Battle Of I-75 Highlights Home Weekend

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

BATTLE OF I-75 HIGHLIGHTS HOME WEEKEND
Bowling Green and Toledo will renew their rivalry Friday night as the Falcons host the Rockets at 7 pm in the Stroh Center. BGSU is 26-3 all-time at home against Toledo, including a win in the only match between the two programs in the Stroh Center. Following that contest, the Falcons will host Ball State Saturday night at 7 pm. The Cardinals are one of the top teams in the MAC and are 6-2 heading into the weekend.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Both matches during the weekend can be followed in a variety of ways. Live stats, audio and video will be available through links at BGSUFalcons.com. Both games will have audio broadcasts courtesy of flagship coverage of BGSU Volleyball through the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO). Live video is available through a partnership with the AmericaOne Network. Fans can also follow along on Twitter via @BGSUVolleyball.

ABOUT TOLEDO
Toledo enters the weekend with a record of 1-20 overall and 0-8 in Mid-American Conference play. As would be expected, the Rockets have struggled in numerous areas but do rank as high as seventh in the MAC in digs. With just two seniors and two juniors on the squad, Toledo has been working to develop a youthful squad. Head Coach Greg Smith has been at Toledo since 2009 and has led the Rockets to three of their top seasons in history. He is 68-100 in his time at Toledo and 149-194 including six years as head coach at Virginia Tech.

ABOUT BALL STATE
Ball State rebounded from a four-set loss to MAC leader Ohio to sweep Kent State this past weekend with a season-high .358 attack percentage and improved to 12-9 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Junior setter Jenna Spadafora is ranked fourth in the MAC in assists at 10.06 per set and junior middle hitter Hayley Benson is second in attack percentage at .368. Head coach Steve Shondell was the 2010 MAC Coach of the Year and is in his fifth year leading Ball State with a record of 99-47. That followed a 34-year high school coaching career in which he racked up an amazing 1,183-95 record with 21 state championships.

LAST WEEKEND
BGSU went on the road and dropped a four-set match at Central Michigan and a three-setter at Eastern Michigan. Alyssa Maloney had 15 kills, one shy of her career-high, at CMU and Madeline Garda posted 41 digs in the two matches combined. In the loss at Central Michigan, Bowling Green hit .213, the first time the Falcons have lost this year when hitting at least .200.

IN HER WORDS
"The Bowling Green/Toledo rivalry is unique. Although we've had a lot of success through the years against Toledo, the intensity of the match is one that is not easily matched. This year, the match comes as both teams are looking to build momentum for the second half of conference play and that adds to the importance. We need our fans and the students to come out Friday night to Overflow The Stroh and help us beat our rival."
-- BGSU Volleyball Coach Danijela Tomic

CAN YOU DIG THIS?
Sophomore libero Madeline Garda has been recording digs at an astounding rate lately. She has posted at least 15 digs in each of the past seven matches, averaging 5.68 per set. On the season, Garda is averaging 4.31 digs per set, a total that would place her sixth in a single season in BGSU history. In conference matches only, she is averaging 5.39 digs per set, second-best in the league.

TWO GRAND ON THE HORIZON
Senior setter Erica Fullenkamp is only 14 assists from 2,000 in her career despite the fact that this is her first full season as the team's setter. As a freshman, she recorded 449 assists splitting time as a setter and outside hitter. In 2012, Fullenkamp played just 19 sets and had 30 assists. A year ago, she had 839 assists in a split setter role before taking over full time this season. She currently has 668 assists and ranks sixth in the MAC with 9.64 assists per set in conference contests.

FIVE-SETTERS
Bowling Green is 3-3 in five-set matches this year and has gone 16-8 in three years under head coach Danijela Tomic in matches that have gone the distance. In fact, the Falcons have traditionally played well in five setters, posted a record of .500 or better in all but one season since 2005 with a winning percentage of .672 (45-22) since that time. Both the 2008 and 2012 teams went 9-1 in five-setters on the season.

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
In just one year, the Bowling Green volleyball team went from being one of the most experienced programs in the country to one of the least. Eleven of the team's 13 players are either freshmen or sophomores and seniors Erica Fullenkamp and Kelsey Bates are the only remnants from a squad that won the MAC Championship just two years ago.

FANTASTIC FRESHMAN
Freshman outside hitter Nicole Slimko posted 31 kills in the team's five set victory over Wright State on Sept. 6, the most for a BGSU player since Oct. 8, 1999. Slimko currently leads the Falcons in kills with 3.27 per set. Her 245 kills have her on pace to become just the sixth player since 1986 to record at least 300 as a freshman and the first since Paige Penrod and Danielle Tonyan both reached that total in 2010.

MARATHON MATCH
Bowling Green and Wichita State combined to set a pair of NCAA records in their match at the Bluejay Invitational. Wichita State's 127 points were the most ever for a match in the 25-point era (since 2008) and Bowling Green's 124 points were the most for a losing team in the 25-point era. In fact, BGSU's 35-33 fourth-set win was the program's highest scoring set in the same 25-point era.

GETTING TO .200
Bowling Green is 4-1 this year when hitting at least .200, losing just once in a four-set match at Central Michigan, and 0-15 when attacking below that number.

CHAMPIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
BGSU Volleyball has been recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for 14 consecutive years for posting a team cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher. The string is the second-longest in the country among NCAA Division I institutions.

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