Women's Volleyball

#MACtion Fired Up for Friday Night's Volleyball Results

Friday Volleyball results
Central Michigan 3, Akron 0
Ball State 3, Bowling Green 0
Western Michigan 3, Buffalo 1
Ohio 3, Eastern Michigan 1
Kent State 3, Miami 0
Toledo 3, Northern Illinois 1
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Central Michigan 3, Akron 0 | Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan Volleyball team has seemingly found a new gear – and they are rolling with it in Mid-American Conference play.

On Friday night in McGuirk Arena, CMU defeated Akron in three sets, to grab the second-straight sweep over a MAC opponent, and the third MAC win of the season.

The offense for Central Michigan was led by Natalia Rejment, who charted her third straight double-double. Rejment killed 14 balls and dug 12. Three Chippewas recorded 10+ kills in the match: Rejment, Muell (10), and Swiercz (10).

As a team, Central Michigan hit .361- the highest in a match this season, while holding the Zips to a .198 hitting percentage. At the net, CMU out-blocked Akron 8-5.

The blocking charge for CMU was led by Brooklyn Conner, who charted four and Grace Thomas who blocked three balls. In the last three matches, Conner has tallied 12 blocks (1.2/set). Offensively, Conner also charted 11 kills (.688) out of the middle for the Chippewas, scoring 13.5 points on the night.

Keelyn Muell, who ran the offense for Central Michigan, tallied 42 assists, far surpassing her previous three-set high of 34, achieved in the last victory over Buffalo on October 11th. Muell worked in conjunction with the hitters to lead CMU to 56 kills – the team's most in a three-set match in program history since rally scoring began in 2001.

The previous record was 54 against Toledo on November 4th, 2010.

On Saturday, Central Michigan will face Akron again in the annual Dig Pink game, before heading to Kent State for a two-match road trip. First serve against the Zips is set for 4 p.m. in McGuirk Arena.

Ball State 3, Bowling Green 0 | Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team wrapped up the first half of the 2025 Mid-American Conference season with a statement, completing a series sweep of defending MAC regular season champion Bowling Green with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-23) victory Friday night at the Stroh Center.

The win runs the Cardinals (13-8; 9-0 MAC) current winning streak to nine matches and gives BSU at least a two-match advantage in the MAC standings, as all other conference teams had at least two league losses entering the day.

While the Falcons (12-9; 6-3 MAC) were able to hold sophomore outside Carson Tyler to nine kills, her first match to end in single digits this season, it did not stop her from making a huge impact. She also served up two more aces, collected eight digs and added a pair of block assists to help the Cardinals secure the victory.

Tyler was one of three Cardinals to score nine kills on the night, as she was joined by junior middle Gwen Crull and sophomore opposite Tiffany Snook. In addition, graduate outside Noelle VanOort added eight and junior middle Camryn Wise secured six to help the Ball State offense keep the Falcons off balance on defense the entire night.

Crull also made a big impact at the net, securing a team-high five blocks to help limit the BGSU offense to a .228 (42-16-114) attack percentage. On Ball State's side of the net, junior setter Lindsey Green and freshman setter Reese Axness handed out 19 and 12 assists, respectively, guiding the Cardinals to a .291 (43-13-103) rate of success.

Green would join Tyler with two service aces, helping BSU hold a 4-to-3 edge in the match. Ball State also capitalize on 10 BGSU service errors, compared to just five for the Cardinals.

In the backcourt, sophomore libero Sophie Ledbetter racked up a team-high 12 digs, while sophomore defensive specialist Elizabeth Tabeling added eight.

In just her second MAC match this season, Lauryn Hovey led the Bowling Green attack with 12 kills, dished out 17 assists and served up an ace. BGSU's Sydnie Hernandez led all players with 17 digs, while Helen Wilford recorded a match-best six total blocks.

The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action next weekend, when it hosts Ohio for a two-match series. Friday's contest, which will serve as Dig Pink Night, starts at 6 p.m. Saturday's match will be the Cardinals' annual Chirp or Treat with trick-or-treating starting on the Worthen Arena concourse at 3 p.m. as a prelude to a 4 p.m. first serve.

Western Michigan 3, Buffalo 1 | Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Senior Reeghan Boyer eclipsed the 1,000-dig mark for her collegiate career on Friday night and helped Western Michigan to a 3-1 win (26-24, 23-25, 27-25, 25-20) at Buffalo.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Buffalo 1
LOCATION: Alumni Arena (Buffalo, N.Y.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (8-13, 5-3 MAC) | Buffalo (6-11, 3-5 MAC)
 
Wearing the libero jersey for the Broncos on Friday night, Boyer led the way with a match-high 22 digs. The senior collected the 1,000th of her career with a sprawling dig, her 21st of the night, near the midway point of the fourth set.
 
Leah Richmond handed out 51 assists in the contest and spread the wealth, setting up five teammates for double-digit kills. Mia Jurkovic paced the attack with a career-high 16 kills, while Mary Clare Brusek and Amanda Glanton tallied 12 apiece, and the duo of Molly Brown and Annalise Patchett each picked up 10.
 
In addition to her 51 helpers, Richmond added 12 digs to register her 16th double-double of the campaign. Maddie Kmetz posted a career-high 16 digs, Elana Erickson had 14 and Carley Piercefield chipped in 12.
 
Up front, Western Michigan made it eight consecutive contests with double-digit blocks, tying its season high with 13. Brown led WMU in that department with six rejections (1 solo, 5 assists).
 
Western Michigan and Buffalo are back at it again on Saturday, with first serve set for 4 pm on ESPN+.    

Ohio 3, Eastern Michigan 1 | Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (7-14, 5-4 MAC) defeated Eastern Michigan (10-12, 2-7 MAC) 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 25-27, 25-18) on Friday, Oct. 17.

Ohio finished with a .331 attack percentage, 56 kills, nine aces, eight blocks, 53 assists, and 54 digs. Eastern Michigan finished with a .153 attack percentage, 44 kills, seven aces, three blocks, 38 assists, and 47 digs. 

Junior Gentry Brown led the team with 16 kills and 16.5 points. Junior Torre Kildow tallied 14 kills and freshman Bailey Blair tallied 11 kills. Sophomore Sierra Evans recorded a .667 attack percentage with eight kills on 12 total attacks. Evans also led the team in blocks with three block assists and a career-high two block solos.

Sophomore Bryn Janke and senior Kendall White combined for 47 assists. Junior Emily Waddell recorded a team-high four aces. Janke added three aces while junior Caroline Curran finished a career-high two aces. Junior Kendall Hickey led the team with 15 digs while Curran finished with 11 digs.

The Bobcats will be back in action at Ball State on Friday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. ET. 


Kent State 3, Miami 0 | Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – Kent State defeated Miami, 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-22), inside of Millett Hall on Friday evening for its first road sweep of a Mid-American Conference opponent since 2022.

The Golden Flashes (8-12, 3-6 MAC) posted a team hitting percentage of .324 or higher in two sets and finished the match with a .245 mark. Senior Mackenzie McGuire was the top attacker with 19 kills and an impressive .405 hitting percentage. Freshman Macie Moreland followed a career night on Thursday with 13 kills and hit at a .310 clip.

On defense, McGuire and sophomore Hailey Brenner shared the lead with 13 digs each. Sophomore Lesley Furuta and freshman Catie Patterson both added 11 digs. Sophomore Nadia Miller had a team-high five blocks.

Junior Christina Vigil displayed a complete skill set and totaled 36 assists, 12 digs, four blocks and two kills.

Kent State closes the regular season with six of nine matches at the M.A.C. Center, beginning next Thursday and Friday (Oct. 23-24) against Central Michigan.


Toledo 3, Northern Illinois 1 | Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. – Toledo women's volleyball fired off 16 service aces in a 3-1 win (21-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-15) over Northern Illinois on Friday night. With the win, Toledo moves to 15-5 (6-2 MAC) on the season.

This marks the Rockets' fourth match this season with double-figure service aces and the second-most aces in a four-set match. Senior setter Kelsey Smith led the team with a career-high six aces to go along with 41 assists.

Sophomore outside hitter Olivia Heitkamp led the Rockets offense with 15 kills on a career-best .538 clip with only one error. Freshman outside hitter Jessica Costlow poured in 10 kills and three service aces.

Senior Sophie Catalano and redshirt sophomore Sierra Pertzborn each recorded nine terminations while Pertzborn added four blocks. Sophomore libero Grace Freiberger paced the defense, totaling 12 digs to go along with two aces. Junior defensive specialist Avery Adamski added three aces of her own.

After dropping the first set, the Rockets responded by firing off 13 total kills on a .524 hitting percentage to propel the offense in the second set, sparking a sweep of the final three sets.

Up Next
Toledo will wrap up play against Northern Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 18. First serve is set for 5:00 p.m. ET with coverage on ESPN+.