BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will return to action for the 2024 campaign on Friday (Aug. 30), hosting the Best Western Invitational. Bowling Green will welcome three opponents to the Stroh Center for the invite. This year's invitational will feature Chicago State, who made an NIVC appearance in 2023, Illinois, who went 11-9 in Big Ten play last year, and Cincinnati, who is entering their second season as a member of the Big 12 conference.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, Aug. 30Illinois vs. Cincinnati | 3 p.m. | YouTube
Bowling Green vs. Chicago State | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Cincinnati vs. Chicago State | 3 p.m. | YouTube
Bowling Green vs. Illinois | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Bowling Green vs. Cincinnati | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
At The Matches
A note for the season, the Stroh Center is now a cashless venue this season. Parking, concessions, etc. will all be cashless during the 2024-25 seasons across BGSU athletics.
Friday, Aug. 30
The first match of the weekend for the Falcons will mark the home opener as well as the season opener. Fans are asked to wear orange as part of the season's first Orange Wave. Additionally, the team will be unveiling Mo and Jon Stansbery Court prior to the match. Fans looking to witness the unveiling should arrive at the Stroh Center early for the match.
Additionally, the first 200 fans will receive a free t-shirt for the court unveiling. For students, there will be free pizza above the students section for the first 150 students.
Saturday, Aug. 31
The weekend color schemes will continue on Saturday for Bowling Green with a White Out against Illinois. Fans are asked to wear white for the Falcons. The first 200 students who arrive at the match will receive a free white t-shirt for the White Out. After the match there will be autographs with the team on the main concourse.
Sunday, Sept. 1
The opening weekend will conclude on Sunday with the third and final main color for BGSU. Against Cincinnati, Bowling Green will "Paint the Town Brown" with fans being asked to wear brown to the match. The first 200 students who arrive at the match will receive a free brown t-shirt for the Paint the Town Brown theme.
BGVB To Unveil New Taraflex Court
Bowling Green will be one of four teams in the MAC this year to add a Taraflex Court, a new state-of-the-art playing surface that will optimize player performance while minimizing the risk of injury. The new Taraflex floor will be named the "Mo and Jon Stansbery Court" and will be officially unveiled on Aug. 30 prior to BGSU's first match in the Best Western Invitational, set for 6 p.m. against Chicago State.
NCAA Rule Changes Ahead of 2024
Ahead of the 2024 season, the NCAA has made a few rule changes to the sport of volleyball. Most noteworthy, double hits are now eliminated during the second contact if the ball is next contacted by a teammate. If the second hit is an attack, the double-hit rule still applies, as it does on the first and third contacts. Additionally, teams can now designate up to two libers. A maximum of one libero may be on the court during play, but both designated liberos may serve. The liberos can serve in only one position in the service order. If a team designates two liberos, they may exchange during any dead ball, including after replay or timeouts.
First Serve
- Bowling Green is entering the program's 49th varsity season with the program beginning during the 1976 season. This year will mark the 42nd season in the Mid-American Conference for BGVB, officially joining the sport in the MAC in 1983.
- The Best Western Invitational this season will mark the first time BGSU will open the season at home since the 2020-21 campaign, beginning that season with Northern Illinois. The last time BGSU opened the season with a home invitational was in 2017, hosting UIC, Duquesne and Xavier.
- Head Coach Danijela Tomic is entering her 13th season at the helm of the Falcons, starting with BGSU in 2012. Tomic is the fourth head coach in BGVB history and the second-longest tenured behind Denise Van De Walle's 29 seasons (1983-2011).
- With the retirement of long-time Miami (OH) head coach Carolyn Condit, BGSU's Coach Tomic is now the second-longest tenured head coach in the MAC for women's volleyball, trailing only Western Michigan's Colleen Munson who enters her 20th campaign with Western Michigan. Condit previously held the top spot, spending 40 seasons with the RedHawks.
- In addition to Coach Tomic's rank among the MAC as a head coach, BGSU's coaching staff as a whole enters the season as the longest tenured full-time staff in the conference. The staff, consisting of Tomic and associate head coaches Alex DelPiombo and Alison Cooke, is entering their eighth season together. DelPiombo has been at BGSU for nine seasons while Cooke is entering her eighth.
Scouting Chicago State
Chicago State is coming off a 13-9 record during the 2023 season, including an NIVC appearance. Playing independent from a conference, the Cougars took on Drake in the first round of the NIVC, falling in three sets. The Chicago State lineup will look a little different this year following the graduation of All-American outside hitter Yanlis Feliz and middle blocker Mesalina Severino, both who signed professional contracts. This year, Chicago State will roster 10 players, consisting of one freshman, three sophom*ores, four juniors and two graduate students.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois is coming off a 16-14 campaign in the 2023 season, including an 11-9 Big Ten record. The Fighting Illini started last season with a 4-1 record, including a win over MAC foe Northern Illinois. They finished the season with losses to Minnesota and Northwestern in the regular season, despite winning six-straight in conference play from Oct. 15-Nov. 1. Going into the season, the Illinois roster will feature four true freshmen, two redshirt freshmen, two true sophom*ores, two redshirt sophom*ores, one true junior, two redshirt juniors, three seniors and two graduate students.
Scouting Cincinnati
Cincinnati is coming off a 2023 season that resulted in a 12-16 record while going 5-13 in their inaugural Big 12 season. In non-conference, Cincinnati went 6-2 with their only losses coming in five sets to South Carolina and four sets to Xavier. The Bearcats season ended with three consecutive losses to Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa State with the OSU and ISU losses being in five sets. This season, Cincinnati's roster will feature six freshmen, five true sophom*ores, one redshirt sophom*ore, three juniors, four seniors and one fifth-year student-athlete.
Andrews Nearing Block Milestone
Junior middle blocker Jessica Andrews is entering the 2024 campaign on the brink of a career milestone. Andrews has logged 198 career total blocks, needing just two more to reach the 200-mark for her BGSU career. Additionally, she has 28 career solo blocks, needing to reach a total of 30 to enter the Top 10 during the program's Rally Scoring Era (2001-Present). The Rally Scoring Era record is held by Katie Kidwell with 80, which ranks 10th in the overall program record book.
Hovey Eyes Aces List
During the 2023 season, Lauryn Hovey landed 59 aces, ranking second in program history for a single-season, 18th in the country and led the MAC. Thanks to the strong season, Hovey is closing in on a few marks on the all-time lists. Currently her 85 career aces are tied for ninth during BGSU's Rally Scoring Era, needing five to jump up to a tie for seventh with 90. As for the overall program list, Hovey needs to reach 107 career aces, needing 22 more, to tie Julia Walz for 10th all-time.
No Place Like Home
The Falcons will begin the 2024 season at home in the Stroh Center for the first time since 2020-21 and will host a home invitational, the Best Western Invitational, to begin the season for the first time since 2017. Last season, the Falcons posted a 9-4 record when playing at the Stroh Center, the team's eighth consecutive season with a winning record at home. Under the current full-time staff, dating back to the 2017 season, the Falcons hold a record of 68-20 (.773) as well as 40-7 (.851) over the last four seasons.
New Faces For The Falcons
With a roster of 18 players, Bowling Green welcomes nine newcomers this year, consisting of six freshmen and three transfers. The six freshmen are the most since the team added six freshmen ahead of the 2020 campaign. The 2016 roster also welcomed six freshmen. The nine newcomers are the most for the program since adding nine before the 2013 campaign, consisting of eight freshmen and one graduate student from another BGSU sport. As for the transfers, the three will mark the first for the Falcons during the Coach Tomic Era.
International Ties
The 2024 Falcons will include six international players for BGSU, representing three different countries. The six tie for the most during the Coach Tomic Era at Bowling Green, matching last season's total. The Orange and Brown will have three student-athletes from Canada with Jessica Andrews, Lauryn Hovey and Isabelle Laube. The team will also have two players from Poland, more specifically two players from Katowice, Poland, with Anna Sitek and Edyta Waclawczyk. Marija Tabak rounds out the list, representing Croatia on the roster.
Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons volleyball team on social media
Twitter - @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUVolleyball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsuvolleyball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics' and 'Bowling Green State University Volleyball'
TikTok - @bgsuvolleyball
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'
