Women's Volleyball

Broncos Punch Ticket into MAC Tournament, Cardinals Crowned MAC Regular Season Champions

Friday Volleyball results
Akron 3, Bowling Green 0
Ball State 3, Eastern Michigan 1
Buffalo 3, Toledo 2
Miami 3, Central Michigan 2
Western Michigan 3, Kent State 0
Ohio 3, Northern Illinois 1
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Akron 3, Bowling Green 0 | Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -The Akron volleyball team got the job done in straight sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-22) to take down the Bowling Green Falcons Friday at the Stroh Center.

Delaney Gash finished with 16 kills on the day to lead the Zips attack. Defensively, Akron had two players reach double figures in digs as Vanessa Del Real had 13 and Reilly Chausse had 11. From the front row, Martina Villani contributed five blocks while adding a team-high 39 assists.

The conference victory improved Akron's record to 15-11 overall and 8-7 in MAC action.

Game Notes
» Del Real had a match-high three aces in the win.
» Gash had a match-high 16 kills for Akron.
» Akron got a match-high 13 digs from Del Real.
» Akron attackers were helped by a match-high 39 assists from Villani.

What's Next?
The Zips and Falcons conclude the series on Saturday, November 8 for a 4 p.m. start


Ball State 3, Eastern Michigan 1 | Box Score
YPSILANTI, Michigan - - Thursday night the Ball State women's volleyball team secured at least a share of its 11th Mid-American Conference regular season championship. Friday night, the Cardinals (19-9; 15-1 MAC) assured it would be a sole title, earning a 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21) victory over Eastern Michigan at the Gervin GameAbove Center.

"It truly feels great to clinch the MAC title outright," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips exclaimed! "I'm so proud of this team. They have been working so hard to earn this championship and I cannot say enough about their willingness to keep getting better each and every single week. We still have a lot more work to do this season, but I want to take a day to enjoy this first title and then get back to work to focus on the MAC Tournament."

Leading the way was another spectacular performance from outside Carson Tyler who recorded her 16th double-double of the season with a match-high 20 kills and a solid 15 digs. It was her seventh match this season with at least 20 kills, upping her career total to 13, which is sixth in program history.

Tyler also served up one of BSU's five aces in the match and was perfect in serve receive on a match-high 39 attempts. She also threw in a pair of block assists to round out her stat line.

Also reaching double-digit kills for the Cardinals was junior middle Camryn Wise who blasted 10 markers on 20 swings with no errors for a .500 attack percentage. The MAC's leading attacker by percentage, Wise raised her season mark to .399 and her league total to .441.

Overall, Ball State finished the night with a .267 (60-17-161) attack percentage against the Eagles (12-17; 4-12 MAC) with junior middle Gwen Crull also going errorless with nine kills and a .500 (9-0-18) rate of success of her own. Crull also served up two aces and was credited with a match-high seven total blocks.

The Cardinals also received nine kills from outside Noelle VanOort, seven kills from opposite Tiffany Snook and five kills from graduate opposite Christyn Ashby.

Guiding the offense was junior setter Lindsey Green and freshman setter Reese Axness with 32 and 17 assists, respectively. Green also collected eight digs and served up an ace, while Axness added seven digs.

In the backcourt, sophomore libero Sophie Ledbetter collected a team-high 17 digs, while sophomore defensive specialist Elizabeth Tabeling added eight. Tabeling also served up an ace.

Along with the solid attacking numbers, the Cardinals finished the match with 12.0 total blocks which helped limit the EMU offense to a .225 (63-27-160) attack percentage. Along with Crull's seven total blocks, Snook and Wise each collected four.

On the Eastern Michigan side of the net, Ava Siefke registered a team-high 16 kills to go along with a match-high 18 digs.

The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the 2025 regular season next week, when it welcomes Central Michigan to Worthen Arena for a pair of matches. The teams will battle at 6 p.m. both Thursday and Friday, with the latter serving as the program's senior night.


Buffalo 3, Toledo 2 | Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Buffalo Bulls volleyball team (9-15, 6-9 MAC) rallied to take down the Toledo Rockets on Friday evening in five sets, 22-25, 26-24, 25-21, 21-25, 15-9.
The Bulls were led offensively by Emmerson Matthews and Manoela Forlin who recorded 25 and 20 kills on the night, respectfully. Maddie Mitchell was error free on the attack with six kills on 22 attempts while also notching 42 assists and 24 digs and Sadie Gladhill added a team-best 25 digs.

After finding themselves in an early hole, the Bulls began to climb out as Gladhill served up an ace before the defense got going to pull UB within three, but Toledo answered with an ace and kill of their own to take a 18-13 lead at the media timeout. Later, Forlin and Kanj went on the attack to lead a 6-1 run and pull UB within one, but the hosts then took advantage of a couple of UB miscues to take set one.

After falling behind 17-10, the Bulls used an 8-2 run to cut the lead to one and force a Toledo timeout. Back-to-back kills from Forlin gave UB their first lead of the set and the junior was at it again a couple points later to give UB a 23-22 lead. The hosts took advantage of a pair of UB attack errors, but the Bulls would not be rattled as Matthews answered with a pair of big kills to secure the set for Buffalo.

Buffalo found themselves behind the eight ball once again to start the third but had an answer once again as they used an 8-0 run out of the media timeout, capped by three straight kills from Tehya Shaw and Forlin, to take a 19-15 lead. Another kill from Matthews forced a Toledo timeout at 20-16. The hosts cut the lead to one but Forlin and Matthews finished the set with a pair of kills as UB took the set 25-21. The Bulls recorded a match-high 17 kills in the third frame.

It was a back-and-forth affair to start the fourth with the teams trading points to start the fourth as the Rockets maintained a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. The Bulls got to 15 points to pull within two, but Toledo had an answer as they took a 20-15 lead to force a UB timeout. Buffalo continued to fight as they used a 3-0 run of their own to cut the lead back to two, but that would be as close as they would get as the hosts took the set 25-21.

It was all Buffalo in the fifth as Matthews opened the set with a kill before Forlin followed with an ace and kill to force an early Toledo timeout. Matthews continued to add to her total with to put UB up 8-2 before Forlin got going with a pair of big swings and then Matthews finished it off with her fifth kill of the set to secure the victory.

UP NEXT
The Bulls and Rockets will continue their weekend series tomorrow at 5 p.m.


Miami 3, Central Michigan 2 | Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.— The Miami University volleyball team (14-13, 8-7 MAC) took down Central Michigan (9-18, 6-9 MAC) in a five-set match (31-33, 25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12) on Friday night at McGuirk Arena. Chelsea Williams and Lauren Coyne led all players with 18 kills, while Molly Creech followed closely behind with 15 kills. Kamryn Utley (31) and Hayden Hicks (29) dished out the most assists for Miami. Defensively, four different RedHawks put down four blocks, while Creech (23) and Lindsay Kahren (18) led the team in digs.

NOTES:
  • The RedHawks have now won three consecutive matches.
  • The Red and White recorded 74 kills in comparison to 65 kills from the Chippewas.
UP NEXT:
The RedHawks return to the court for another home match against Central Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 4 p.m.


Western Michigan 3, Kent State 0 | Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team took care of Kent State in straight sets (25-10, 25-16, 25-17) on Friday night to seal a berth in the upcoming MAC Volleyball Championship.  
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Kent State 0
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (14-14, 11-4 MAC) | Kent State (8-18, 3-12)
 
Mary Clare Brusek had another extremely efficient evening leading the Western Michigan attack, putting down a match-high 14 kills while hitting .478. Molly Brown added 10 kills with just one error to hit .450 for the contest. The duo was set up by Leah Richmond, who collected her fourth consecutive and 22nd overall double-double of the season with 33 assists and 10 digs.
 
Reeghan Boyer added to WMU's tally with four service aces, and anchored the back line with a match-high 20 digs. Brown led the defensive effort up front with seven blocks (1 solo, 6 assists).
 
Western Michigan started fast, grabbing the first five points of the night and seven of the first eight. Kent State picked up the next four points to close the gap to 7-5. With the margin at 11-8, the Brown and Gold ripped off nine consecutive points to boost the cushion to 20-8 and put the first frame well beyond the visitors' reach.
 
A 10-2 surge helped the Broncos get out to a 12-5 lead in the early stages of the second set. The Golden Flashes worked their way back to within four, 15-11, but WMU countered with six of the next seven to increase the advantage to 21-12 and kept KSU at arm's length the rest of the way.  
 
Kent State built a three-point edge, 9-6, to open the third set. Western Michigan then rattled off five in a row to move in front, 11-9. The Golden Flashes came right back to tie it up, 11-11. Even again at 14-14, the Broncos tallied four in a row to regain control, 18-14. With the margin again at four, 21-17, WMU notched the final four points of the evening to complete the sweep.
 
The Broncos and Golden Flashes continue their series on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm. Saturday is Senior Day for Western Michigan, with the Senior Day festivities scheduled to take place following the match. 


Ohio 3, Northern Illinois 1 | Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. – The Ohio volleyball team (12-15, 10-5 MAC) defeated Northern Illinois (11-13, 4-11 MAC) 3-1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-19, 25-20) on Friday, Nov. 7.
 
Ohio finished with a .294 attack percentage, 63 kills, six aces, nine blocks, 52 assists and 55 digs. Northern Illinois finished with a .190 attack percentage, 41 kills, five aces, 13 blocks, 40 assists and 40 digs.
 
Freshman Bailey Blair led Ohio's offense with 17 kills, 21.0 points and two aces. Sophomore Sierra Evans tallied a career-high 12 kills in addition to 12.5 points. Junior Gentry Brown finished with 10 kills and 11.5 points. Sophomore Bryn Janke and senior Kendall White recorded 21 and 18 assists, respectively.
 
Junior Emily Waddell led the team in blocking with two solo blocks and three block assists. Blair added two solo blocks, and White contributed two block assists.
 
Sophomore Darbi Ricketts tallied a team-high 10 digs. White and Janke recorded nine digs each while Brown added another eight digs.

The Bobcats will be back in action at Northern Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. ET. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+.