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Saturday Volleyball results
Bowling Green 3, Miami 0
Kent State 3, Akron 2
Buffalo 3, Northern Illinois 1
Ball State 3, Eastern Michigan 0
Ohio 3, Central Michigan 2
Western Michigan 3, Toledo 0
 
Ball State 3, Eastern Michigan 0 | Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team scored the first two points Saturday afternoon and never looked back, earning a dominating 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-16) sweep over Eastern Michigan inside Worthen Arena.

It is the Cardinals' (16-8; 9-4 Mid-American Conference) sixth consecutive victory and bumps the squad into third place in the league standings. To get there, Ball State turned in of its best defensive efforts of the season, led by some spectacular backcourt play from freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter.

Ledbetter would lead all players with 15 digs in the match, including several spectacular digs on hard Eagles (13-14; 7-6 MAC) shots down the line. She also finished the match with a perfect reception percentage on 11 attempts, while dishing out a pair of assists.

Along with the solid backcourt effort, which saw the Cardinals out-dig EMU by a 36-to-25 margin, Ball State posted 11.0 total blocks in the win.

Leading the BSU effort at the net were graduate middle Aayinde Smith, sophomore middle Gwen Crulland junior opposite Madison Buckley with five total blocks apiece.

On the offensive front, freshman outside Carson Tyler led all players with 12 digs, while Buckley added nine to go along with her five total blocks. Redshirt sophomore opposite Aniya Kennedy also had a solid night, blasting seven kills and hitting a match-best .600 (6-1-7).

Overall, the Cardinals hit .263 as a squad, with senior setter Megan Wielonski dishing out 14 assists and sophomore setter Lindsey Green adding 12.

Ball State also turned in a solid effort from behind the service line, with six total aces. Three of those came from junior outside Katie Egenolf, while junior setter Josie Bloom added two. In addition, Wielonski served up her 186th career ace and needs five to tie and six to break the program record of 191 set by Stacy Jordan (1982-85).

The Ball State women's volleyball team closes out the road portion of its 2024 regular season slate next weekend with a pair of key matches at Toledo. The Cardinals and Rockets will play at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday at Savage Arena.
 
Bowling Green 3, Miami 0 | Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team tallied a 3-0 sweep over the Miami RedHawks on Saturday (Nov. 2), advancing to 16-8 on the season and 11-2 in MAC play. With results from around the conference, the Falcons now have sole possession of first place in the MAC standings with five matches remaining in the regular season. Bowling Green will return to the court on Tuesday (Nov. 5), hosting the rival Toledo Rockets in the Battle of I-75. 

Falcon Stat Leaders 
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (12)
Assists: Amanda Otten (40)
Digs: Lindsey LaPinta (12)
Aces: Lauryn Hovey (3)
Blocks: Alexis Mettille (5)

Up Next
BGSU will return home on Tuesday (Nov. 5) to host the rival Toledo Rockets in the second leg of the Battle of I-75 for a 6 p.m. first serve. With it being Election Day, fans can present their "I Voted" sticker for free admission. 
 
Buffalo 3, Northern Illinois 1 | Box Score
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (14-13, 10-4 MAC) completed the series sweep of Northern Illinois with a 3-1 win over the Huskies on Saturday afternoon (25-20, 35-30, 17-25, 25-15). On the season, the Bulls are now 10-1 at home.

Buffalo hit .293 on the day to improve to 13-0 this season when they hit at least .201, while holding the Huskies to a .226 hitting percentage.

The Bulls were paced offensively by Abby Leigh and Katrin Trebichavska who combined for 34 of UB's 58 kills. Mandy Leigh recorded a double-double with 47 assists and 14 digs while Maria Futey added 23 digs.

The Bulls are back in action next weekend at Ohio.
 
Kent State 3, Akron 2 | Box Score
KENT, Ohio – Junior Kendall White totaled 37 assists, 12 digs, and nine kills as Kent State beat rival Akron, 3-2 (25-21, 25-14, 24-26, 8-25, 15-9), on Saturday at the M.A.C. Center to split the season series.

The Golden Flashes (2-21, 1-12 MAC) only trailed for a handful of points and posted a .339 team hitting percentage en route to a 2-0 lead in the match. The Zips stayed alive with a narrow 26-24 victory in set three and seemed to have all the momentum after winning the fourth decisively.

After losing the first two points in the fifth set, a kill by graduate student Breanna Burrell put Kent State on the board and started a 6-1 run. The Flashes did not drop consecutive points the rest of the way and hit at a .556 clip to secure the victory.

Junior Mackenzie McGuire led the attack with 17 kills. White and senior Anna Shoemake added nine kills each.

Kent State totaled 13 blocks as a team, as redshirt sophomore Liliana Mechura (6), freshman Nadia Miller (5), and Shoemake (5) all either set a new career-high or matched their previous one.

The Flashes will return to action on Tuesday to host Ohio at 6 p.m. in an Election Night matchup.
 
Ohio 3, Central Michigan 2 | Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (11-13, 7-6 MAC) won a five-set battle (25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 24-26, 15-13) and upset Central Michigan (19-6, 10-3 MAC) 3-2 in front of a record-breaking crowd on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Senior Makenna Schafer led the team with a career-high 18 kills in addition to 18.0 points. Junior Anna Kharchynska also recorded a team-high 18 kills and led the Bobcats with 21.0 points. Sophomores Kam Hunt and Olivia Gardner combined for 20 kills and 23.5 points.

Ohio's starting setter, freshman Bryn Janke led the team with a career-high 51 assists.

Defensively, graduate student Elizabeth Hoerlein \tallied a career-high nine blocks. Sophomore Kendall Hickey finished with a team-high 11 digs.

The Bobcats once again started strong by winning the first two sets 25-21 and 25-20. Central Michigan fought back by claiming sets three and four, 25-20 and 26-24. After trading points back and forth throughout an important fourth set, Central Michigan pulled through with two straight points and forced a fifth set. In a very close fifth set, the Bobcats came out on top with a 15-13 win.

The Bobcats will be back in action when they travel to Kent State on Tuesday, Nov. 5. This match is set to start at 6 p.m. ET.
 
Western Michigan 3, Toledo 0 | Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team had five different players record five or more kills on Saturday as it swept Toledo (27-25, 25-19, 25-10) for the second consecutive night. It was the season-high sixth straight win for the Broncos.

Logan Case handed out 33 assists, with Julia Marr and Madison Merz benefitting from Case's distribution with a team-high 10 kills apiece. Anna Calcagno (6 kills), Keona Salesman (6), and Mary Clare Brusek (5) all added to WMU's offensive balance.

On the defensive side, three Broncos recorded double-digit digs, led by Andelyn Simkins' 18. Reeghan Boyer had 12 digs and Carley Piercefield chipped in 10.

The Broncos look to extend their winning streak on Tuesday evening as they travel to DeKalb, Ill., to face NIU. First serve is scheduled for 7 pm on ESPN+.