Falcons Head To Pittsburgh For Duquesne Tournament

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball program heads to Pittsburgh this weekend to take part in the Duquesne Tournament. Bowling Green is scheduled to play two matches on Friday (Aug. 31), and one match on Saturday (Sept. 1).

COACH TOMIC QUOTE
"We have to look at those little things that we are doing well or improving, and just continue believing that our team will come together, and we will be ready for the MAC."

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Live stats this weekend are being provided by Duquesne Athletics.
• Bowling Green's match against Duquesne will be streamed live on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
• The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) will be traveling with the team this weekend to provide radio coverage for all three matches.
• All links can be accessed at the top of this page, or by visiting the volleyball schedule page at BGSUFalcons.com.

SCOUTING THE DUQUESNE DUKES
• The Dukes enter play with a 1-1 mark, having defeated Lafayette and lost to Lehigh last weekend.
• Duquesne lost three players on last year's team that went 13-16 (8-6 A10). The Dukes lost two starters from 2017.
• Through the first two matches of the season, Duquesne is hitting .186 as a team, while opponents are hitting .242 against the Dukes.
• Sophomore outside hitter Maria Mosbacher returns to the team after being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team last season. Junior setter Dani Suiter is also expected to play a big role this year after picking up Second Team All-Conference honors in 2017.

SCOUTING THE YOUNGSTOWN STATE PENGUINS
• Aline Scott enters her first season as head coach of the Penguins.
• Youngstown State opened the 2018 season last weekend with a perfect 3-0 start. The Penguins picked up wins over Saint Peter's, NJIT and Bucknell. YSU lost to Kent State on Tuesday (Aug. 28).
• YSU lost five seniors off last year's roster. The Penguins went 8-22 (1-15 Horizon League) in 2017.
• Youngstown State is hitting .133 as a team. YSU's defense is allowing opponents to hit .113.

SCOUTING THE UNLV REBELS
• Dawn Sullivan is in her first season as head coach of the Rebels.
• After losing to Indiana to open the season, UNLV finished off last weekend with consecutive wins over Southern Utah and LIU Brooklyn.
• The Rebels went 8-23 (4-14 MWC) in 2017. UNLV lost five letterwinners and three starters off that squad.
• UNLV's offense is hitting at a solid .273 clip, while holding opponents to a .149 hitting percentage.

STATISTICAL LEADERS FOR THE FALCONS
• Kallie Seimet is slightly below last season's record-breaking digs per set average (6.81), but the senior is still averaging an incredibly solid 6.38 digs per set.
• Isabelle Marciniak is averaging a team-high 8.55 assists per set, after recording a season-high 42 assists last time out versus Oakland.
• Offensively, Katelyn Meyer leads the Falcons with 35 kills, while Jacqueline Askin is averaging a team-best 2.71 kills per set. With a minimum of 25 attack attempts, Madeline Brandewie leads the way with a .200 hitting percentage.
• Katie Kidwell continues to be a force defensively at the net. The sophomore has 14 blocks on the season to lead the squad.
• Paulina Iacobelli has recorded a team-high six aces this season.

PREPARING FOR CONFERENCE PLAY
• Under the direction of Danijela Tomic, the Falcons have always centered training and non-conference matches around being able to hit the ground running when conference play begins.
• So, even though the 2018 Falcons are off to a 0-4 start, history has shown that BGSU, under Tomic, is still more than capable of competing for championships.
• Last season is a prime example. BGSU went 4-9 in non-conference play before going 13-3 within the conference to earn a share of the regular-season crown.
• Additionally, BGSU is challenging itself with more non-conference games in 2018 away from the Stroh Center. The Falcons have four home non-conference matches – the least amount since playing three games in 2015.

FALCONS PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN MAC EAST
• Bowling Green was picked to finish second in the East Division, as voted on by the conference's 12 head coaches.
• The Falcons received three votes to win the regular season, and one vote to win the 2018 MAC Tournament.
• Ohio was picked to win the East Division, regular-season title, and tournament title. Ball State was picked to win the MAC West.
• Additionally, senior libero Kallie Seimet and sophomore middle blocker Katie Kidwell were selected to the seven-member Preseason East All-MAC Team.
• Seimet averaged 6.81 digs per set last year to lead the country. In fact, it marked the second-straight season that a Falcon led the nation in the category, as Madeline Garda averaged 6.66 digs per set in 2016.

UP NEXT
• With no mid-week match on next week's schedule, the Falcons will begin preparations for the Cleveland State Tournament after this weekend's Duquesne Tournament.
• Cleveland State is hosting the tournament, which will take place over Sept. 7-8 at CSU's Woodling Gym.
• Bowling Green is scheduled to play Illinois (9:30 a.m.) and UC Irvine (4:30 p.m.) on Sept. 7, before finishing off the weekend with a 1:30 p.m. first serve against Cleveland State.

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Jacqueline Askin

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