After winning the Mid-American Conference East Division Championship the volleyball team gets ready to host Western Michigan tonight at 7 p.m. in Anderson Arena for the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament.
“It feels absolutely great to win the MAC two years in a row,” said head coach Denise Van De Walle.
Last year the Falcons tied for the East Division title. This was the Falcons first time to win the title outright since the 1992 season. They finished the season with a 20-7 overall record and a 12-6 record in the MAC. This record seeded the Falcons second, while the Broncos are seeded seventh.
This will be BG’s highest seed since 1993 and its third consecutive year to enter the tournament.
“I feel like we are a very good team,” Van De Walle said. “We need to come out ready to play. We’re in a must win situation.”
The Broncos finished the season with an overall record of 15-10 and a 10-8 record in the MAC.
Western Michigan is coming off two big wins last weekend. They defeated Ball State (the third seed) in five games Friday and Northern Illinois (the first seed) in four games Saturday.
The Broncos are only 3-7 on the road, while the Falcons hold a 9-2 record at home. However, BG trails Western Michigan in the overall series with a 22-15-1 record between the two teams.
The last time the two teams met was on Sept. 21 when the Falcons defeated the Broncos in three games in Anderson Arena.
Last year the Broncos went 25-6 overall and 17-1 in the MAC. They went on to win the MAC’s West Division. They also won the 2000 MAC Tournament and went on to play in the NCAA Tournament.
According to Van De Walle this week the Falcons have been working on passing and finding “a good solid line-up that works.”
The winner of the BG-Western Michigan match will advance to the semifinal round of the Tournament and play the winner of the Ball State-Eastern Michigan match on Friday. It will be held at the site of the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinal round.
MAC Leaders
The Falcons have several players on the MAC leaders list.
Senior Caty Rommeck leads the MAC in kills per games with 4.63. She also ranks second in blocks per game with 1.41 and seventh in hitting percentage with .307.
