Courtesy of MAC Sport Information Departments
Bowling Green 3, Ohio 2
Box Score
Athens, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball program kicked off the conference portion of their schedule with a comeback victory at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio over the Ohio Bobcats. After falling behind 2-0, the Falcons rallied back to win the match in five sets, culminating in a come-from-behind fifth set win. The victory puts the Falcons at 1-0 to begin conference play with a 7-6 overall standing. As for the Bobcats, they will begin MAC play 0-1, also with a 7-6 record.
Set Scores
Set 1 - Ohio 25, Bowling Green 23
Set 2 - Ohio 25, Bowling Green 21
Set 3 - Bowling Green 25, Ohio 14
Set 4 - Bowling Green 25, Ohio 16
Set 5 - Bowling Green 15, Ohio 13
Play-By-Play Notes
Down 18-13 in the first set, the Falcons went on a 3-0 run to bring the score to 18-16, putting Bowling Green right back in the set.
The Orange and Brown would supply a few more runs, but the Bobcats were able to withstand them to win the first set 25-23.
In the second set, Bowling Green came out firing, jumping out to a 6-1 advantage.
OU would fight back into the set with the score remaining close until the Bobcats pulled away for a 25-21 second set win to increase their lead to 2-0.
To begin the third set, the Falcons once again jumped out in front, taking a 4-0 lead.
In all, BGSU dominated the third set, winning 25-14 becoming the first visiting team in the Convocation Center to win a set against Ohio this season.
The Falcons rolled their momentum into the fourth set as well, beginning up 7-0, keeping the score in their favor with the margin as deep as 17-10.
With a score of 25-16, Bowling Green knocked down a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set with Ohio.
In the fifth and final set the Falcons completed the comeback, winning 15-13 to claim the MAC opener victory.
Strong Individual Performances
Isabelle Marciniak led the Falcons statistically, notching her sixth double-double of the season, recording 32 assists along with 19 digs.
Julia Walz joined Marciniak in recording a double-double, the first of her career, with 19 digs and a career-high 13 assists.
Jacqueline Askin also logged a double-double, making three for BGSU in the match. Askin's came by way of 13 kills and 10 digs.
As for kills, Petra Indrova surpassed the 20-mark for the second time this season, totaling 21 to lead the team in the category. Along with the 21 kills, Indrova had a hitting percentage of .312.
Katelyn Meyer also contributed 12 kills to the effort. Meyer has now logged at least seven kills in all 13 matches for Bowling Green this year.
Up Next
Bowling Green will next face Kent State as they continue their opening weekend of conference play on Saturday (Sept. 28). The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. first serve in Kent, Ohio.
The Falcons will return to the Stroh Center next week to kickoff the home portion of their conference schedule, taking on Akron on Friday (Oct. 4) and Buffalo on Saturday (Oct. 5)
The match against Akron will have a first serve of 6 p.m. and will be an Orange Out for all Falcon fans with the first 50 receiving a free t-shirt.
As for Buffalo on Saturday, the match will begin at 5 p.m. and will be Heroes Day. The first 100 fans will receive a Freddie Falcon Military Bobblehead. Following the match will also be player autographs.
Central Michigan 3, Northern Illinois 1
Box Score
DEKALB, ILL – Kalina Smith had 16 kills on Friday as the Central Michigan volleyball team won its Mid-American Conference opener, taking down Northern Illinois in four sets to run its win streak to six games.
The Chippewas won the first set, 25-23, then dropped the second, 23-25. CMU rebounded to take the third, 25-21, and then closed it out with by taking the fourth, 25-16.
It was CMU's first win in DeKalb since 2010. The Chippewas are 11-2. NIU is 3-12.
"I thought we did some really nice things at times," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "We made some silly errors in set two, but all in all, outside of set two, we played a disciplined match, and had a lot of people contribute both defensively and offensively.
"I thought it was a really good program win to get out of the gates quickly, and win a match on the road."
How It Happened
After dropping the second set, the Chippewas rebounded and got hot late in the third, closing with an 11-4 run to take the set and go up 2-1 in the match. They finished the fourth set on a 7-2 run.
"I thought (set two) was a set where we outplayed NIU in a lot of ways," Gawlik said. "We just made some silly mental errors. We were getting the looks we wanted at times (but) we weren't able to capitalize on them enough.
"A mature team finds a way to rally from not playing their best. We actually made a push to steal the (second) set. I feel like if we've made our push three points earlier, we would have stolen the set. But I was proud of the way we rebounded in sets three and four in hostile territory."
Leaders
Sierra Gray added 11 kills for the Chippewas, while Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez, Anna Erickson, and Megan Sivertsen had eight kills apiece. Rosario-Martinez, who posted a team-high for blocks, finished with a .400 hitting percentage, Siversten with a .316.
Also for CMU, Kendall Braate and Grace Butler had 25 and 21 assists, respectively, and Megan Kern finished with 18 digs.
Numbers
CMU finished with a hitting percentage of .250, compared to NIU's .096. The Chippewas posted 54 kills, a season high for a four-set match.
Next
The Chippewas will head to Kalamazoo on Saturday to take on Western Michigan (5 p.m.) in a MAC game at the Broncos' University Arena.
WMU is 10-3 after topping Eastern Michigan in straight sets on Friday in its MAC opener.
The game will follow the CMU-WMU football game at Waldo Stadium. Any fan who has a ticket to the football game can use that ticket for admission to the volleyball game.
Miami 3, Kent State 0
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – The Miami University volleyball team got Mid-American Conference play off to the right start as it earned a 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-18) win over Kent State on Friday. The RedHawks improve to 6-6 overall and 1-0 in the MAC. The Golden Flashes fall to 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the MAC.
There were a lot of long rallies between the two teams as they combined for 144 digs in only three sets. Senior libero Abigail Huser led Miami with 19 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Gaby Harper provided her usual great all-around play. Harper finished with a double-double of 12 kills and a season-high 18 digs.
"Both our setters settled into a solid game and this allowed a variety of hitters to disarm Kent," said head coach Carolyn Condit. "(Kent State) played a strong match at home working our passers and forcing our hitters to be creative."
Set one remained tight early as neither team established more than a one point advantage until three straight points for Kent State gave it an 11-9 lead. Back-to-back kills from senior middle hitter Margaret Payne and senior outside hitter Taylor Daignault quickly pulled Miami even. The Golden Flashes went on a 5-2 run to build their largest lead at 16-13. Sophomore outside hitter Sophie Riemersma had two kills and a block as part of a 6-3 answer that tied the score at 19. Tied at 22 a block from Payne and a KSU ball handling error gave the RedHawks set point. After the Flashes fought it off once, a kill from junior right side hitter Sarah Wojick off an assist from sophomore setter Louise Comerford finished off a 25-23 victory.
Kills from Daignault, Harper, Riemersma and junior setter Morgan Seaman helped Miami jump to a 5-3 lead to begin set two. A 5-1 run for Kent State put it on top, 8-6. Wojick had two more kills, while junior middle hitter Avarie Powell had one to get the score tied at 12. The Golden Flashes eventually took an 18-16 advantage. Kills from Harper and Powell, a block by Wojick and Powell, back-to-back service aces from Comerford and another kill from Harper seemingly put the RedHawks in control at 22-18. Kent State did not give up, fighting off two set points as part of a 6-2 run that tied the score at 24. Miami answered however, as back-to-back kills from Daignault and Payne gave it a 26-24 victory.
Riemersma had two kills and two service aces as the RedHawks opened up a 9-3 lead to begin set three. Kent State fought right back, answering with a 10-3 run to take a 13-12 advantage of its own. A kill from Wojick and a service ace by Harper quickly put Miami back in front again. The Flashes scored next, but Daignault, Powell and Harper each scored kills to give the 'Hawks a lead they would not relinquish. Harper recorded two more kills as Miami took a 25-18 win to take the victory in straight sets.
Riemersma finished with nine kills for the RedHawks, while Wojick put down eight. Daignault had seven kills and 13 digs. Each setter recorded 20 assists, while Comerford joined Riemersma with three service aces.
Miami remains on the road as it travels to Ohio for the Battle of the Bricks Saturday. First serve is at 5 p.m. and it will air live on ESPN+.
Western Michigan 3, Eastern Michigan 0
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – In its first Mid-American Conference match of the season, the Western Michigan volleyball team swept its in-state rival Eastern Michigan (25-16, 25-17, 27-25) on Friday night inside University Arena.
Against the Eagles the Broncos recorded a stellar .348 attack percentage as five Broncos had an attack percentage of .400. On the defensive end, WMU held EMU to a .148 attack percentage while registering five blocks.
Leading the way for the Brown & Gold was junior Rachel Bontrager with 15 kills and a .419 attack percentage. Bontrager also amassed six digs and two solo blocks. Behind Bontrager was freshman Maggie King with nine kills along with one block and four digs. The sophomore duo of Meredith Phillips and Janell Williams ranked third with eight kills each.
In her quest for 2,000 career digs, senior Kathleen Reilly amassed 13 digs against EMU and is now just two away from becoming the third player in program history to eclipse the 2,000 mark. Junior Mary Marzo led the way with 27 assists and nearly notched a double-double with eight digs.
WMU recorded its third sweep of the season and improved its overall record to 10-3, 1-0 in MAC play. The Broncos are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 5:00 p.m. against in-state rival Central Michigan.
Set One (WMU – 25, EMU – 16)
The Broncos trailed for just two points in the first set and recorded a .400 attack percentage en route to the 25-16 set one victory.
After regaining the lead early in the first, the Broncos rattled off multiple points to gain a 14-8 advantage and force the Eagles to call a timeout. WMU extended its lead later in the set thanks to back-to-back kills from Phillips and Williams to take a 20-14 lead.
The Broncos ended the first on a 7-2 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set Two (WMU – 25, EMU – 17)
WMU got off to a fast start in the second, embarking on a 6-0 run midway through the set to take a 13-7 lead. The Broncos extended their lead later in the set after a Bontrager kill followed by a WMU block sparked a 4-0 run and gave WMU a 22-13 advantage. WMU ended the set with back-to-back kills from King to earn a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set Three (WMU – 27, EMU – 25)
The third and final set was a battle between the Broncos and the Eagles as the two teams traded points early and often en route to a 13-13 tie. However, WMU responded with a stellar 6-0 run to gain a 19-13 lead.
EMU responded back late and fought its way back to tie the match at 22-22. After the two teams traded points and the scored tied at 25-25, the Brown & Gold got a kill from Bontrager along with a block from King and redshirt sophomore Charley Andrews for the set and match victory.
