Falcons Return To Stroh For Round Two Of MAC East Opponents

Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will begin their second round of matches with MAC East opponents, taking on Kent State and Ohio, two teams they topped earlier in the year. The Falcons enter the weekend riding a three-match win streak and are one spot out of first in the MAC East, trailing Akron and Miami who are both 8-2.

Scary Good Deals Topped With Trick Or Treat
Weekend promotions will open with Fan Appreciation Day and Trick or Treat at the Stroh on Friday against Kent State. For Fan Appreciation Day, tickets and concessions will be $1. Additionally, SAAC will be having Trick or Treat at the Stroh from 5-6 p.m. leading up to the match. Children 12 and under dressed in costume will receive free admission. The first 50 fans will also get a free t-shirt with autographs following the match. As for Saturday against Ohio, if you present your football ticket at the Stroh ticket office, you will receive free admission to volleyball. The team will also be participating in Lace Up 4 Cancer during the match.

Tickets: Bowling Green will return to the Stroh Center this weekend. Tickets for that match, and all BGSU home matches, can be purchased HERE.

FULL MATCH NOTES

Going Against The Golden Flashes
The last time the Falcons and Flashes met, being on Sept. 28, Bowling Green came away with a 3-0 sweep, marking the eighth straight time BG has bested Kent, including being 15-2 over the last 17 meetings. Since that meeting, Kent State has gone 4-4, moving their MAC record to 4-6 with an 11-11 overall record. The Golden Flashes are led by sophomore libero Erin Gardner who is averaging 5.52 digs per set, ranking eighth nationally.

Buckling Down For The Bobcats
Saturday's match with the Bobcats will be the second of the year between the two programs with the Falcons taking the first meeting through a five-set comeback victory.The win extended Bowling Green's streak in the series to three, including having won four of the last five meetings. Junior setter Vera Giacomazzi currently is second in the nation for total assists with 1,019, joining just Rachel Koop of Northern Iowa to have tallied over 1,000 assists so far this season.

Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Falcons came away with their second weekend sweep during MAC play, the other being against Ohio and Kent State, the two opponents on this weekend's schedule. The Falcons kicked off the weekend against the Rockets in the Battle of I-75 in a match that went four sets, three of which needed extra points to decide a winner. On Saturday, the Orange and Brown went five sets with Ball State, trading set wins until the fifth set victory when Bowling Green captured the first back-to-back set wins with a 15-13 fifth set final, clinching the match.

Blocking Out The Competition
With 171 total blocks on the year, the Falcons stack up to third in the conference after a masterful performance at the net this past weekend, highlighted by 17 total blocks against Ball State, including 30 block assists, just six off of the program record for block assists over five sets. Individually, Katie Kidwell led the way for the Orange and Brown, registering eight block assists, moving her career total to 308 for ninth all-time in program history. Nikolija Katanic also pitched in a career-high seven block assists while Jacquline Askin had a total of six blocks of her own, two solo and four assists.

Libero U
During Coach Tomic's tenure, the Falcons have added a member to the top 10 list for digs in a single season each year. Ashley Dunn joined in 2012 and 2013 with 568 and 558 digs respectively. Madeline Garda then took over, registering top 10 results in 2014 and 2016 with 513 and 726. Kallie Seimet filled in the role in 2015 with 491, a spot she then knocked off the list before graduating, taking over the top spot in 2017 with 790 and then taking second as well in 2018 with 766. All of the listed season performances also found the top 10 for digs per set in a single season. At her current pace, Julia Walz has the opportunity to continue both streaks. Currently averaging 5.51 digs per set, which is tenth in Division I volleyball, Walz would slot into the fifth spot all-time if she can maintain the average. Also, she is just 63 digs away from entering the top 10 all-time for digs in a single season.

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons volleyball team on social media
Twitter - @BGAthletics and @BGSUVolleyball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsuvolleyball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics' and 'Bowling Green State University Volleyball'
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nikolija Katanic

Katie Kidwell

Kallie Seimet

Julia Walz

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Bowling Green State University Athletics