Falcons Continue MAC Play At Stroh Center On Homecoming Weekend

FALCONS CONTINUE MAC PLAY AT STROH CENTER ON HOMECOMING WEEKEND
Bowling Green returns to the Stroh Center on Homecoming Weekend in search of its first win of the conference season. The Falcons entered MAC play last weekend on a seven-match winning streak, but dropped contests to the favorites in both divisions in Miami and Northern Illinois. The Orange and Brown will take on Ohio on Sept. 30 and Kent State on Oct. 7. Both matches start at 7 p.m.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) will be broadcasting both matches this weekend. To access the links to the broadcasts, visit the volleyball schedule page at BGSUFalcons.com. Friday's match versus Ohio will be broadcasted live on ESPN3, while a video stream, which can be found at BGSUFalcons.com, will be available for Saturday's match against Kent State. Additionally, both matches will have live stats. Links to live stats and both broadcasts can also be found at BGSUFalcons.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow BGSU Volleyball on Twitter at @BGSUVolleyball for in-match updates.

SCOUTING THE OHIO BOBCATS
The defending MAC Tournament champions got off to a surprising 4-8 start, but won both conference games across the opening weekend of the MAC slate to improve to 6-8. The Bobcats opened their MAC schedule with sweeps over Akron and Buffalo in Athens. Ohio is hitting .204 as a team, and averaging 12.4 kills/set, 11.6 assists/set and 14.0 digs/set. Ohio is near the middle of the pack in virtually every statistical category, but rank second in the MAC in service aces, as they are averaging 1.43 aces/set. Jaime Kosiorek ranks fourth in the conference in kills with 3.12 kills/set.

SCOUTING THE KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES
Just like Ohio, Kent State earned home wins over Akron and Buffalo to get off to a 2-0 start in the MAC. The Golden Flashes own an overall record of 9-6. Kent State is hitting .209 as a team, and averaging 13.4 kills/set, 12.6 assists/set, and 15.9 digs/set. KSU ranks second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.179), assists/set and kills/set. The Golden Flashes rank third in services aces (1.38) and digs. Challen Geraghty ranks second behind Madeline Garda in digs/set (5.64), and was recently named the MAC East Defensive Player of the Week.

GET IN FREE TO SATURDAY'S MATCH BY SHOWING FOOTBALL TICKET
On Saturday (Oct. 1), the BGSU football team will play Eastern Michigan in the University's annual Homecoming game at 7 p.m. The BGSU volleyball team will also have former players on campus, and at Saturday's match versus Kent State at 7 p.m. However, you do not need to choose which game to attend, because by showing your football ticket at the Stroh Center gates, you gain free admission to the volleyball match.

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 6.47. To put that into perspective, no other player in the country is even averaging 6.00 digs per set. Kent State's libero, Challen Geraghty, who will take on Garda's Falcons on Saturday, ranks second on the country in digs per set (5.64). Garda also ranks second in the land in total digs with 343, sitting just one dig behind Robert Morris' Arden Fisher. Below is the list of the top 10 liberos in the country, according to digs per set.

1. Madeline Garda (Bowling Green)            6.47
2. Challen Geraghty (Kent State)               5.64
3. Sarah Villa (UTEP)                               5.51
4. Markie Schaedig (Arkansas State)    5.48
5. Lexus Cain (SFA)                              5.46
6. Gabrielle Eyl (Northeastern)                  5.43
7. Courtney Pence (Illinois State)              5.41
8. Taylor Austin (James Madison)              5.38
9. Arden Fisher (Robert Morris)                  5.38
10. Katarina Morton (Kennesaw State)      5.36

THE MAC'S MOST DIFFICULT START
The Falcons have undoubtedly the most difficult start to the conference schedule of any other MAC foe. Bowling Green opened up the MAC slate last weekend by hosting Miami and traveling to Northern Illinois. Miami was picked to win the MAC Tournament, and the MAC East, while NIU was picked to win the MAC West. This weekend, the Falcons will battle Ohio and Kent State. Kent State was tabbed to finish second in the East. Ohio, who won the MAC Tournament last season, received the second most first-place votes in the preseason poll.

DON'T WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS
Unlike the title of the famous Green Day hit song, "Wake Me Up When September Ends," the Falcons have zero interest in seeing the month come to a close. Bowling Green has had an incredible month of September. The Falcons have accumulated a 9-3 record after getting off to a blazing 9-1 start. The Falcons will conclude the month on Friday against Ohio, and will be in search of their 10th victory of September. Across the month, Bowling Green has swept six different teams, experienced a seven-match winning streak, and won a total of 13-consecutive sets.

SUNJIC HAS BEEN SUPER AS A SENIOR
Jelena Sunjic is averaging a ridiculously-impressive 4.19 kills per set, which ranks first in the MAC. Her .363 hitting percentage is second only to Northern Illinois' Jenna Radtke (.414). Sunjic surpassed 1,000 career kills earlier in the season, and currently has 1,041 kills to her name. Sunjic has had at least 15 kills in eight matches, while she's posted double-digit kills in 11 matches.

MALONEY MAKING AN IMPACT AND LEAVING A LEGACY
Alyssa Maloney is certainly having a senior season that she soon won't forget. The senior is averaging 3.04 kills per set, and is hitting .347 on the year. Her kills per set average ranks eighth in the conference, while her hitting percentage is fifth best. She has posted double-digit kills in 10 matches, and she has hit over .400 in six matches. Maloney has hit at least .500 five times, and has eclipsed the .300 mark a staggering nine times. Maloney has registered 587 career kills.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, LITERALLY
The Falcons entered conference play having won seven-straight matches, which was the program's longest winning streak since 2011. Bowling Green was playing about as perfect as you can possibly play, as BGSU, incredibly, had entered the Miami match having won 13-conseuctive sets. Additionally, the Falcons had 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 BREAKS PROGRAM'S SINGLE MATCH DIGS RECORD
Madeline Garda 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 6-1 away from the Stroh Center, with the only loss coming to MAC-West favorite Northern Illinois (Sept. 24). The Falcons are 2-1 in true road matches, and 4-0 in neutral site matches. In those seven matches, BGSU has lost just seven 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 continue to lead a number of team-based statistical categories. BGSU leads the MAC as a team in hitting percentage (.266), opponent hitting percentage (.178), assists (13.09/set), and kills (13.94/set). And although the Falcons rank second in digs (16.32/set), Madeline Garda leads the nation in digs per set with 6.47. Jelena Sunjic also tops the MAC in kills at 4.19/set, while Isabel Kovacic ranks fifth (3.06) and Alyssa Maloney ranks eighth (3.04). Katie Scholten ranks four in assists per set (10.34).

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

Alyssa Maloney

Katie Scholten

Jelena Sunjic

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