Women's Volleyball

Bulls Secure Berth into the #MACtion Volleyball Tournament

Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Friday Volleyball results
Ball State 3, Western Michigan 0
Buffalo 3, Eastern Michigan 1
Toledo 3, Kent State 0
Central Michigan 3, Akron 1
Bowling Green 3, Ohio 0
Northern Illinois 3, Miami 0
 
Ball State 3, Western Michigan 0 | Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Ball State and Western Michigan both entered Friday's Mid-American Conference showdown at Worthen Arena riding nine-match winning streaks, so fans knew someone would leave the gym disappointed. 
 
The Cardinals (20-8; 13-4 MAC) made sure it was not them, turning in a dominating 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-18) victory in front of an elated crowd of 1,241 fans.
 
Ball State finished the night with its second-best hitting effort of the season, at .423 (50-9-97), which ties as the 12th-best mark in a match in program history. The offensive effort helped extend BSU's program record-set winning streak to 28 and its program record match sweep streak to nine.
After the first 15 points, it looked like the match was going to be the slugfest everyone expected with the Broncos (16-12; 12-5 MAC) playing out to an 8-7 edge. Then Ball State sophomore setter Lindsey Green entered to serve and flipped the match on its side. 
 
Her first serve set up a solo block from sophomore middle Gwen Crull, her first of three blocks on the night, to tie the score for the fifth time. Her next serve helped set up a big blast from redshirt sophomore opposite Aniya Kennedy, her first of a match-high tying 11 kills, for the third lead change of the night.
 
It proved to be the last lead chance as Green served up two more points, including an ace, to give Ball State a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the night. Green finished the night with 20 assists, one ace, and three digs, combining with senior setter Megan Wielonski to run the offense to its seventh match at .300 or better since switching to the 6-2 for the last 12 matches.
 
Wielonski would play just as strong, dishing out 24 assists and registering two kills and six digs. She also served up her 189th career ace, leaving her three shy of breaking the program record of 191 set by Stacy Jordan (1982-85).

Along with her 11 kills, Kennedy would finish the night with a match-high .611 (11-0-18) attack percentage. Freshman outside Carson Tyler was just as strong, tying Kennedy with 11 kills while collecting 10 digs for her fourth career double-double.
 
Ball State’s offense was also aided by a strong effort from junior opposite Madison Buckley, who smashed nine kills and hit .429 (9-3-14).
 
As good as the Cardinals’ offense was, the defense was just as solid. At the net, Ball State registered 11.0 more team blocks, led once again by six from graduate middle Aayinde Smith. Tyler was right there as well, collecting a career-high five. 
 
In the backcourt, freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter led all players with 14 digs, while junior outside Katie Egenolf tied her career high with 10. Overall, Ball State out-dug the Broncos by a 48-to-33 margin.
That defensive effort helped limit the Western Michigan attack to a season-low .117 (30-18-103) rate of success. Keona Salesman led the squad with nine kills, while Andelyn Simkins was credited with a team-high eight digs.
 
The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 5 p.m. for Ball State women's volleyball Senior Day. After the conclusion of the contest, the Cardinals will honor its four departing players: Wielonski, Smith, Kendall Seimet, and Paige Busick.
 
The match will be immediately following the Ball State men's basketball game versus Indiana State which starts at 2 p.m.
 
Buffalo 3, Eastern Michigan 1 | Box Score
BUFFALO, NY – For the third straight season, the University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (15-15, 11-6 MAC) clinched a berth into the MAC Championship Tournament with a 3-1 (25-13, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19) victory over the visiting Eastern Michigan Eagles (13-18, 7-10 MAC).

Katrin Trebichavska and Manoela Forlin led the Bulls with 13 kills each. Abby Leigh had her 17th career error-free performance with 9 kills on 19 attacks, good for a .474 hitting percentage.
 
Mandy Leigh earned her 12th double-double of the season with 39 assists and 15 digs. Maria Futey and Keira Kleidon had 16 and 14 digs, respectively. Tehya Shaw had 5 total blocks on the night. Also recording blocks were A. Leigh (4), M. Leigh (3), Luli Arcucci (2) and Forlin (1).
 
The Bulls continued to rack up the aces on their home court as they added 12 to their season total.

 The Bulls are back in action tomorrow against the Eastern Michigan Eagles for Senior Day.
 
Toledo 3, Kent State 0 | Box Score
KENT, Ohio – Outside hitter Taylor Alt tallied a team-high 13 kills as the Toledo women's volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-17, 25-22) in what was a must-win victory over Kent State in Kent, Ohio on Friday. Junior middle blocker Anna Alford added 10 kills on a .600 clip, setting a new career best.

Toledo (16-13, 9-8 MAC) still stands in seventh place in the conference standings, one spot out of tournament contention. A win helps keep Toledo in the hunt for the sixth and final spot in the conference championship.

Freshman Olivia Heitkamp tallied eight kills, while redshirt freshman Sierra Pertzborn totaled seven kills and a team-best three blocks. Sophomore setter Macy Hatkevich recorded 37 assists and 11 digs, marking her ninth double-double of the season. Hatkevich also poured in four kills and three service aces.

Freshman libero Grace Freiberger had a team-high 19 digs to go along with three service aces, while sophomore outside hitter Caylee Sharkey had a career-best 17 digs of her own.
The Rockets close out regular season play at Kent State on Saturday, Nov. 16. First serve is set for 4:00 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.
 
Central Michigan 3, Akron 1 | Box Score
AKRON, Ohio – Central Michigan Volleyball reached 23 wins with a four-set victory on Friday evening over the Akron Zips. The win total amounts to the winningest season for the program since 1985, when the team went 23-6 on the year. CMU advances to 23-6 on the year and 14-3 in conference play. Central Michigan remains in second place, one match behind Bowling Green (15-2), who defeated Ohio 3-0.

Central Michigan grabbed its victories 25-23, 25-20, and 25-9 in sets one, two, and four, respectfully, while dropping set two to the Zips 21-25.

Central Michigan head coach Mike Gawlik was happy with his team's performance and ability to put together four sets of volleyball and leave with a win.

The offense for CMU was led by Lauren Schrock, who charted 17 kills hitting .375 from the outside. Abby Olin left the evening with 12 kills and Natalia Rejment was not far behind with 11. The Chippewas hit .304 on the night while holding the Zips to a .157 team hitting percentage.

Shrock's 17 kills is her eighth Mid-American Conference match this season where she has reached double-digits.

Brooklyn Conner got the start in the middle for the Chippewas in the evening match and made the most of her appearance. The last time Conner saw action this season: the five-set victory over Bowling Green. On the evening, Conner killed six balls hitting .333 but defensively, she recorded seven block assists – a new career high.

Krystina Kasson also made her presence at the net known in the victory recording nine kills with two solo blocks and six block assists. Her six-block assists ties a career-high that she has now reached four times this season. 
Kasson has 91 total blocks in the 2024 season. In her previous three seasons for the Chippewas, she totaled 74.

When Conner played against Bowling Green earlier this season, she charted 10 kills and three block assists. 
Allie Korba, the setter for Central Michigan, surpasses the 1,000-assist mark for the 2024 season in the match and has continued to lead the Chippewas to offensive success.

Three different Chippewas recorded 10+ blocks in Rejment, Aly Gurtiza and Hannah Langton. Rejment recorded her 9th double-double of the season with her 14 digs against the Zips. 

Central Michigan will remain in Akron for another match on Saturday at 6 p.m. The match marks CMU's final regular season match of the year.
 
Bowling Green 3, Ohio 0 | Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team began the final weekend of the regular season with a 3-0 sweep over the Ohio Bobcats at the Stroh Center Friday night (Nov. 15). The Falcons hit .337 over the course of the match, including a .406 mark in the second set, to thwart off the Bobcat challenges. With the win, the Falcons have secured a 20-win season for the seventh time during Coach Tomic's tenure at BGSU as well as the fifth time in the last six seasons. The win also clinched at least a share of the MAC Regular Season title with a chance for the outright title still on the table Saturday night (Nov. 16). 
 
Falcon Stat Leaders 
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (16)
Assists: Amanda Otten (30)
Digs: Amanda Otten (13)
Aces: Sydnie Hernandez, Amanda Otten (1)
Blocks: Alexis Mettille (5)
 
Falcon Stat Facts
  • The win marks the 20th this season for the Orange and Brown, giving Coach Tomic her seventh 20-win season at the helm of the Falcons and the fifth in the last six seasons. 
  • Bowling Green has now won 10-straight matches, the longest winning streak for the Falcons since winning 12 consecutive matches in 2021.
  • As a team, Bowling Green hit .337 in the match. Over the last seven matches, the Falcons have hit .320 or better five times. 
The Falcons will conclude the regular season on Saturday (Nov. 16) with a 6 p.m. match against the Ohio Bobcats. Following the match, the Falcons will have their Senior Night, recognizing four seniors. 
  
Northern Illinois 3, Miami 0 | Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio—Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) and Nazli Güvener (Ankara, Turkey/Elvankent Sinar) led the Northern Illinois University Huskies Volleyball  (4-23, 2-15 MAC) team with 17 kills each as they swept the RedHawks of Miami University (7-21, 1-16 MAC).
 
The match featured set scores of 25-18, 29-27, and 25-21 as the Huskies earned their first conference win since October 10, 2024.
 
The Huskies have now won the last five meetings with the RedHawks, including back-to-back sweeps.
 
Grevengoed recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 17 kills and 12 digs. Güvener recorded 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .552 as the duo led all players in kills.

Huskie Highlights
  • The Huskies recorded their highest hitting percentage of the season, sitting at .342.
  • Grevengoed led the Huskies with a pair of service aces as four Huskies recorded one in the match.
  • Grevengoed and Alvin each hit above .400 this evening. Grevengoed had 17 kills on 33 swings with three errors (.424) while Alvin had three kills on five swings and one error (.400).
  • Brandt and Atiemo led the Huskies with four blocks each as the team recorded seven total.
The Huskies and RedHawks conclude action tomorrow, November 16 at 3 p.m. CT in Oxford, Ohio.