Falcons Set For Battle Of The Birds For The MAC Championship Sunday Against Ball State

Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball program advanced to the Championship with a 3-1 win over Central Michigan last night (Nov. 23). In the match, the Falcons took hold of play on both sides of the ball, blocking a total of 16 attacks while also landing 56 kills over the four sets. The win sets up a match with Ball State for the Tournament Championship, marking the first meeting between the teams in tournament play since 2006 when Bowling Green captured the victory, 3-0.

Tickets: Tickets for all matches in the MAC Tournament can be purchased HERE.

FULL GAME NOTES

Similar Road For Ball State
Like Bowling Green, Ball State began play in the second round, topping Ohio and Miami to reach the championship, both by scores of 3-1. The wins extended the Cardinals' win streak to now eight matches with their last loss coming to the Falcons on October 26 in five-sets. In program history, the Cardinals have six tournament titles, the last being in 2002, capping a streak of four appearances and two titles, with their last appearance being in 2005.

One More MACtion Match
The Mid-American Conference Volleyball Tournament has come down to one match between the Falcons and Cardinals to decide a Champion. The three and four seeds both enter having needed two wins to advance to the championship match. The Falcons topped Buffalo, 3-0, followed by Central Michigan, 3-1, whereas the Cardinals have bested Ohio and Miami by scores of 3-1. The winner of the match will also receive an automatic NCAA bid.

Last Time Out
The Falcons claimed a four-set victory over Central Michigan on Saturday night (Nov. 23) to advance to the MAC Championship game for the first time since 2012, when they overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Northern Illinois in five-sets for the program's second MAC Tournament title. For the Falcons, this will be the team's eighth appearance in the Tournament Championship and third against Ball State with the previous matchups being in 1992 and 1993. In Saturday's match, the Falcons saw multiple record performances, led by Isabelle Marciniak who logged her first career triple-double and the first of the season within the MAC with 42 assists, 18 digs and 10 blocks.

Marciniak Makes History
Senior setter Isabelle Marciniak moved into second on the all-time career assists list on Saturday night (Nov. 23) and did so in style. Marciniak posted the first triple-double of the season in the MAC, headlined by 42 assists, surpassing Carey Amos on the all-time list. Linda Popovich currently holds the top spot with 4,406 assists, but played during the side-out era, meaning Marciniak is the all-time leader for assists at Bowling Green during the rally era, which began in 1999.

For The First Time Since...
With 18 kills on Saturday night (Nov. 23), Katelyn Meyer shattered the 400 mark for the season, ending the night with 411. In doing so, Meyer became the first Falcon since 2016 to pass the mark when Jelena Sunjic logged 464. Additionally, Meyer moved her season total for attacks to 1,233, moving her up to seventh all-time for attack attempts in a single season, needing just six to move up to sixth.

Kidwell… Play Well
Katie Kidwell continued to climb the charts for career block assists and career total blocks after knocking down nine block assists against Central Michigan on Saturday night (Nov. 23). Now with 339 career block assists, Kidwell holds the fifth spot all-time and will need 42 to move up to fourth with Stephanie Swiger currently having the spot. As for career total blocks, Kidwell has 397, good for ninth all-time, and will need 17 to pass Caty Rommeck for eighth.

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