Previews courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The 204 Mid-American Conference Regular Season Champion Bowling Green will host this year's Championship at the Stroh Center on Nov. 22-24. The tournament champion will earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Volleyball Championship.
MAC Volleyball Tournament | Bowling Green, Ohio | Nov. 22-24
Friday, November 22
Match 1: No. 4 Western Michigan vs. No. 5 Buffalo, 4:00 pm ET (ESPN+)
Match 2: No. 3 Ball State vs. No. 6 Toledo, 6:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
Saturday, November 23rd
Match 3: No. 1 Bowling Green vs. Match 1 Winner, 4:00 pm ET (ESPN+)
Match 4: No. 2 Central Michigan vs. Match 2 Winner, 6:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
Sunday, November 24th
Championship Match: Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner, 4 pm ET (ESPN+)
At the service line…
Bowling Green
The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will host the 2024 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Tournament at the Stroh Center this weekend (Nov. 22-24). Following a MAC Regular Season title, the Falcons earned the right to host the entirety of the MAC Tournament. Bowling Green will receive a first-round bye with their match scheduled for Saturday (Nov. 23) at 4 p.m. After the first-round matches, a full BGSU preview will be released once an opponent is known. General tournament information can be found below.
Central Michigan
Central Michigan enters the 2024 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed after finishing MAC play with a 15-3 record and 20-6 overall. The team recorded their winningest season since 1983 when they went 30-6 (.833) the 15-3 MAC record (.833) is also the highest winning percentage in conference play since 1983, the first year CMU was in the MAC.
Mike Gawlik ends the regular season with the most overall and conference wins in his head coaching career after taking control of the program in 2016. In 2019, Gawlik was named MAC Coach of the Year. His record ending the regular season is 137-122 (.528).
Ball State
The No. 3 seed Ball State women's volleyball team opens postseason play Friday when it battles No. 6 seed Toledo in the 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal match of the 2024 MAC Women's Volleyball Championship. It is the second quarterfinal match of the day, with the winner advancing to face No. 2 seed Central Michigan on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The entire tournament will be hosted by No. 1 seed Bowling Green and will be played at the Stroh Center. With a 13-5 league mark in 2024, Ball State maintained its status as the winningest program in league play with a 459-225 (.671) all-time Mid-American Conference mark.
Western Michigan
The No. 4 seed Western Michigan volleyball team begins its run at the 2024 MAC Volleyball Championship on Friday afternoon with a quarterfinal match against No. 5 seed Buffalo in Bowling Green, Ohio. The winner takes on top seed and regular season champion Bowling Green on Saturday in the tournament's semifinal round. The Broncos have enjoyed a lot of success at the MAC Championship, compiling a 42-28 record and capturing seven tournament titles. WMU beat Toledo and Bowling Green to win last year's tournament in Kalamazoo.
Buffalo
The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (16-15, 12-6 MAC) looks to win the program's first Mid-American Conference (MAC) title this weekend in Bowling Green, Ohio. The five-seeded Bulls will play the four-seeded Western Michigan Broncos (17-12, 13-5 MAC) in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 4 p.m. The MACtion can be seen on ESPN+. In the MAC Tournament, Buffalo is just 4-15 overall in 15 appearances. Under Head Coach
Scott Smith, the Bulls are 2-3 in three appearances. This will mark the Bulls’ third straight season making the MAC Tournament, their best stretch since the tournament went to a six-team field in 2018. In 2022, the Bulls made it to their first MAC Semifinal after upsetting the three-seeded Ohio Bobcats, 3-1. Last season, the Bulls earned a first-round bye as they won the MAC East Division title.
Toledo
The Toledo women's volleyball team will face Ball State in the 2024 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Tournament quarterfinals on Friday. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. from the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio, and will air on
ESPN+. Friday's match marks the fourth consecutive season that the Rockets will be in the conference tournament. The winner of the Buffalo/Western Michigan match will face the No. 1 seed Bowling Green at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, while the winner of the Toledo/Ball State matchup meets No. 2-seed Central Michigan at 6:30 p.m. Toledo finished the regular season with a 10-8 conference record, marking the fourth-straight season the Rockets have won double-digit conference game and advanced to the MAC tournament.
