Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, October 31
Bowling Green, Ohio
5 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Akron (Halloween Game)
Falcons Host Akron, Buffalo To Close Home Schedule
October 28, 2014 | Volleyball
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
FALCONS CLOSE HOME SCHEDULE THIS WEEKEND
Bowling Green plays its final two home matches of the 2014 season this weekend, hosting Akron on Halloween Friday night and then Buffalo Saturday for Senior Night. Both matches are scheduled to start at 5 pm. Children 13 and under wearing costumes will receive free admission to Friday night's match against Akron and there will be games and candy, presented by BGSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
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 AKRON
Akron and Bowling Green head into the weekend tied in the Mid-American Conference standings at 2-8. The Zips have lost four in a row via straight set sweeps since a five-set win over Toledo. Junior Kelsey Wilson ranks 10th in the country with 0.43 service aces per game and the Zips are in the top 50 in the nation in that category as a team. Head coach Ron Arenz has a career record of 112-155, including 76-126 at Akron.
ABOUT BUFFALO
Buffalo enters the weekend two games ahead of BGSU in the league standings and the Bulls are battling for a possible conference tournament spot. Junior Tahleia Bishop is one of the most feared hitters in the MAC, leading the conference with 4.40 kills per set and ranking in the top 20 nationally. Reed Sunahara is in his first year as head coach at Buffalo with a career mark of 322-159 over 15 years guiding Cincinnati and Toledo programs.
LAST WEEKEND
BGSU split two matches over the weekend, defeating Toledo in the Battle of I-75 before losing to Ball State. In a four-set win over the Rockets, Bowling Green senior setter Erica Fullenkamp recorded her 2,000th career assist and head coach Danijela Tomic won her 199th career match. The Falcons won the opening two sets 25-22, 25-20 before losing the third 25-21. BGSU rebounded with a 25-21 fourth-set win. Bowling Green then lost to Ball State in three sets Saturday, getting eight kills from Paige O'Connor. O'Connor led Bowling Green with 19 kills on the weekend and hit .312.
IN HER WORDS
"I don't think I could wish for better seniors for this young group of players. They helped this young team with the patience they have had. Erica is a role model of a student-athlete we want in our program. Kelsey has been a pleasure to see grow and develop. To see her getting better as a volleyball player and teammate is satisfying to me as a coach. They have been very positive through all our adversity and setbacks. I couldn't ask for more."
   -- BGSU Volleyball Coach Danijela Tomic on Erica Fullenkamp and Kelsey Bates heading into their final two home matches of their careers
CAN YOU DIG THIS?
Sophomore libero Madeline Garda has been recording digs at an astounding rate lately. She had posted at least 15 digs in eight straight matches before being held to 10 against Ball State Saturday. On the season, Garda is averaging 4.33 digs per set, an average that would place her sixth in a single season in BGSU history. In conference matches only, she is averaging 5.23 digs per set, third-most in the league.
TWO GRAND
With 47 assists against Toledo Friday night, Erica Fullenkamp reached 2,000 for 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 739 assists and ranks sixth in the MAC with 9.74 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.
CLOSING IN ON 200
BGSU head coach Danijela Tomic sits at 199 career victories heading into the weekend. Tomic won 158 matches in seven years at Florida International and has 41 wins in her third season at BGSU.
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 3.22 per set. Her 264 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 5-1 this year when hitting at least .200, losing just once in a four-set match at Central Michigan, and 0-16 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.
Players Mentioned
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