Women's Volleyball

Eagles Tally First #MACtion win of the Year

Thursday Volleyball results
Western Michigan 3, Akron 1
Bowling Green 3, Northern Illinois
Eastern Michigan 3, Kent State 0
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Western Michigan 3, Akron 1 | Box Score 
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team came back after dropping the first set and facing a six-point deficit late in the fourth to earn a 3-1 victory (21-25, 25-17, 25-22, 27-25) over Akron on Thursday evening.  
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Akron 1
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (7-12, 4-2 MAC) | Akron (8-9, 1-5 MAC)
 
Western Michigan made it six straight matches to start conference play with double-digit blocks as it racked up a season-high 13, led by Leah Richmond'ssix rejections (3 solo, 3 assists). WMU's redshirt freshman setter filled up the stats sheet, registering her 10th consecutive double-double (43 assists, 13 digs) and tallying a career-high seven kills to go with her six blocks.
 
Molly Brown and Mary Clare Brusek paced the Broncos with 12 kills apiece, with each hitting above .300 for the night. Mia Jurkovic was also in double-figures with 10 kills. In addition to her kills, Brown aided the WMU scoring effort with a match-high five service aces and four blocks. Reeghan Boyer registered a team-leading 18 digs for the night, with Elana Erickson (13), Richmond (13) and Carley Piercefield (10) joining Boyer in double-figures.
  
The Broncos and Zips are back at it again on Friday for Western Michigan's annual Dig Pink match. First serve is once again set for 5 pm and all fans in attendance are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness. 


Bowling Green 3, Northern Illinois | Box Score 
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team stormed back for a 3-1 win over the Northern Illinois Huskies Thursday night (Oct. 9). After falling in the first set, the Falcons flipped the script on the attack to rattle off three-straight set wins to secure the match. In the process, the Falcons hit .392 as a team, breaking the program's Rally Scoring Era record for hitting percentage in a four-set match, a record that had stood for just shy of 17 years. Additionally, Bowling Green landed 13 aces as a team, matching the program record for aces in a four-set match during the Rally Scoring Era. BGSU and NIU will be back in action Friday night (Oct. 10) at the Stroh Center with a 6 p.m. first serve. 

Falcon Stat Leaders 
Kills: Jessica Andrews (12
Assists: Anna Sitek (27)
Digs: Sydnie Hernandez (13)
Aces: Sydnie Hernandez (5)
Blocks: Jessica Andrews (6)

Falcon Stat Facts
  • As a team, the Falcons landed a season-high 13 aces. The mark ties the Rally Scoring Era record for aces in a four-set match, doing so previously against Eastern Michigan during the 2021 season.
  • After hitting .194 in the first set, the Falcons went on to hit .485 over the second, third and fourth sets combined. The increase improved the team's hitting percentage in the match to an impressive .392, the highest hitting percentage for the team this season. 
  • The .392 hitting percentage for BGSU sets a new Rally Scoring Era record for the program for a four-set match, previously at .357 against Buffalo in 2008. The mark came just shy of the all-time record, set at .402 against Northern Illinois in 1989. 
  • On the flip side, NIU hit .351 in the first set before the Falcons changed the tone. From the second set on, the Falcons held the Huskies to a -.015, resulting in a .114 hitting percentage for the match.
  • Sydnie Hernandez led the Falcons in the aces category, landing a career-high five, the most by a Falcon this season. Additionally, Hernandez paced the team in digs with 13. She now has 252 digs this season, surpassing her previous career-high of 245 from last year. 
  • Jessica Andrews led Bowling Green in both kills and blocks. For kills, she landed 12 to become the fifth different Falcon to lead the team in the stat this season. Additionally, her 12 kills came on 17 error-free attacks for a .706 hitting percentage. As for blocks, she registered six, including the team's lone solo block.
  • Anna Sitek made her first start of the season for Bowling Green and nearly posted a double-double. She finished with a team-high 27 assists while adding eight digs, three aces and a block assist with both the digs and aces totals setting new career highs.
  • Isabelle Laube joined Sitek in the setter role over the course of the match. Entering with a previous career-high of two assists in a match, Laube tallied 13 for the Falcons while adding a pair of aces that matched her career-high as well. 
  • Avery Hobson added 10 kills for the Falcons while Edyta Waclawczyk landed nine. Waclawczyk maintained a .304 hitting percentage as well, landing the nine kills on 23 attempts with just two errors. 
  • Marija Tabak landed her first six kills of the season and added her first three block assists as well. The three block assists also set a new career-high for her.
  • With the win, the Falcons remain undefeated at home this season with a 4-0 record. Going back to last season, BGSU has now won nine consecutive regular season matches at home. 
Up Next
Bowling Green and Northern Illinois will continue their series on Friday (Oct. 10) with a 6 p.m. first serve. Friday night will be Alumni Night for the Falcons at the Stroh Center. 


Eastern Michigan 3, Kent State 0 | Box Score 
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team earned its way back into the win column with a 3-0 sweep over Kent State University inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center Thursday night, Oct. 9.
 
Eastern had more kills, assists, aces, blocks, and digs than its opponent for the third time this season as the Eagles snapped a six-game losing streak in the victory,
 
Anna Guard led the offense with a season-best 11 kills off a .375 hitting percentage. Ella Grasson landed a career-best five aces as Ashlynn Belcher handled the setting duties, dishing 35 assists.
 
Defensively, Guard, Hatteras Welker, and Wrigley Takats each had three blocks while Surabhi Srinivasan led the team with 14 digs.
  
Match Notes
» Eastern's record improved to 9-10 (1-5 MAC) while Kent State's to 7-10 (2-4 MAC).
» Eastern out-hit its foe (.259 - .155) for the ninth time this season, producing a 9-0 record when doing so. EMU is 23-4 overall under Head Coach Kevin Foeman when out-hitting its opponent.
» Eastern hit over .250 for the fourth time this season. It produces a 5-0 record when doing so.
» Eastern dominated the stat battle as it had more kills (41-35), assists (38-33), aces (11-5), digs (49-47), and blocks (7-5) than its opponent. It marked the third time this season the team has done so, with the last occurrence coming in a sweep over Oakland, Sept. 19.
» Eastern's 11 aces are the most in the MAC in a three-set match this season and rank seventh in terms of value in the nation.
» Guard's 11 kills off a .375 hitting percentage mark the most efficient match of her career when totaling over 10 kills.
» Grasson landed a career-best five aces, the most in the conference in a three-set match while ranking second in single-game aces in all matches. Her five aces are the most from an Eagle since Jordan Smith landed eight against Stoney Brook, Aug. 26, 2017.
» Belcher's totaled 35 assists led the team, marking the 19th time she has done so this season. The performance marked her 12th with at least 30 assists this season and brought her career total up to 25 games.
» Ava Siefke posted eight kills, and three aces, totaling 11 points, marking her 18th time with at least 10 this season.  
» Taeley Mahler drilled nine kills off a blistering .529 attack percentage as she posted 10 or more points for the seventh time this season and 10th in her collegiate tenure.

Historical Notes
» The match marked the 66th between the Eagles and Golden Flashes. Overall, Eastern holds a 42-23-1 mark against the Golden Flashes and a 23-10-1 mark when facing them at home.
» Eastern's 11 aces tie for the fifth most in George Gervin GameAbove Center history and are the most its' totaled in the building since it recorded 13 against Western Michigan, Nov. 9, 2002.
» Grasson's five aces are the most from an Eagle since Jordan Smith landed eight against Stoney Brook, Aug. 26, 2017.
 
Up Next
Eastern faces Kent State once more tomorrow, Oct. 10, 4 p.m. Admission is free at the George Gervin GameAbove Center and fans can stream the game live on ESPN+.