Women's Volleyball

The 2025 MAC Volleyball Championships Begins Friday Afternoon!

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The 2025 MAC Volleyball Championships will begin on Friday, November 21, with two quarterfinal matches at 4:00 PM ET and 7:00 PM ET, followed by the semifinals the next day in the same time slots.
 
The MAC Volleyball Championship will take place on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 4:00 PM ET. All matches in the 2025 MAC Volleyball Tournament will be streamed on ESPN+. The winner will take home the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championship title and will earn an automatic bid in the 2025 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament.

Below are the individual previews in order of tournament seed.

No.1 Ball State Cardinals (21-9, 17-1 MAC) 
The No. 1 seed Ball State women's volleyball team opens postseason play Saturday when it battles either No. 4 Toledo or No. 5 Miami in the 4 p.m. semifinal match of the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championship ... The winner advances to Sunday's championship match which will also be played at 4 p.m. ... The tournament is hosted by No. 6 Bowling Green and will be played at the Stroh Center.
  
BALL STATE ALL-TIME: Ball State enters the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championship with a 1055-667-2 (.613) all-time record in women's volleyball ... Ball State became the 44th program in NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball history to reach 1,000 wins with a sweep of Central Michigan on Sept. 22, 2023 ... All-time, the Cardinals have captured 12 MAC West Division Championships, 11 MAC Regular Season Championships and eight MAC Volleyball Championship titles ... Ball State has made 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including three of the last six seasons ... BSU has also earned two bids into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
 
BALL STATE IN THE MAC: With a 17-1 record in Mid-American Conference play this season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 476-226 (.678) all-time MAC mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, six matches behind the Cardinals at 470-232 (.670).
 
IN THE MAC CHAMPIONSHIP: Ball State will be making its 36th all-time appearance in the MAC Volleyball Championships in 2025, owning a 39-27 (.591) overall record and eight tournament titles (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2019 and 2021) ... The Cardinals' 39 tournament wins are second in MAC Championship history as are its eight titles are second ... Overall, the Cardinals own a 5-2 (.714) record in first round matches, a 13-10 (.565) mark in quarterfinal play, an 13-10 (.565) ledger in semifinal action and an 8-5 (.615) record in the championship match ... Ball State has advanced to the championship match in four of the last six tournaments.
 
ON THE ALL-TOURNAMENT SQUAD: Ball State ranks first in league history with 36 MAC All-Tournament selections ... The Cardinals are also second all-time with eight MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player award winners.
 
THE ALL-TIME VS. THE TOURNAMENT FIELD: Ball State enters the MAC Volleyball Championship with an 8-1 record versus the tournament field this season, with the lone loss coming to Ohio (Oct. 25) ... In MAC Championship play, the Cardinals are 21-19 versus this season's field in the event, including a 7-4 mark in championship matches ... Overall, Ball State is 282-149-1 all-time against opponents in the event.
 
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• The Cardinals enter the MAC Volleyball Championships with a 21-9 overall record, including a 17-1 record in Mid-American Conference play ... Ball State clinched the 2025 MAC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MAC Volleyball Championship with its win at Eastern Michigan (Nov. 6).
• Ball State remains the top-ranked MAC squad in the latest NCAA RPI Rankings, coming in at 55 this week, down three spots from the previous week ... The Cardinals were 77th in the initial RPI rankings on Oct. 5 and climbed to as high as 45th in the Oct. 19 release.
• Ball State is one of the nation's top terminating teams, ranking second nationally with 1,580 total kills, one back of national leader Southeast Missouri State (1,581) ... 491 of Ball State's kills, which is eighth nationally, have come from the arm of sophomore outside Carson Tyler who also ranks first in the MAC and 39th nationally with a 4.23 kills-per-set average.
• In addition, the Cardinals lead the MAC and rank 31st nationally with a .262 team attack percentage ... Junior middle Camryn Wise is first in the league and 33rd nationally with a .393 rate of success, while junior setter Lindsey Green ranks 112th nationally with 840 total assists and owns a 7.30 assists-per-set average.
 
LET AWARDS SEASON BEGIN:
• The Ball State women's volleyball team kicked off awards season with a BANG, as seven members of the program earn MAC postseason honors
• Sophomore Carson Tyler became just the fourth player in program history, and first since the 1999 season, to earn MAC Player of the Year honors ... She was also named First Team All-MAC for the second consecutive season ... The 2024 MAC Freshman of the Year, Tyler is only the second Ball State player to ever earn MAC Player of the Year and MAC Freshman of the Year accolades, joining Emily Sallee.
• For their role in guiding the Ball State offense to a league-best .274 attack percentage in league  play, junior Lindsey Green and freshman Reese Axness were named the MAC Setters of the Year ... It is the third time Ball State has claimed the league's top setter award and the first time in MAC history a 6-2 pair has earned the honor.
• After guiding the Ball State women's volleyball team to a 17-1 league record despite the loss of three projected starters to injury before the start of the season, Kelli Miller Phillips was named the MAC Coach of the Year ... It is the third time Phillips has earn the league's top coaching award, as she also claimed the honor in 2021 and 2022.
• In addition to Tyler, junior middle Gwen Crull, sophomore libero Sophie Ledbetter and junior middle Camryn Wise earned First Team All-MAC honors ... Ball State's four First Team All-MAC honors were the most for a league program this season and tie as the most in program history with the 2021 squad ... Crull, Ledbetter and Wise are all first-time All-MAC honorees.
 

No. 2 Western Michigan Broncos (16-15, 13-5 MAC) 
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team begins its run at the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championship on Saturday night with a semifinal match against No. 6 seed Bowling Green.

No. 2 WMU (16-15, 13-5 MAC) at No. 6 BGSU (17-14, 10-8)
Saturday, Nov. 22 | 7 pm | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS

TOURNAMENT TIME
No. 2 seed Western Michigan begins its run at the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championship on Saturday as it takes on No. 6 Bowling Green in the semifinals. The winner takes on the winner of Saturday's first semifinal between No. 1 Ball State and No. 4 Toledo in Sunday's championship match. 

MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Broncos have enjoyed a lot of success at the MAC Championship, compiling a 45-28 all-time record and capturing eight tournament titles. Western Michigan has won each of the last two MAC Tournaments, including a 3-0 run at last year's tournament in Bowling Green. WMU is looking to become the first team to win three straight tournament titles since Ohio from 2008-10. 

LAST TIME OUT
WMU wrapped up the regular season by splitting a pair of four-set matches at Ohio. The Broncos dropped the first set on Friday, but rallied to win the next three to pick up the victory and lock up the No. 2 seed for the MAC Tournament. The Bobcats flipped the script the next day, defeating Western Michigan in four.

ALL-MAC PERFORMERS
WMU's Mary Clare Brusek, Amanda Glanton and Leah Richmond were all named to the All-MAC First Team on Thursday. Brusek is Western Michigan's leader in both kills and kills/set, and ranked fourth in MAC play in kills/set (3.46) and fifth in hitting percentage (.352). Glanton paced the league in total blocks (103) and blocks/set (1.45) in conference play, helping WMU boast the best defense in the MAC with 2.72 team blocks/set and a .150 opposing hitting percentage. Richmond, who also earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team, was the leader in assists/set in conference play (10.45) and recorded 15 double-doubles in 18 MAC matches. 

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
WMU boasted the best defense in conference play, leading the MAC in digs per set (17.45), blocks per set (2.72) and opposing hitting percentage (.150). Amanda Glanton led the charge up front with a league-leading 103 total blocks and 1.45 blocks/set, while Elana Erickson (3.64), Reeghan Boyer (3.24) and Leah Richmond (3.22) are all in the top-10 in the MAC for digs/set.

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan enters Saturday's semifinal with a 48-30-1 advantage in the all-time series against Bowling Green, including winning both of this year's regular season meetings in five sets in Kalamazoo. The two teams have split their 12 MAC Tournament meetings, with the Brown and Gold knocking out the Falcons each of the last two years. In 2023, Western Michigan beat BGSU in the championship match in five, and last year, the Broncos eliminated top-seeded Bowling Green in five sets in the semifinals at the Stroh Center.


No. 3 Ohio Bobcats (14-16, 12-6 MAC) 
ATHENS, Ohio – The No. 3 seed Ohio volleyball team (14-16, 12-6 MAC) will face tournament host and No. 6 seed Bowling Green (16-14, 10-8 MAC) in the quarterfinals of the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championships on Friday, Nov. 21. First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be available to watch on ESPN+.
 
POSTSEASON #MACTION: 2025 MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
No. 3 seed Ohio is set to face tournament host and No. 6 seed Bowling Green in the quarterfinals of the MAC Volleyball Championships on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. ET.
 
Ohio finished the regular season with a 14-16 overall and 12-6 conference record. The Bobcats average a .193 attack percentage, 13.0 kills, 11.9 assists, 1.7 aces, 13.8 digs and 1.7 blocks per set. Ohio's opponents average a .214 attack percentage, 11.2 kills, 10.3 assists, 1.2 aces, 13.7 digs and 2.0 blocks per set.
 
Bowling Green finished the regular season with a 16-14 overall and 10-8 conference record. The Falcons average a .201 attack percentage, 12.56 kills, 11.73 assists, 1.55 aces, 13.63 digs and 2.36 blocks per set. Bowling Green's opponents average a .185 attack percentage, 11.67 kills, 10.91 assists, 1.59 aces, 13.09 digs and 2.25 blocks per set.
 
The two teams last met earlier this season. Ohio opened up conference play with a 3-1 loss at Bowling Green. The Falcons lead the Bobcats in the two team's all-time series with a 43-39 record.

BOBCATS BOUND FOR MAC TOURNAMENT
After narrowly missing the tournament last season, Ohio clinched its spot in the 2025 MAC Championships after a successful weekend at Northern Illinois. After the conclusion of regular season play, seeding for the tournament was announced. The Bobcats received the No. 3 seed and will play tournament host, No. 6 seed Bowling Green.
 
KENZIE BRINKMAN NAMED OHIO VOLLEYBALL HEAD COACH
Ohio Director of Athletics Slade Larscheid announced on Thursday, Nov. 20 that Kenzie Brinkman has been named the 13th head coach in Ohio Volleyball history, removing the interim tag she has held since May.
 
BAILEY BLAIR NAMED MAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR, EARNS ALL-MAC HONORS
Freshman Bailey Blair (Louisville, Ky.) is the first Bobcat to be named MAC Freshman of the Year since Tia Jimerson during the 2017 season. In addition to the award, Blair also earned a spot on the 2025 All-MAC First Team and MAC All-Freshman Team. Blair has done it all for the Bobcats – she has played outside, middle, and right side throughout her freshman campaign posting a .234 attack percentage.
 
Blair leads the team with 222 kills and ranks at ninth in the conference with 3.13 kills per set. She also leads the team with 526 total attempts, 239.5 points and 3.37 points per set. Blair has posted double-digit kills in 13 out of 18 MAC contests.
 
She has also eclipsed .400 attack percentage on four occasions: .516 (18-2-31) vs Akron, .450 (12-3-20) in a win vs Kent State, .444 (11-3-18) in a sweep vs Ball State, and .400 (17-5-30) in a win vs. CMU. In conference play, Blair also compiled five aces, 46 digs (0.65) and 21.0 total blocks including four solo blocks and 17 block assists.
 
EMILY WADDELL EARNS FIRST TEAM ALL-MAC HONORS
Junior Emily Waddell (Carmel, Ind.) earns her first All-MAC honor after being a standout player for Ohio on both sides of the court this season, especially during conference play.
 
Waddell is second on the team with a .319 attack percentage and sits at 10th in the conference. She has posted the two highest single-game attack percentages in all the MAC when she hit .800 (8-0-10) in a win vs Kent State and hit .778 (14-0-18) in a win vs Miami. She has also hit .692 (9-0-13) in a win vs Central Michigan and .615 (9-1-13) in a sweep of Ball State.
 
Waddell is first on the team and seventh in the conference with 0.34 aces per set. Waddell compiled 78.0 total blocks, including six solo blocks and 72 block assists, and averaged 1.10 blocks per set. The junior ranks seventh for blocks per set, seventh for block assists and ninth for solo blocks. Waddell recorded a career-high 10 blocks in Ohio's 3-2 win over EMU (10/16).
 
OHIO'S TURNING POINT
Ohio struggled throughout the first half of the 2025 season, experiencing an 11-game losing streak and opening conference play with four-straight losses. Since they grabbed their first MAC win of the season at Kent State (10/7), the Bobcats are 12-2 in their last 14 games and finished 12-6 in conference play.

A NEW DAWN
Ohio kicks off the 2025 season with a new leader who is also a familiar face for the program. After spending three seasons as an assistant coach, Kenzie Brinkman enters her first season as the Bobcats' head coach. Ohio returns its other two assistant coaches, Steve Jones and Kevin Gwinn, as well as former student manager Sam DeJoseph who will be serving as a graduate assistant.
 
The 2025 roster features six newcomers, including two transfers and four freshmen. Senior Kendall White and junior Gentry Brown join the Bobcats from Kent State and Oakland. The freshmen class includes Mady Long, Cienna Lapsley, Bailey Blair and Lacy Marx.


No. 4 Toledo Rockets (20-10, 11-7 MAC)
TOLEDO, Ohio – The No. 4-seeded Toledo women's volleyball team will face No. 5 seed Miami in the 2025 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Tournament quarterfinals on Friday. First serve is set for 4:00 p.m. from the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio, and will air on ESPN+.

The tournament begins with the Rockets and RedHawks, followed by No. 3 Ohio and No. 6 Bowling Green at 7:00 p.m. The winner of the Toledo/Miami match will face No. 1 seed Ball State at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, while the winner of Ohio/Bowling Green meets No. 2 Western Michigan at 7:00 p.m. The championship match will take place on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.

ROCKET NOTES
  • Toledo is in its fifth consecutive MAC Tournament after wrapping up the regular season with a 3-1 win over Akron. This is the 16th overall appearance in the conference tournament for the Rockets.
  • The Rockets are first in the country in team service aces with 242 and are sixth nationally in service aces/set with 2.09
  • Sophomore libero Grace Freiberger lead the league and rank 13th nationally in total digs (538). She also ranks first in the MAC in digs/set (4.64).
  • Senior setter Kelsey Smith is the only player in the country with 1,000 assists, 300 digs, 100 kills, and 75 blocks. Smith is firing off 9.69 assists/set, which is good for third in the MAC. She has totaled 1,124 total assists this season, a mark that ranks third in the league and seventh in the nation.
  • Three Rockets are averaging over 2 kills per set this season, led by Olivia Heitkamp with 3.08 kills/set. Sophie Catalano is pouring in 2.51 kills/set while Sierra Pertzborn is chipping in 2.30 kills/set.
SERIES HISTORY
  • Miami leads the all-time series, 44-17.
  • The Rockets and RedHawks split their two matchups at Savage Arena this season. Miami picked up a 3-2 win on Oct. 24 while Toledo earned a 3-1 win on Oct. 25.
  • Toledo has won five of its last six matches against Miami.
  • This marks the first time that the Rockets and RedHawks will meet in the conference tournament.


No. 5 Miami RedHawks (16-14, 10-8 MAC) 
Winning five of its last six matches of the regular season, Miami earned a spot in the six-team Mid-American Conference Tournament. No. 5 Miami will make its 31st appearance in the MAC Tournament by taking on the No. 4 Toledo Rockets on Friday, Nov. 21 at 4 p.m. 

UP NEXT: The winner of Friday's Miami vs. Toledo quarterfinal will face No. 1 Ball State in a semifinal match on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. The championship will take place on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m.

ALL-MAC DUO: The Mid-American Conference announced its annual postseason awards Thursday morning, and Miami University volleyball senior middle blocker Gentry Warrick was named to the All-MAC Second Team, while freshman outside hitter Molly Creech was selected to the All-MAC Second Team and to the MAC All-Freshman Team. Warrick and Creech are the first RedHawks to receive All-MAC honors since the 2020-21 COVID season. Creech is also the first Miami freshman to be named to the MAC All-Freshman Team since the 2018 season. Defensively, Warrick totaled 96 blocks (1.35/set), with 19 being solo blocks and 77 being block assists across conference play. At the end of MAC play, Warrick ranked second in total blocks and second in blocks per set. She also added 30 digs (0.42/set) and went 13-for-13 in serve receive (1.00). Offensively, Warrick added 85 kills (1.20/set) with a .288 hit percentage, seven service aces (0.10/set) and four assists (0.06/set). Creech recorded 199 kills (2.80/set) with a .203 hitting percentage, 15 service aces (0.21/set) and 13 assists (0.18/set). On defense, Creech had 252 digs (3.55/set), 25 blocks (0.35/set) and went 489-for-506 in serve receive (.966). Creech ranked seventh in digs and ninth in digs per set in conference play.

RECENT ACTION: The RedHawks are coming off of a 1-1 week, as they most recently split a pair of home matches with Eastern Michigan. Molly Creech recorded 4.44 kills per set with a .306 hitting percentage to lead the RedHawks against the Eastern Michigan Eagles and clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament. In total, the freshman outside hitter had 40 kills and two service aces offensively. She also added 39 digs, three blocks and went 86-for-87 in serve receive (.989) on defense. Creech led the RedHawks with 19 kills (.286 hit percentage) in a four-set win against Eastern Michigan Friday night and followed this up with a match-high 21 kills (.327 hit percentage) in Saturday's five-set match against the Eagles. Senior middle blocker Gentry Warrick amassed 18 blocks (2.00/set), four of which were solo blocks. Aside from her blocking efforts, Warrick also contributed 12 kills (1.33/set). In Miami's four-set win over the Eagles on Friday night, she led all players with 10 blocks (2.5/set) and contributed eight kills with a .313 hitting percentage as well. Warrick recorded the most blocks (eight) in Saturday's five-set match against the Eagles as well. In addition, senior Lindsay Kahren surpassed 1,000 career digs against Kent State on Oct. 16, while senior Hayden Hicks also reached a career milestone of 2,000 assists against the Ball State Cardinals on Oct. 7. 
 

No. 6 Bowling Green Falcons (16-14, 10-8 MAC) 
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will host the Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championships this weekend at the Stroh Center, beginning Friday night (Nov. 21) and playing through Sunday (Nov. 23). For the Falcons, Bowling Green will begin play Friday night at 7 p.m. against the No. 3-seeded Ohio Bobcats. BGSU and OU will be the second match of the day. Depending on the first match, it may begin after 7 p.m., but it will not begin before. It will also be an Orange Wave for Falcon Fans inside the Stroh Center. All matches in the MAC Championships will be available to stream on ESPN+ with radio broadcasts from Falcon Media. 

First Serve 
  • Bowling Green will be competing in their ninth straight MAC Tournament, continuing a streak that dates back to 2016. 
  • The Falcons will be hosting the MAC Tournament for the fourth time in the last seven years, hosting in 2019, 2020-21 and 2024 as well.
  • Bowling Green and Ohio have met 96 times previously in program history, but this will be just the third meeting between the teams in the MAC Tournament with a 1-1 record in the previous two. 
  • The Falcons closed out the regular season with a three-match winning streak, including a reverse sweep in home finale. Overall, the Falcons hold a record of 7-3 this season when playing inside the Stroh Center. 
  • Jessica Andrews heads into the MAC Tournament in a record book chase for multiple stats. Her 57 career solo blocks are currently third during the Rally Scoring Era. Her 394 career block assists rank third in Rally Scoring and fifth all-time. As for her 451 career total blocks, she ranks third in Rally Scoring and seventh all-time. 
  • Helen Wilford enters the tournament with 129 blocks on the season, leading the team and tied for 28th in the nation. The total also ranks third in the Mid-American Conference for the year. 
  • Wilford has worked into the BGSU record book as well. Of her 129 blocks, 117 have been block assists. The mark has placed her in a tie for 10th during the Rally Scoring Era for block assists in a single-season and she's also just nine shy of entering the top 10 all-time for the stat as well. 
  • The Orange and Brown have knocked down 273.5 blocks this season as a team, ranking 18th in the nation. BGSU is currently second in the MAC for both total blocks and blocks per set, averaging 2.4. 
  • As a team this year, Bowling Green has totaled 1,351 assists, ranking 26th in the country while averaging 11.7 assists per set.
  • The Falcons have tallied 1,457 kills during the 2025 campaign, also ranking 26th in the nation, while their 12.6 kills per set rank fifth in the MAC. 
  • Bowling Green have landed 180 aces as a team this year, sitting in a tie for 48th in the country while being fourth in the MAC. 
  • The Falcons were picked as the MAC favorite this year, earning 10 votes to win the MAC Tournament.
Falcons In The MAC Tournament
Bowling Green will partake in the MAC Tournament for the ninth consecutive season, a streak that goes back to the 2016 season. During that stretch, the Falcons hold a record of 10-7 in the tournament. Bowling Green also made the MAC Championship match in five straight seasons, spanning from 2019 to 2023. This will also be BGSU's fourth time hosting the MAC Tournament in the last seven years, hosting in 2019, 2020-21 and 2024 in addition to this year. 

November Success For BGSU
The month of November has been of high success for the Falcons in recent years. Over the last four seasons, going back to 2022, Bowling Green holds a record of 24-4 in the month of November for an .857 winning percentage. Going back even further to the 2019 season and the record still reflects a 35-9 standing, a .795 winning percentage. As for the MAC Tournament in November since 2019, BGSU is 7-4 (.636).