Volleyball To Open 2019 Campaign With Saturday Exhibition

Saturday, August 24

Bowling Green, Ohio

5:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Gannon (Exhibition)

August 23, 2019 | Volleyball

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball program will return to the court on Saturday, Aug. 24 to take on Gannon University in an exhibition match beginning at 5 p.m. at the Stroh Center. Coming off of back-to-back Mid-American Conference Regular Season Championships, the Falcons are poised for another commanding run.

Forward Falcons
After winning the second of back-to-back MAC Regular Season titles, the Falcons are set to begin their pursuit for another under Head Coach Danijela Tomic, who is entering her eighth season with Bowling Green. In the year ahead, BGSU will take on Cincinnati, who appeared in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, as well as Power 5 schools, Notre Dame and Ohio State. During the 2018 campaign, the Falcons concluded with a 19-12 record, including a 13-3 conference standing for the second consecutive season.

Knowing the Knights
Competing in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), Gannon is coming off of a 31-3 season in 2018 going 17-1 within the PSAC. After losing to Seton Hill in the PSAC Tournament Championship, Gannon again lost to Seton Hill in postseason play, eliminating them from the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regionals. The Knights will carry over most of their roster after having just one senior in 2018.

Match Details
The exhibition match is set to start at 5 p.m. in the Stroh Center. Tickets can be purchased HERE for $6. Parking will be available on the north side of the Stroh Center and will include the first two rows of the lot on the east side of the Stroh.

One Last Ride
The Falcons will return six seniors this season to the roster. Setter Isabelle Marciniak led the team in assists a year ago, tallying 900 on the season accounting for almost 70% of the team's assists. Additionally, Jessi Holly and Celena Kanagin each contributed more than 100 kills and over 20 blocks a piece. Macie Linne will also be competing in her final season with the Falcons, contributing in almost every category a season ago. Rounding out the senior class are the Iacobelli twins. Paulina Iacobelli was second on the team last year in digs, registering 283 while Victoria Iacobelli sat out the year with an injury after recording 271 digs during the 2017 season.

Two-for-Two
The three juniors on the BGSU roster have now won the MAC Regular Season Championship in both seasons of sporting the Orange and Brown. A member of the All-MAC First Team in 2018, Katie Kidwell led the Falcons in blocks, tallying 124 total, including 23 solo and 101 assists. Fellow junior, Jacqueline Askin was one of seven Falcons to tally at least 100 kills, finishing with 106. Kidwell and Askin are joined by Kerstie Shaw, who contributed well defensively during the 2018 season.

Freshmen No More
Last year's freshman class was highlighted by outside hitter, Katelyn Meyer. Meyer led the Falcons in kills during the 2018 season with 267 en route to being named to the 2018 All-MAC First Team as well as the 2018 MAC All-Freshman Team. Meyer is joined by four sophomores in the class, including Hanna Laube who was second on the team in assists a year ago with 224 and redshirt sophomore Taylor Haberland, who was fourth on the team in digs with 230 and fifth on the team in service aces with 16 a year ago.

The Fresh Four
Four freshmen will join the Falcons roster for the 2019 season. Prior to coming to Bowling Green, the group has combined for at least 11 championships, seven MVP or Player of the Year awards and multiple All-State, All-Conference and academic recognitions.

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'