The season is over for the BG volleyball team as they dropped both games to Ohio and Kent State during the weekend, making them ineligible for the conference tournament.
BG finished the regular season with a 7-21 overall record with a 4-12 conference record.
In the teams’ first game they faced off against the top team in the Mid-American Conference in the Ohio Bobcats where they lost in three straight sets.
BG was not able hold back the dominance of the Bobcats and could not execute their gameplan.
“We knew in order to beat Ohio, we had to run a very disciplined and efficient offense,” said head coach Danijlea Tomic. “Unfortunately that did not happen … and the final score was the result of that.”
BG stood their ground in the first set, but lost 25-20. In the second set, BG held firm against the Bobcats taking a lead at one point 16-11. But Ohio ramped up the intensity with a 7-0 run and took a 20-17 lead. The Bobcats finished on a 5-3 run to win the second set 25-20.
The Bobcats then rode the momentum all the way to the finish line as they cruised by BG in the third set 25-14 to get the win and remain undefeated in conference play at 15-0.
BG struggled mightily throughout the game getting a team low .067 attack percentage and only garnering 23 kills of the contest. The team had some good individual performances from sophomore Madeline Garda who had 25 digs. Seniors Erica Fullenkamp had 20 assists and three aces and Kelsey Bates had four kills and four blocks.
With the loss on Friday, BG was officially eliminated from the MAC tournament.
“Great teams are able to prevent their opponents from executing their game plan,” Tomic said. “We had one of our worst offensive performances of the year against the best team in the conference … and that’s what happened to us.”
BG then closed out the season in its final game with a loss to Kent State 25-23, 25-22, 27-29, 25-20, a team that they previously swept at home.
In the initial set, the Golden Flashes went on a 6-1 run to end the set with a 25-23 win. Kent State then went on a 3-0 run to close the second set out.
In the third set, BG won 29-27 after a Golden Flashes error followed by a kill from freshman Nicole Slimko.
In the fourth, Kent State finished it off as they went on a 9-2 run to end the set and the match after BG was up 18-16 at one point.
BG finished with sophomore Jelena Sunjic and Slimko posting 15 kills while freshman Paige O’Connor had 10 kills and Garda had 24 digs.
Despite ending the season in a loss Tomic was proud of how her team played over the course of the season.
“I am proud of the team and how hard we fought,” Tomic said. “We have grown so much as a team this year and the future is bright for our program.”
The BG volleyball team will now enter into the off-season bringing back 11 of the 13 players looking to improve and become a force in collegiate volleyball.
