Stage is Set for Volleyball MAC Tournament Week

Saturday, November 18

Oxford, Ohio

7:00PM

Bowling Green State University

Western Michigan

November 14, 2017 | Volleyball

By: Jenna Jorgensen (Assistant Director of Athletic Communications)

>>STELLAR SEASON PROPELS FALCONS TO SEMIFINALS
After earning a MAC regular season record of 13-3, the Bowling Green volleyball program was awarded the No. 2 seed in the 2017 MAC Tournament. The Falcons gained a double-bye to the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m., where they are to face No. 3 Ball State or the winner No. 6 Western Michigan and No. 7 Central Michigan. Bowling Green is currently on a three-match win streak, while all-time, the Falcons own a 20-26 record in the MAC Tournament.

>>RECORD SETTING SEASON

The Falcons earned its first MAC Regular Season Championship since 1992 on Saturday when it sealed a record of 13-3 in league play. It is Bowling Green's fourth MAC Regular Season title in program history.
In this year's MAC Tournament, the Falcons are hunting for its third MAC Tournament title in program history, and first since 2012.
Bowling Green has battled for several notable wins this season, including its first victory over Miami since 2013, first win at Ohio since 2001, and first win at Western Michigan since 1995.
On its way to building a 13-3 record in conference action, the Falcons went on a seven-match win streak from Sept. 23 through Oct. 20, which is the longest since a seven-match win streak in Sept. 2016.
Junior libero Kallie Seimet has officially set two Bowling Green volleyball program records this year, and is on par to set two more in the postseason. Seimet has set the record of most MAC Player of the Week awards by a single player in a single season with seven, as well as most digs in a match with 45 in the MAC opener at Miami (Sept. 21). Seimet currently tallies 725 digs this season and needs just two more to set the record of most digs in a season, and is currently first in program history with a 6.78 digs per set average, of which she will set if she averages 6.67 or above.
With a 13 kill performance at Buffalo to clinch the MAC Regular Season title, senior Nicole Slimko broke the 1,000 kill barrier, and currently tallies 1,009 heading into this weekend's tournament.

>>FOLLOW THE FALCONS

The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) will be broadcasting all BGSU matches at http://www.bgrso.net/falcon-radio.html.
Additionally, all matches will have live stats, which can be found at www.BGSUFalcons.com and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Fans are also encouraged to follow BGSU volleyball on Twitter at @BGSUVolleyball for in-match updates.

>>POTENTIAL SEMIFINAL OPPONENTS

Bowling Green will face the winner of No. 3 Ball State and No. 6 Western Michigan / No. 7 Central Michigan.
Versus Ball State: The Falcons were able to open with a dominate 25-12 victory over the Cardinals on Oct. 20 in Muncie, Ind., although Ball State rebounded to claim three straight set wins (26-24, 25-15, 25-20) to break the Falcons seven-match win streak. For more information on that match, click HERE.
Versus Western Michigan: Behind Isabel Kovacic' 16 kills, the Bowling Green volleyball program was able to earn a 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 24-26, 25-16) road win over Western Michigan on Oct. 28. It marked the first time since Nov. 7, 1995 that the Falcons have downed the Broncos in Kalamazoo. For more information on that match, click HERE.
Versus Central Michigan: On homecoming, Bowling Green extended its win streak to seven with a dominate 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-10) sweep of Central Michigan on Oct. 14. In that match, the Falcons boasted a season-high of 16.0 total team blocks, while freshman Katie Kidwell posted 10.0 against the Chippewas. The Falcons showcased a clean offense that only sacrificed a season-best of just eight attacking errors, while sophomore Paulina Iacobelli notched a career-best of five service aces. For more information on that match, click HERE.

>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

Freshman Katie Kidwell is continuing to make an impact with the Falcons defense, as she leads the team with 126 total blocks on the season to average 1.19 blocks per set, which makes Kidwell tied for 43rd in the nation. Earlier this season, the Watseka, Ill. native posted a career-high of 11 blocks in the 3-1 win at Kent State (Sept. 29), earning her first career MAC Defensive Player of the Week honor. Kidwell followed the weekend up by earning 10 total blocks in the sweep of Central Michigan (Oct. 14), just one shy of her career-high of 11 in a match.
Kidwell has been named MAC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season, while with the addition of Seimet's seven, the Falcons have picked up nine of the 12 awards on the year.
At the line, sophomore Paulina Iacobelli tallied a career-best five service aces in the 3-1 win at Ohio (Sept. 30), which marked the Falcons first road win at Ohio since Nov. 10, 2001. Since then, Iacobelli has continually tallied aces to mark a team-leading 35 on the season to average 0.36 aces per set. A native of Novi, Mich. Iacobelli tied her career-best of five service aces in the sweep of Central Michigan (Oct. 14) as well.
Well rounded at the line, the Falcons have seven players who have posted double-digit aces so far this season, including junior Madeline Brandewie, who has earned 27 thus far.
On the attack, senior Nicole Slimko leads the team with 262 kills, for a 2.73 kills per set average. Entering the MAC Tournament, the Crystal Lake, Ill. native tallies 996 career kills, looking to break the 1,000 kill marker in the semifinals.
With a total of nine service aces from four different players, the Falcons earned a new season-high in aces against its opponent in a 3-1 win at Buffalo (Nov. 11).
Continuing the recent successes, in the match at Akron (Nov. 10) Bowling Green opened with a team hitting percentage of .630, which is a new season-high in a single set for the Falcons. On the night, Bowling Green ultimately finished with a .429 team hitting percentage, whichi strongly eclipsed its previous season-high of .347.

>>SIGHTS ON SEIMET

Junior libero Kallie Seimet was recognized as MAC Defensive Player of the Week for the East Division seven times this season, which is a program record for most by a single player in a single season in Bowling Green volleyball history.
A native of Oregon, Ohio, Seimet surpassed 1,500 career digs, and now tallies 1,534 over her three seasons, which ranks fifth overall in Bowling Green volleyball program history. In addition to nine 30+ dig performances, Seimet also set a new career-high mark and Bowling Green program record of 45 digs in the MAC opener at Miami (Sept. 21). Also in the record books, Seimet ranks second overall in program history with 725 digs this season.
With a 6.78 digs per set average, Seimet continues to lead the nation in all of Division I women's volleyball, with the next closest player at 6.26 digs per set (Courtney Pence, Illinois State). By totaling 725 digs this season, the junior libero also ranks first in the nation in total digs.

>>DOUBLE TROUBLE

In a successful weekend at the net, sophomore setter Isabelle Marciniak marked her team-leading 11th double-double performance when she posted 36 assists and 14 digs vs. Kent State (Nov. 4). After earning her first double-double with 47 assists and 14 digs versus UIC (Aug. 25), Marciniak also went five-straight matches marking double-doubles (Sept. 16-30).
Joining Marciniak in the double-double action is sophomore Jessi Holly, who earned back-to-back double-doubles vs. Ohio and Kent State, and has marked a double-double in three of the last four matches. A native of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, Holly posted her fifth double-double of the season in the 3-1 win at Buffalo as she notched a team-high of 18 kills paired with 11 digs.
Freshman Jacqueline Askin made an early impact on the Falcons offense as she posted six double-doubles on the season, between Aug. 25 vs. UIC and Oct. 21 at Toledo.

>>FALCONS 42ND YEAR OF 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 713-585-3, including an overall MAC record of 296-255.
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 four times now (2017, 1992, 1991, 1989).

>>ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM TIMES-TWO

Junior Madeline Brandewie was named to an All-Tournament Team twice this season when she marked a team-high of 15 kills while hitting .306 in the Falcons comeback victory over Seton Hall in the VCU Invitational. The 15 kills are a season-high for the junior, while on the weekend she posted a strong .233 attack. Brandewie was also named to the BGSU/Toledo Invitational All-Tournament Team earlier this season for her offensive efforts, and was the only Falcon to be named to two all-tournament teams this season.
Brandewie set a new career-high mark when she earned four of the Falcons six service aces in the 3-1 victory at Toledo (Oct. 21), and matched it in Bowling Green's first victory over Miami since 2013 (Oct. 26).

>>TOMIC'S STAFF FOR 2017
Danijela Tomic is in her sixth year at the helm of the program. 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 returns assistant coach Alex DelPiombo for a second season, while Alison Cooke joins the program for her first season as an assistant coach for the Falcons, after previously serving as the volunteer assistant coach at Duke University since March 2015. Evan Antal begins his second season as the director of operations, while the Falcons are also assisted by first-year volunteer assistant coach Andrew Sydow, who was a men's volleyball student-athlete at Mount Olive.

>>ORANGE AND BROWN BOOST A YOUNG AND EXPERIENCED ROSTER
The Falcons return 11 players from the successful 2016 season, which includes just one senior on the 15-member roster. Joining senior outside hitter Nicole Slimko on the court this season will be four juniors, six sophomores and four freshmen.