Previews courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Bowling Green Falcons (4-5, 0-0 MAC) 
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will open their home schedule this week while closing their non-conference slate. Bowling Green's home opener is set for Wednesday (Sept. 17) against Oakland with a 6 p.m. first serve. The Falcons will then hit the road for their final two tests before MAC play starts next week. The Orange and Brown will face Michigan State on Friday (Sept. 19) with a 6 p.m. start before taking on Binghamton on Saturday (Sept. 20) at 3 p.m., both in East Lansing. The match against Oakland will be on ESPN+ while the two at Michigan State will be on BIG+.

BGSU's Schedule This Week
Wednesday, Sept. 17 | Bowling Green vs. Oakland | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Friday, Sept. 19 | Bowling Green at Michigan State | 6 p.m. | BIG+
Saturday, Sept. 20 | Bowling Green vs. Binghamton | 3 p.m. | BIG+

First Serve:

• The Falcons will begin the week against Oakland for BGSU's home opener on Wednesday (Sept. 17). The Falcons are coming off back-to-back seasons as the MAC's leader in attendance.
• Bowling Green has won their home opener each of the last six seasons with the streak dating back to the 2019 campaign. 
• BGSU will wrap up the non-conference slate on the road against Michigan State (Sept. 19) and Binghamton (Sept. 20) at the Kathy DeBoer Invitational. 
• Bowling Green is coming off back-to-back wins at the Loyola Invitational, beating both SFA and Loyola Chicago in four sets.
• Avery Hobson and Amanda Otten earned MAC Player of the Week honors on Monday (Sept. 15) with Hobson being the MAC Offensive Player of the Week while Otten was named the MAC Setter of the Week. 
• Entering the week with a 4-5 record and three matches on deck, the Falcons will eye a .500 or better record entering MAC play for the first time since going 6-5 in 2023. The Falcons just missed the mark last season, finishing the non-conference schedule with a record of 5-6. BGSU also went 5-6 during the 2022 non-conference slate. 

Otten Among Nation's Leaders:
Amanda Otten has placed her name among the nation's best setters so far this season. Over BGSU's nine matches, Otten has totaled 345 assists, tied for 10th in the nation. The total has resulted in a 9.58 assists per set mark for Otten, which leads the Mid-American Conference. Otten is also only one of two players in the MAC with two 50-assist matches, joined by Ball State's Lindsey Green. Otten tallied 52 against Loyola Chicago as well as 50 against Purdue. The 52-assist match aided Otten in being named the MAC Setter of the Week.

Hobson Catches Fire:
In the two wins last week, Avery Hobson caught fire for the Falcons. Against SFA, she landed a career-high 24 kills while logging a .404 hitting percentage. She followed it up with 18 kills against Loyola Chicago, one off the team lead. Hobson added eight digs in each match as well as five block assists against SFA. The strong week for Hobson earned her the MAC Offensive Player of the Week honor, joining Lauryn Hovey's Sept. 9 recognition for back-to-back for the Falcons. 


Central Michigan Chippewas (3-6, 0-0 MAC) 
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Chippewas open their B10 week with a match at Michigan on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CMU and U-M last met in 2012, and CMU lost 0-3. All time in the history of the two programs, Central Michigan leads 25-8-1. Between 1974-83, CMU won 17 of 18 games played against the Wolverines. Since 1985, Michigan holds the 5-3 record over the Chippewas. 

HEADED HOME ON A HIGH NOTE: 
Central Michigan Volleyball left their trip to Milwaukee with a three-set sweep over the host Panthers. The victory marked the first victory sweep for the Chippewas under Arielle Wilson. Abby Olin lead CMU offensively with 10 kills, hitting .421and had three total blocks. Izzy Swiercz and Taylor Cripe each charted 9 kills hitting .400 and .261 respectively. In Milwaukee, the Chippewas dropped matches to Iowa State (0-3) and South Alabama (1-3). Overall on the trip, Central Michigan hit .224 as a team, led by Grace Thomas hitting .400 with 17 kills. At the service line, CMU charted 14 aces, and blocked 19 balls.


Ball State Cardinals (4-5, 0-0 MAC) 
Preview coming soon...


Kent State Golden Flashes (4-5, 0-0 MAC) 
Preview coming soon...


Akron Zips (5-4, 0-0 MAC) 
Preview coming soon...


Western Michigan Broncos (1-9, 0-0 MAC) 
Preview coming soon...


Eastern Michigan Eagles (7-3, 0-0 MAC) 
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Off to its first 7-3 start since 2018, the Eastern Michigan volleyball program aims to keep the ball rolling at the Butler Invitational, hosted by Butler University, at the Fishers Event Center, Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 18-20, in Fishers, Ind.

The Eagles will start the week with a 7 p.m. match against the Jaguars of IU Indy Thursday, Sept. 18. Eastern will then face Oakland University Friday, Sept. 19, 4 p.m., and close the invitational against the host Bulldogs Saturday, Sept. 20, 5 p.m.

Fans can follow along with the action using the live stats link that can be found on the EMU volleyball schedule page at emueagles.com/volleyball/schedule. Fans can also follow the team's social media accounts on X, Instagram, and Facebook @EMUVolleyball for live in-match updates. A post-match recap will also be posted to EMUEagles.com following each game.

STARTING HOT:
Eastern is off to its first 7-3 start since the 2018 season, the last time it won a MAC Tournament Championship. Eastern is looking for its first 9-3 start since 2018 while the last time the Eagles started 10-3 or better came in the 2012 season. Eastern's 7-3 mark currently ranks it second in the MAC.

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: 2025 WIN TOTAL:
Eastern is off to its first 7-3 start since the 2018 season, the last time EMU won the MAC Tournament. Last season, the Eagles posted just four wins through their first 10 games. EMU didn't reach seven wins till Sept. 26 last season when it bested Kent State University on the road in the conference opener, 3-2.

LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY:
A win against IU Indy, Sept. 18, would mark the third occurrence of three straight wins in the Foeman era. A fourth consecutive victory would be the program's first since 2017 when it won five consecutive, Sept. 2-9. Eastern hasn't won six consecutive matches since 2012, Sept. 1-8. Eastern is 7-0 this season when hitting better than its opponent and 21-4 under Foeman when doing so. EMU has out-killed its foe in 8-of-10 games this season, producing a 7-1 record in 2025 and 17-3 overall mark in three seasons under Foeman.

HISTORIC HITTING PERCENTAGE:
Eastern hit .424 (41-5-85) in the sweep over Purdue Fort Wayne, Sept. 4. The clip ranks first in the MAC and sixth in program history. EMU has out-hit its opponent in 7-of-10 games for the first time since the 2018 season, Oct. 25-Nov. 18.  That season, the Eagles out-hit their opponent in 27-of-35 games en route to a MAC 

WELKER 11 BLOCKS PROGRAM STANDING:
Hatteras Welker's 11 blocks against Valparaiso rank second in EMU program history while standing second in the MAC, first in a four-set match, and fourth in the nation in four stanzas.

RECENT CAREER-HIGHS:
AshleeKay Christensen set career bests with 20 kills, five digs, a .336 hitting percentage, and 46 attacks against Southern Illinois, Sept. 12. Surabhi Srinivasan landed a career-best three aces against Xavier, Sept. 12.

MOST ACES UNDER FOEMAN:
Eastern landed 12 aces in the win over UMKC, Aug. 30, marking the most in the Foeman era (2023-present) and the most in a single game since it recorded 15 against Buffalo, Oct. 27, 2006. The total stands fourth in the program's all-time single-game leaderboards.

MILESTONES:
Ava Siefke recently reached the 500 mark with her 17 kills in the win over SIU, Sept. 12. She currently has 527 in her career and needs just one more dig to reach 500. Ashlynn Belcher is 12 digs away from 500 and 41 assists from reaching the 1,500 mark. Ella Voorhees needs 35 more assists to get to 500, and Abby Stanford requires four kills to achieve the same total.

UP NEXT:
Eastern begins conference play as it is scheduled for a rivalry match against Western Michigan University Thursday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m.


Ohio Bobcats (2-7, 0-0 MAC) 
Sept. 19 / 2025 Charlotte Invitational / vs. Maryland Eastern Shore / Charlotte, N.C. / Halton Arena / 10:30 a.m. ET / Live Stats 
Sept. 19 / 2025 Charlotte Invitational / vs. Charlotte / Charlotte, N.C. / Halton Arena / 6:30 a.m. ET / ESPN+ / Watch / Live Stats 
Sept. 20 / 2025 Charlotte Invitational / vs. Furman / Charlotte, N.C. / Halton Arena / 12 p.m. ET / Live Stats 

The Ohio volleyball team (2-3) is back in action Sept. 19-20 in Charlotte, N.C. for the 2025 Charlotte Invitational inside Halton Arena. The weekend begins on Friday, Sept. 19 for two matchups starting at 10:30 a.m. ET against Maryland Eastern Shore (2-8). Ohio is then back on the court at 6:30 p.m. ET to take on host Charlotte (6-3). That match can be seen on ESPN+. Ohio wraps up nonconference play at Noon ET on Saturday, Sept. 20 when they take on Furman (7-2). 

Maryland Eastern Shore heads to Charlotte wit a 2-8 record and are coming off loses to Virginia Tech, Marshall and Robert Morris at the Virginia Tech Tournament this past weekend. Charlotte is 6-3 overall and are coming off three wins at the UNCW Invitational this past weekend, where thr 49ers took down UNCG, West Georgia and UNCW. Furman is 7-2 overall after picking up three wins this past weekend at the Furman Invite where they defeated Alabama State, North Florida and Winthorp. 

Ohio is coming off a tough weekend at the Tru by Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational in Dayton, Ohio, falling to Ohio State, No. 7 Pitt and host Wright State. 


Toledo Rockets (6-3, 0-0 MAC) 
Friday, Sept. 19 / vs. Bellarmine / Fort Wayne, Ind. / 4:30 p.m. / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 20 / vs. Mercyhurst / Fort Wayne, Ind. / 1:30 p.m. / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 20 / at Purdue Fort Wayne / Fort Wayne, Ind. / 7:00 p.m. / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats

The women's volleyball team (6-3) wraps up non-conference action at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational in Fort Wayne, Ind. on Friday, Sept. 19-Saturday, Sept. 20 where it will face Bellarmine, Mercyhurst and Purdue Fort Wayne. Senior setter Kelsey Smith is averaging 9.26 assists/set while sophomore libero Grace Freiberger is holding down the defense with 4.24 digs/set.


Buffalo Bulls (3-4, 0-0 MAC) 
Preview coming soon...


Miami RedHawks (5-5, 0-0 MAC) 
Fri., Sept. 19 vs. Northern Kentucky, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sat., Sept. 20 at Northern Kentucky, 4 p.m. (ESPN+)

Miami Volleyball returns to Coach Carolyn Condit Court at Millett Hall to host Northern Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. Friday before traveling to NKU for a Saturday afternoon match. The RedHawks won the Miami Best Western Invitational over the weekend, going 2-1 with wins against Middle Tennessee and Duquesne.