With the Mid-American Conference race heating up the volleyball team takes to the road this weekend to face off against Marshall Friday and Ohio Saturday.
The Falcons are currently in second place with a 9-5 record in the MAC East Division, half a game behind Akron, while Marshall is 4-10 in the MAC and in sixth place.
“Marshall is in a completely different situation than we are,” said head coach Denise Van De Walle. “They only have four conference wins. The way it looks right now is that they won’t make the conference tournament. Therefore, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain from pulling an upset.”
On the other hand the Falcons need every win they can get in order to finish on top in the MAC East.
“We’ve been improving with each match that we’ve played,” Van De Walle said. “We’re getting good solid performances out of our players. I hope that we can go down there and play steady, consistent volleyball.”
The Falcons played the Thundering Herd at home on Oct. 20 and beat them in three games. BG holds a 7-1 advantage over Marshall in the all-time series between the two teams.
“For both matches this weekend I don’t think we need to do anything out of the ordinary, but we do need to play hard and aggressively,” Van De Walle said. “We need to pass well, attack well and be fundamentally strong.”
They will have to display this strength Saturday as the Falcons will compete against Ohio, which is 5-8 in the MAC.
“Ohio is a good team and they showed that by beating Toledo last weekend,” Van De Walle said. “They still have a shot at getting in the tournament.”
The Bobcats are 2-0 on their current five-game homestand after victories over Toledo and West Virginia last week.
“This homestand is very important for them.” Van De Walle said. “I think it is going to be the difference between qualifying for the MAC Tournament and not getting in. I would anticipate a big match on Saturday night.”
The Bobcats came to BG on Oct. 27 when the Falcons defeated them in three games. BG holds a 39-10 advantage over Ohio in the series.
“You can’t overlook anyone at this point because we are still playing for seating as well,” Van De Walle said. “Everyone is still trying to see where they are going to fit into the MAC Tournament.” If the Falcons can get these wins it will improve their chances of hosting a MAC Tournament match and decrease Ohio’s chances of getting into the tournament.
“Right now, I think this is really important,” Van De Walle said. “We did our job last weekend by beating Central and Akron at home, but now we have to continue with that kind of mindset and do this on the road.”
