Volleyball to Begin Conference Action against Miami, Northern Illinois

>>FALCONS BEGIN CONFERENCE ACTION
After a successful showing at four non-conference tournaments, the Bowling Green volleyball program will begin Mid-American Conference play against Miami on Thursday, Sept. 21. The Falcons will return home to the Stroh Center for the first time since Sept. 2 on Saturday, Sept. 23 when it hosts Northern Illinois in conference play at 5 p.m., while both matches will be broadcast on ESPN3 for fans unable to attend.

>>SATURDAY'S PROMOTIONS

Fan Appreciation night, featuring $1 tickets through Friday at 5 p.m., as well as $1 pop, popcorn and hot dogs from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday evening.
The Bowling Green volleyball program will also be holding a free youth clinic following the match for ages 13 and under.
Coach Tomic and the volleyball staff will be hosting Chalk Talk for all season ticket holders in the Stroh Center Classroom on Saturday beginning at 4:15 p.m. as well.

>>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 REDHAWKS (8-5, 0-0 MAC)
The Falcons will kick off Mid-American Conference action on Thursday evening at Miami, who was selected to finish first in the East Division in the MAC Preseason Poll. The RedHawks were also voted by the coaches to be both the 2017 regular season and tournament champion in the preseason poll, but are off to an 8-5 start after participating in four non-conference tournaments.

On Miami's offense, sophomore Margaret Payne leads the team with 133 kills, averaging 2.66 kills per set. Right Side/Middle Hitter Payne also tops the team with 40 total blocks, averaging 0.80 per set. Senior libero Maeve McDonald leads the team defensively by averaging 5.06 digs per set, while she totals 258 on the year. As a team, the RedHawks post an attack percentage of .225 on the season as well.

>>SCOUTING THE HUSKIES (1-14, 0-0 MAC)
The Falcons will return to the Stroh Center on Saturday evening to host Northern Illinois in more conference competition. On the season, the Huskies have gone 1-14, earning its lone victory over Illinois State on Sept. 12 in a 3-1 win at home. Since then, Northern Illinois has gone on a three-match losing streak over the course of the Buckeye Invitational, and will face MAC-foe Western Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 21 prior to taking on the Falcons.

Freshman Kaylee Martin has led the Huskies offensively, posting 149 kills and 3.10 kills per set, while at the net, junior Meg Wolowicz has earned 44 totals blocks for 0.88 blocks per set. A freshman, Jori Radtke as well as senior Chandler Kinley each mark six service aces on the season.

>>SIGHTS SET ON SEIMET
After returning to the starting libero position this season, junior Kallie Seimet has been recognized as Mid-American Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks. The Oregon, Ohio native has tallied 20-plus digs in seven of 11 matches thus far in the season, and set a new career-high mark with 44 digs in the 3-2 victory over Seton Hall (Sept. 16). The new career-high shattered her previous career mark of 36 set two weeks back, while the 44 digs is a new Bowling Green volleyball program record.

>>ASKIN FOR DOUBLE-DOUBLES
After recording a double-double in her first collegiate match, freshman Jacqueline Askin earned her fourth of the season in the Falcons 700th victory in program history on Saturday night. Four double-doubles lead the Falcon squad, while Askin's 18-kill performance against Sacramento State (Sept. 8) is also a team high.

>>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.

>>RECORD NIGHT FOR THE FALCONS
In a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Seton Hall last weekend, the Bowling Green volleyball team earned its 700th win in program history. Kallie Seimet also set a program record that night when she tallied 44 digs against the Pirates, the most ever in Bowling Green volleyball history. The previous record was held by libero Madeline Garda, when she notched 40 digs against Drake last season in a four-set match on Sept. 10, 2016.

>>FALCONS BEGIN 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 700-582-3 (.547), including an overall MAC record of 283-252 (.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).

>>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.

>>BGSU SET TO HOST 13 MATCHES FOR 2017 CAMPAIGN
Not only will the Falcons host back-to-back tournaments inside of the Stroh Center to open the 2017 season, but Bowling Green is set to host 13 home matches in total. After playing three matches in the Hampton Inn Invitational (Aug. 25-26) and two matches in the BGSU Invitational (Sept. 1-2), the Falcons will head directly into Mid-American Conference action versus Northern Illinois (Sept. 23) at home.

>>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. Freshmen are a significant component of the Falcons offense, including rookie Jacqueline Askin, who tallies a match-high for the team in kills with 18 against Sacramento State (Sept. 8).

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