Falcons Back On The Road For Cleveland State Invitational

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball program is back on the road this weekend to take part in the CSU Invitational Tournament. Bowling Green will face Illinois and UC Irvine on Friday (Sept. 7), and will face host Cleveland State on Saturday (Sept. 8).

COACH TOMIC QUOTE
"We had three good practices this week focused on our offense. Our approach is still to focus on what our team needs to improve upon instead of preparing for our upcoming opponents. This weekend we will face probably the toughest non-conference teams this season and we are excited about it. It's a great opportunity for our team to compete and continue developing while being challenged by great teams across the net."

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Live stats this weekend are being provided by Cleveland State.
• Bowling Green's match against The Vikings 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 ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
• The Fighting Illini enter this weekend's tournament ranked at No. 11 with an undefeated record of 5-0, including victories over No. 21 Colorado, and No. 13 Washington.
• Illinois ended their 2017 campaign with a record of 23-11 after falling to Michigan State in the third round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship.
• After five matches, Illinois is hitting at .265 as a team, while allowing opponents to hit .164.
• Junior outside hitter Jaqueline Quade currently is ranked No. 16 in points per set, averaging 5.2 in this category.

SCOUTING THE UC IRVINE ANTEATERS
• UCI is 1-5 after suffering three defeats in the UCI/Adidas Invitational last weekend.
• Andy Hein, a national championship winner at Pepperdine (2005), has joined the Anteaters' volleyball staff as an assistant coach.
• Freshman outside hitter Abby Marjama sits at No. 6 in the nation in aces per set averaging .75, having scored 18 total aces this season.
• UCI is hitting .163 as a team. They have allowed opponents to hit .174.

SCOUTING THE CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS
• After six matches, the hosts enter their invitational tournament with a record of 4-2.
• The Vikings went 22-8 last season and claimed the Horizon League championship. The season came to an end when they fell to Utah in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship.
• Cleveland State is currently No. 6 in blocks per set, averaging 3.18. The team is also No. 12 in total blocks with 70 thus far. Sophomore middle hitter Hannah Green leads the team in defensive efforts and is ranked No. 11 in blocks per set (1.68), and is also ranked No. 9 in total blocks (37).
• The Vikings' offense is hitting at .185, while holding opponents to a .110 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 6.24 digs per set.
• Isabelle Marciniak is averaging a team-high 8.61 assists per set, and is at a total of 198 assists this season.
• Offensively, Isabel Kovacic leads the Falcons with 52 kills, and averages a team-best 2.71 kills per set.
• Katie Kidwell is now up to 27 blocks on the season to lead the squad.
• Jacqueline Askin has recorded a team-high nine 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 2-5 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
• After the CSU Invitational, The Falcons will prepare to host the BGSU Invitational Tournament that will take place over Sept. 13-15 in the Stroh Center.
• Bowling Green is scheduled to play Marshall (6:00 p.m.) on Sept. 13, IUPUI (6:00 p.m.) on Sept. 14, and will cap off the tournament with a 12:00 p.m. first serve against Nicholls State on Sept. 15.

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Jacqueline Askin

Katie Kidwell

Isabel Kovacic

Isabelle Marciniak

Kallie Seimet

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