The Falcons volleyball team is coming off a victory over the Toledo Rockets in the Battle of I-75. As the team is currently sitting with a 16-7 overall record and 6-4 record in the Mid-American Conference, they will play two conference matches to finish the week. On Thursday, The Falcons will take on the Miami Redhawks on the road. Then, on Saturday, the Falcons will host the Western Michigan Broncos.
With the first matchup against Miami, the Falcons will have their hands full, playing a very impressive team. Miami, who is 18-4 overall, have yet to lose an in-conference matchup, standing 10-0 within the MAC.
Miami is currently on a 17-game winning streak, winning 12 of the matchups via three-set sweep, including the first matchup against the Falcons. Miami, who is projected to win the MAC Championship, are averaging a staggering 13.51 kill/set to go along with 16.22 digs/set. Leading the way for Miami in digs are Maeve McDonald and Katie Tomasic, who are averaging 4.48 digs/set each.
After the first matchup with Miami, Falcons head coach Danijela Tomic was disappointed but was still optimistic about her team’s performance.
“It’s disappointing, of course, to start conference play with a loss at home,” Tomic said. “We knew that it was going to be a really hard match against Miami. They were on a seven-match winning streak like us, too. They are a very good team. We knew that we would need to play a very high level of volleyball. I have to give credit to Miami. They executed their game plan, and they made it difficult for us to be ourselves, and to do what we do well.”
While there was a defeat, Tomic is hopeful for the upcoming schedule.
“This is the first match of the season,” she said. “We will meet Miami again at the end, and hopefully in the MAC Tournament.”
For the Saturday matchup against Western Michigan, they are currently 8-15 with a conference record of just 3-7. The Falcons should perform well against the struggling Western Michigan, although they will still have to battle, as Western Michigan possesses a hitting percentage of .213. They also average an impressive 12.68 kills/set and 15.22 digs/set. They are also desperately fighting to stay alive in the conference standings, where they are currently tied for 10th.
It will be an important weekend for the Falcons, as they are third in the MAC East standings, and are looking to gain momentum to stay alive in a tight race for the conference championship. With six games left in the regular season, the Falcons are in good position to make a lot of noise in the conference tournament, and potentially make a run for the national championship.
