

GARDA AND SCHOLTEN PICK UP HONORS AT UIC INVITATIONAL
Immediately following the last match of the UIC Invitational on Sept. 17, Madeline Garda was named the MVP of the invitational. Katie Scholten was named to the All-Tournament Team. Garda posted 22 digs (7.33 digs/set) versus UMass-Lowell, 27 digs (9.00 digs/set) against SIUE, and 19 digs (6.33 digs/set) in the final match versus UIC. Scholten had 37 assists (12.3 assists/set) apiece in the Saturday matches versus SIUE and UIC, and registered 22 assists (7.33 assists/set) in the UMass-Lowell match. Scholten also recorded a double-double in the SIUE match, as she picked up 10 digs to go along with her 37 assists.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, LITERALLY
The Falcons will enter conference play having won seven-straight matches, which is the program's longest winning streak since 2011. Bowling Green is playing about as perfect as you can possibly play, as BGSU, incredibly, has also won 13-conseuctive sets. Additionally, the Falcons have won their last four matches via the sweep. Since sets were played up to 25 points, which began in 2001, the Falcons have only won four-straight matches, with all four matches being sweeps, two other times (2006, 2011).

GARDA NAMED MAC EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK…AGAIN
For the second-consecutive week, Madeline Garda was named the MAC East Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Sept. 19. The previous week, Garda and fellow senior Jelena Sunjic, who was named the MAC East Offensive Player of the Week, swept the weekly accolades across the MAC East. Garda, who leads the country in digs/set with 6.50 and total digs with 299, has had quite the season to date. Along with her MAC honors, she was named the MVP of the both the BGSU Invitational (Sept. 2-3) and UIC Invitational (Sept. 16-17).

GARDA BREAKS PROGRAM'S SINGLE MATCH DIGS RECORD
Madeline Garda recently turned in the greatest week of libero play in BGSU volleyball history. Over Sept. 7-10, she totaled 118 digs, which averages out to be 6.94 digs/set and 29.5 digs/match. Her three matches at the EIU Panther Classic (Sept. 9-10) were nothing short of incredible. She started the week off with 37 digs versus Louisiana Tech, which was one dig shy of the program record. She then notched 33 digs in a win over Eastern Illinois, before breaking the school record with a 40-dig effort against Drake. The previous record holder was Chelsey Meek, who posted 38 digs in 2007 in a match against Eastern Michigan. Meek totaled her 38 digs in a five setter, while Garda broke the school record in a four-set match.

NO STROH, NO PROBLEM
Bowling Green played its first six games at the Stroh Center in 2016, but the Falcons have played their best volleyball on the road this season. BGSU is 4-3 in Bowling Green, but the Orange and Brown are a perfect 6-0 away from the Stroh Center. The Falcons are 2-0 in true road matches, and 4-0 in neutral site matches. In those six matches, BGSU has lost just five sets.

BOWLING GREEN IS ALL ABOUT THAT #MACTION
Bowling Green racked up a conference-high 10 wins across the non-conference schedule, but the Falcons also lead a number of team-bases statistical categories. BGSU leads the MAC as a team in hitting percentage (.278), opponent hitting percentage (.162), assists (13.22/set), and kills (14.02/set). And although the Falcons rank second in digs (16.17/set), Madeline Garda leads the nation in digs per set with 6.50 and total digs with 299. Jelena Sunjic also tops the MAC in kills at 4.06/set.

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.

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Madeline Garda

Isabel Kovacic

Katie Scholten

Jelena Sunjic

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