Volleyball Heads into Final Week of Regular Season Tied for First

>>FALCONS TO COMPLETE REGULAR SEASON SLATE
The Bowling Green volleyball team remains tied for first in the Mid-American Conference, as they take to the road for the twelfth and final week of the regular season. The Falcons, who are currently leading the MAC with Miami at 11-3 records, will take on Akron on Friday, Nov. 10, followed by Buffalo on Saturday, Nov. 11.

>>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. Fans are also encouraged to follow BGSU volleyball on Twitter at @BGSUVolleyball for in-match updates.

>>SCOUTING THE ZIPS (6-20, 2-12 MAC)
The Akron Zips are currently 6-20 overall and are also 2-12 in MAC play, with its conference wins coming in 3-1 victories over Kent State and Buffalo. Earlier this season, the Falcons downed Akron at home in a 3-0 sweep, in which Celena Kanagin tallied a team-high of 10 kills. Akron is currently on an 11 match losing streak as they prepare to host the Falcons.

Junior Kayla Gwozdz tops the team with 287 kills for 3.46 kills per set. Narrowly trailing in the Zips offense is redshirt junior Madi Baer, who posts 210 kills to average 2.36 kills per set. Defensively, freshman libero Taylor Sharrits averages 4.07 digs per set with 395, while redshirt senior Jessica Kloehn has accumulated 99 total blocks for 1.02 blocks per set. At the line, Akron features a strong server in freshman Emily Weigand, who has tallied a team-leading 35 service aces for a 0.36 ace per set average.

>>SCOUTING THE BULLS (15-10, 8-6 MAC)
Coming off of a recent 3-2 loss to Toledo is the Buffalo Bulls, who have gained a 15-10 overall record this season. The Bulls have gone 8-6 in conference competition, which included a five-match win streak from Oct. 13-27 and a recent 3-1 win over Akron (Nov. 2). Earlier this season, the Falcons downed the Bulls by a score of 3-1 in the Stroh Center, a match in which its second set rebound lifted them to a four-match win streak.

Leading Buffalo with 347 kills for a 3.69 kills per set average is sophomore Polina Prokudina, while the Moscow, Russia native also ranks third on the team with 38 service aces, a category in which freshman Andrea Mitrovic leads with 51. At the net, senior Cassie Shado leads the Buffalo squad with 56 total blocks for a 0.95 blocks per set average. On the reception for the Bulls is junior libero Larra Bickelhaupt, who averages 3.83 digs per set with a total of 360 on the year.

>>SIGHTS ON SEIMET
Junior libero Kallie Seimet was recognized as MAC Defensive Player of the Week for the East Division for the seventh time of the season thus far, 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 1,400 career digs, and now tallies 1,490 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 681 digs this season.

With a 6.81 digs per set average, Seimet continues to lead the nation in all of Division I women's volleyball, with the next closest player at 6.32 digs per set (Courtney Pence, Illinois State). By totaling 681 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), and is currently on a two-match streak. Joining Marciniak in the double-double action this past weekend was sophomore Jessi Holly, who earned back-to-back double-doubles vs. Ohio and Kent State, and now tallies four on the season.

>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Freshman Katie Kidwell is continuing to make an impact with the Falcons defense, as she leads the team with 120 total blocks on the season to average 1.21 blocks per set, which makes Kidwell tied for 37th 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 11 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 30 on the season to average 0.34 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 23 thus far.

>>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 711-584-3 (.547), including an overall MAC record of 294-254 (.529). 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).

>>ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM TIMES-TWO
Junior Madeline Brandewie was named to an All-Tournament Team for the second time 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 were a new 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 recently 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).

>>TOMIC'S STAFF FOR 2017
Danijela Tomic enters 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. Evan Antal begins his second season as the director of operations. Cooke was previously the volunteer assistant at Duke University since March 2015. 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.

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