Saturday’s Volleyball Results
Bowling Green 3, Akron 0
Buffalo 3, Miami 0
Central Michigan 3, Kent State 1
Ohio 3, Eastern Michigan 0
Toledo 3, Northern Illinois 1
Western Michigan 3, Ball State 0
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Bowling Green 3, Akron 0
Boxscore
AKRON, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team completed the weekend sweep over the Akron Zips on Saturday (Nov. 4) with another 3-0 final. The Falcons were strong on the attack logging a .337 mark for the match, including .432 in the win-clinching third set. With the win, the Falcons have now won seven of their last eight, moving their season record to 14-12 with an 8-7 MAC standing.
Lauryn Hovey led the way for the Falcons, leading the team in kills with 16 while tying for the team lead in both blocks with three and aces with two. Kat Mandly and Hannah Best followed on the attack with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Jaden Walz set the offense with 38 assists to go along with six digs and her second consecutive match with a solo block. On the defensive end, Alex Laboy paced the Orange and Brown in digs with 15 while Alexis Mettille matched Hovey's three blocks.
The two teams traded points in the early going of the match, but a 3-0 run for Akron pushed the Zips in front 8-5.
The Falcons quickly responded with a 4-1 stretch, including a 3-0 run, to tie the set score at 9-9.
The ties continued before the Falcons inched forward 15-13 at the media timeout of the first set.
The back-and-forth battle carried through the timeout, trading ties, before a BGSU timeout with Akron up 19-18.
Out of the timeout, Bowling Green recorded three of the next four points to move in front 21-20 and force an Akron timeout.
Akron landed the first point after the timeout, but another 3-1 stretch in favor of BGSU made it a 24-22 score with the second Akron timeout.
The Falcons recorded the next point after the timeout to take the set.
The Falcons tallied four of the first five points in the second set to go up 4-1, but the Zips responded with a 4-0 run to move in front 5-4.
Bowling Green soon registered a run of their own with a 3-0 stretch to reclaim the lead at 8-7.
The two teams continued to go back-and-forth up until the media timeout with Akron leading 15-13.
Bowling Green logged three of the next four points out of the media break to tie the set at 16-16. However, Akron responded with a mirror stretch to move back in front 19-17 and force a BGSU timeout.
Akron landed the first point out of the timeout, but the Falcons answered with a 3-0 run to tie it up at 20-20.
The Falcons continued the run through the timeout, stretching it to 6-0 with three more points to push the advantage to 23-20 and force the second timeout from the Zips.
Akron landed three of the next four points to cut the lead down to 24-23 BGSU with the Falcons calling timeout.
Hannah Best recorded a kill out of the timeout to give BGSU the second set.
The Falcons put together a 5-0 run early in the third set to take a 6-2 lead, forcing a quick Akron timeout.
The stretch carried through the timeout with another 5-1 span in favor of Bowling Green to make it a 10-1 stretch and an 11-3 lead.
Akron worked to close the gap, including a 3-0 run to make it a 14-11 score with the Falcons taking a timeout.
Bowling Green worked to rebuild their advantage, stretching the lead to 19-14 before the next stoppage coming from the second Akron timeout.
The momentum for the Falcons carried through the timeout, landing the next two points to further the lead to 21-14.
Akron landed a few points late, but Bowling Green was able to close out the set and the match with a 3-0 run.
The Falcons will return home to the Stroh Center for the final three home matches of the season. BGSU will first host Buffalo on Nov. 10 and 11 before concluding the regular season against Miami (OH) on Nov. 15, all scheduled for 6 p.m. start.
Buffalo 3, Miami 0
Boxscore
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (22-5, 12-3 MAC) defeated the Miami (OH) RedHawks (5-22, 1-14 MAC) in straight sets, 25-23, 25-23, 25-17. With the win, the Bulls clinched their spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament. This marks the first time since the 2018 and 2019 seasons that the Bulls will go to the MAC Tournament in back-to-back seasons. Last season, UB qualified for their first post season tournament in Division I program history as they participated in the NIVC.
Despite sweeping the RedHawks, it was a tight match throughout. Miami hit .358 to UB's .378 as the offenses could do no wrong. The Bulls racked up 48 kills, 15 of which came from Katrin Trebichavska, good for a match high. Abby Leigh added 11 kills and three blocks. Mandy Leigh continued to keep the offense rolling as she finished with 38 assists, an average of 12.67.
The nation's leader in hitting percentage, Courtney Okwara, finished the day with five kills on 10 attempts and no errors.
In both the first and second sets, the Redhawks outhit the Bulls with attack percentages of .552 and .400. Unlike last night, UB found themselves in a few deficits throughout the match, including a 3-0 hole to start. After the media timeout, the Bulls were down six at 17-11. That marked Miami's largest lead in the match. UB outscored the RedHawks 14-6 to take the set, 25-23. M. Leigh had 16 assists on 17 of the Bulls' kills.
In another close set, UB hit a solid .394 and 17 kills in the second set. The Bulls' largest lead reached six at 22-16, but the RedHawks got within one of the Bulls off a 5-0 run. Emma Gielas put a stop to the Miami run with a kill, but the RedHawks tied the set at 23. Trebichavska and A. Leigh put the set away with back-to-back kills.
The Bulls were solid in the third set as they limited Miami to hit just .167. UB forced 11 total errors in the set, five of which were off the serve. After being tied at six, the Bulls led the rest of the way. A solid 6-0 run in the middle portion of the set gave the Bulls a 14-7 lead. Maurine Calande had great serves on the run which forced tough RedHawk receptions. UB won the set 25-17 to close out the match.
The Bulls are back in action on Friday at Bowling Green for a weekend series. The regular season will conclude with a weekday match at Akron on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
Central Michigan 3, Kent State 1
Boxscore
KENT, Ohio – In the final regular season road game of the 2023 season, Central Michigan defeated the Kent State Golden Flashes 3-1 in the MAC Center. The Chippewas move to 14-13 overall and 8-7 in Mid-American Conference play.
After dropping the first set to the Golden Flashes 23-25, Central Michigan went on to win the next three giving them the match. The sets won by the Chippewas were 25-21, 25-19 and 25-15.
Next, the Chippewas will host the Ohio Bobcats for a weekend meeting, Friday and Saturday, November 10th and 11th inside McGuirk Arena. On Saturday, the Chippewas will celebrate their four graduating seniors, Devon Bright, Austyn DeWeese, Kayla Brandon, and Elly Medendorp.
In the first set, the only one the Chippewas dropped on the afternoon, the team hit .179 – their lowest in a set on the weekend, committed six attack errors and blocked five balls.
The second set is where the offense started to pick up for Central Michigan. The Chippewas left the second set hitting .368 and registering 18 kills as a team. In that set, Lauren Schrock recorded half of the team kills with nine and hit .727 for the set. Sophomore Maddy Gebhardt also sparked for the Chippewas with five kills (.444) in the second set.
In the third set, Gebhardt mirrored her five kills again (.300) and blocked two solo balls as CMU registered a 25-19 victory over the Golden Flashes. Central Michigan hit .265 in the set and recorded three service aces.
Set four, which won the match for the Chippewas was evenly spread offensively amongst Central Michigan's' squad as CMU went on a few scoring runs that ultimately secured the win.
In the closing game against Kent State, Schrock led the offense with her 19 kills, Gebhardt added an impressive 12, while Krystina Kasson also aided in the victory with nine and fellow opposite Linnea Willer was right behind with eight. The Chippewas have learned to share the offense in their recent stretch of wins and that is something Coach Gawlik thinks is helpful for his team moving forward.
Central Michigan Volleyball will return to McGuirk Arena for their final three regular season games of the 2023 season. The Chippewas are set to host Ohio for a Friday-Saturday matchup and will close the regular season out with Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, November 15th.
The Chippewas make their win streak six with the Saturday victory over Kent State and that is best for the second longest win streak in the Mid-American Conference behind Western Michigan who has won 15 in a row, to be undefeated in conference play.
Mike Gawlik and his squad are looking for a berth in the MAC Tournament which will be held in Kalamazoo – the top 6 finishing teams in the conference make the tournament.
The weekend series against Ohio could be the solidifying stretch for the Chippewas in earning that berth.
Ohio 3, Eastern Michigan 0
Boxscore
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (15-12, 10-5 MAC) swept Eastern Michigan (3-24, 1-14 MAC) 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-14) on Saturday in the Convocation Center . The Bobcats celebrated their last home game with senior night, Parker Kwiatkowski, Tria McLean, Carly Doros, Caitlin O'Farrell, Sam Steele, Caroline Clippard, and Maci Watrous were all recognized.
Individually, junior Caroline Clippard (Cincinnati, Ohio) and freshman Kam Hunt (Sylvania, Ohio) led the game with 11 kills each. Clippard finished with a .370 hit percentage and Hunt finished hitting .647. Graduate student Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) and sophomore Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine) combined for 17 kills. Senior Sam Steele (Omaha, Neb) led the Bobcats defensively with her game-high 14 digs.
The first set began with the Bobcats capturing the lead early and maintaining a steady advantage. Ohio's offense tallied a 7-2 run, giving them their biggest lead of the set at 18-11. The Bobcats shut down the Eagles' attempt at the comeback, winning set one 25-19.
Set two was a back-and-forth battle with both teams battling to keep the lead. The Bobcats held a two-point margin at 12-10 before a nine-point run, highlighted by Hunt serving five aces to take a double-digit lead. Ohio finished the set totaling a 13-3 run, winning set two 25-13.
The Bobcats entered the third looking for their second sweep of the weekend. Ohio took an early 8-4 lead and never looked back. The Bobcats ended the set on a 6-1 run, winning by double digits for the second time, 25-14.
Up next, the Bobcats travel to Central Michigan for a weekend of conference play on Friday, Nov. 10 at 6 pm.
Toledo 3, Northern Illinois 1
Boxscore
DEKALB, Ill. – For the second straight day, the Toledo women's volleyball team defeated Northern Illinois in four sets to keep itself in good standing in the MAC Tournament picture.
The Rockets moved to 12-14 overall and 10-5 in MAC play with the win and are still locked in a fourth-place tie with Ohio (15-12, 10-5 MAC) after its weekend sweep of Eastern Michigan. At the conclusion of Saturday's match, Toledo sat 2.5 games above both Bowling Green (13-12, 7-7 MAC) and Central Michigan (13-13, 7-7 MAC) in the conference standings. The top six teams will advance to the MAC Tournament after the regular season.
After dropping the first set, 27-25, the Rockets won the next three sets to capture the match. They dominated the second set to win 25-12, and won the third and fourth sets by identical 25-23 scores to defeat the Huskies.
Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua led all players with 21 digs, giving her 2,238 digs for her career. She is just 23 digs away from passing Maurissa Leonard (2015-18, 2,260 digs) to become Toledo's all-time career digs leader. Jaqua now has 11 straight matches with at least 20 digs.
Four different players had double-digit kills on Saturday, with seniors Taylor Alt and Jada Bouyer tying for the team lead with 15 terminations. Senior Abby Erickson and sophomore Izzy Granger each had 10 kills. Senior Mary-Kate Lopez contributed 49 assists and 11 digs for her second-straight double-double, and she added six blocks as well. She and Erickson tied for the team lead with six blocks. Alt also had a double-double, adding 10 digs to her statistical output. Toledo collected 11 service aces against the Huskies, with Jaqua (four), senior Claire Eiden (three), and sophomore Macy Medors (three) contributing 10 amongst themselves.
The Rockets host first-place Western Michigan for two matches next weekend.
Northern Illinois led 6-2 early, and while the Rockets fought to tie the score at 6-6 and 8-8 they wouldn't take the lead until much later in the first set. Trailing 19-14, Toledo scored five straight points to tie things up at 19-19, and a short while later back-to-back kills from Taylor Alt gave UT a 22-21 lead. The Rockets had the Huskies on the brink at 25-24, but surrendered three straight points to give Northern Illinois a 27-25 first-set victory.
The Rockets absolutely dominated the second set, hitting .464 while holding the Huskies to a .103 attack percentage. NIU actually led early at 5-3, but Jada Bouyer's kill sparked a 9-1 run that gave Toledo a 12-6 advantage. The lead continued to grow from there, and an ace by Ryann Jaqua pushed it into double digits at 20-10. The clinching point came from Macy Medors, the sixth and final service ace of the second set for Toledo in its 25-12 win.
Northern Illinois scored the first four points of the third set to take the lead. The Rockets tied the score at 7-7, but wouldn't hold a share of the lead again until very late in the set. Trailing 22-19, Toledo scored three straight to tie the score at 22-22, then a kill from Bouyer made it 23-22. NIU quickly tied the score at 23-23, but the Rockets completed their comeback by scoring the final two points of the set to win, 25-23, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Toledo looked to be in a position to cruise to a fourth-set victory after taking a 14-8 lead, but NIU used a 9-1 run to take a 17-15 lead. The momentum swung back in the direction of the Rockets though, who scored nine of the next 10 points to go up 24-18 and put themselves a point away from a 2-0 weekend. Northern Illinois did not go down without a fight, scoring five straight points to make it 24-23, but a kill by Abby Erickson provided the clinching point in UT's second straight win.
Western Michigan 3, Ball State 0
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team celebrated Senior Day in style, as it clinched at least a share of the Mid-American Conference Regular Season Title with a straight-set victory (25-20, 28-26, 27-25) over Ball State on Saturday at University Arena.
The regular season title is the 10th in Western Michigan program history, and its first since 2008. The Broncos also clinched the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Mid-American Conference Championship, which they will host at University Arena from Nov. 18-20. Ticket information for the tournament will be available soon.
Saturday's victory was also the 200th MAC win for WMU head coach Colleen Munson, making her just the fifth head coach in league history to win 200 conference matches.
On her Senior Day, Maggie King led the WMU attack with 19 kills on a .317 hitting percentage. Joining King in double-figures was Keona Salesman, who tallied 10 kills. Logan Case set up the Bronco offense to the tune of a .326 team hitting percentage with 42 assists. The Maineville, Ohio, native also added 10 digs for her second consecutive double-double.
Andelyn Simkins posted a match-high 14 digs to lead Western Michigan's defense, and was one of five Broncos to record eight or more digs in the contest. Reeghan Boyer and Case had 10 apiece, Anna Calcagno picked up nine, and Senior Day honoree Mairead Boyle pitched in eight.
A 6-0 run helped the Broncos get out to an 8-4 lead in the opening frame. Ball State fought back to get even at 10-10. Tied again at 15-15, Western Michigan burst back in front with a four-point spurt. The Cardinals worked their way back to within two multiple times, including 21-19, before WMU tallied four of the next five points to seal the set.
Trailing 13-10 in the second set, WMU used a 5-1 stretch to creep out in front, 15-14. The Broncos briefly grabbed a three-point edge at 23-20, but BSU answered with the next three to tie it up, 23-23. The Brown and Gold got to set point at 24-23, but the Cardinals fought it off and reached set point themselves at 25-24. Western Michigan evened the frame at 25-25 on a kill by Calcagno. After Ball State fended off another set point at 26-25, the Broncos took advantage of a pair of mistakes by the visitors to seal the second set, 28-26.
Ball State came out and built a 10-5 advantage in the third set. With the deficit still at five, 13-8, Western Michigan put together a 9-3 surge to take a 17-16 lead. The two teams continued to go back and forth until a 4-1 run put the Cardinals on the brink of sending the match to a fourth set, 24-22. A couple of BSU errors and a service ace by Case turned the tables, giving the Broncos a chance to win the contest at 25-24. The visitors survived the first match point to get back level at 25-25, but the Brown and Gold answered with the next two points, with Madison Merz delivering the match-clinching kill for the Broncos.
Western Michigan hits the road for its final three matches of the regular season, beginning next weekend at Toledo. First serve for Friday's series opener against the Rockets is slated for 6 pm on ESPN+.
