Previews courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
Kent State Golden Flashes
Kent State makes its furthest trip of the season when it plays three matches in the state of North Dakota this weekend. The Golden Flashes be in action at the University of North Dakota for single matches on Thursday and Friday and then travel to North Dakota State for a final match on Saturday.
The final two matches of the weekend will be streamed on the Summit League Network (subscription required).
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Thursday, September 11 - 1 p.m. | Kent State vs. UTSA (at North Dakota)
Friday, September 12 - 7 p.m. | Kent State at North Dakota
Saturday, September 13 - 12 p.m. | Kent State at North Dakota State
ALL-TIME VS. OPPONENTS:
Kent State lost to North Dakota State, 3-2, in a neutral site contest in 2014. This will be the first time the Golden Flashes play both UTSA and North Dakota.
Bowling Green Falcons
CHICAGO, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will continue the 2025 season with their final four-team invitational this week, the Loyola Invitational. Hosted by Loyola Chicago, Bowling Green will be joined by Indiana and Stephen F. Austin in the field. For the Falcons, play will begin on Thursday (Sept. 11) against (RV) Indiana at 4 p.m. EST, making it four consecutive opponents for BGSU to be receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25. Bowling Green will transition to SFA on Friday (Sept. 12) at 3 p.m. EST before wrapping up the weekend on Saturday (Sept. 13) against the host-Ramblers at 3 p.m. EST. The match against Loyola Chicago will be aired on ESPN+.
Loyola Invitational Schedule (Times EST):
Thursday, Sept. 11- Bowling Green vs. RV Indiana, 4 p.m. | SFA at Loyola Chicago, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12 - Bowling Green vs. SFA, 3 p.m. | RV Indiana at Loyola Chicago, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 13 - SFA vs. RV Indiana, 12 p.m. | Bowling Green at Loyola Chicago, 3 p.m.
First Serve:
- The Falcons will be taking on Indiana, SFA and Loyola Chicago in the team's final four-team invitational of the regular season. The three matches will be the final tests before BGSU's home opener as well, set for Wednesday, Sept. 17 against Oakland.
- With Indiana receiving votes in the AVCA's Top 25 poll, the Falcons will face four consecutive teams that are receiving votes or inside the Top 25. Indiana joins three teams from last week, including #15 Kansas, #17 Purdue and #23 Georgia Tech.
- Indiana enters the week not only undefeated, but on a 15-set winning streak. The Hoosiers lost their first two sets of the season but have not dropped one since to create their 5-0 record.
- The meeting against SFA will be the first in program history between the two teams. The Lumberjacks join Saint Mary's as new all-time opponents for the Falcons this season, bringing the list of teams faced to 237 during the program's history.
- Last season, Loyola Chicago advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Ramblers are the fourth team that BGSU has faced this season that won at least one match during the 2024 NCAA Tournament, being joined in the feat by Kansas, Purdue and Georgia Tech.
Hovey Shines Against Ranked Foes:
Lauryn Hovey was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Stacey Clark Classic last week and also earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. The recognition came after Hovey landed 64 kills with a .338 hitting percentage for the week. The efforts have moved Hovey inside the Top 40 in the nation for multiple stats. Most notably among the stats, Hovey is ranked fourth in the nation for points with 128.0 and tied fifth in the nation for total kills with 107.
Andrews Returns To BGVB Action:
After missing the opening week of the season due to international play,
Jessica Andrews returned to the lineup for the Falcons against #23 Georgia Tech. It was quite a week for Andrews. On Monday (Sept. 1) she played for Team Canada in Bangkok, Thailand against the United States. By Wednesday (Sept. 3) she was on the bench for the Falcons in West Lafayette, Ind. and by Friday (Sept 5) was back in the lineup. In her return to the court with BGSU, Andrews landed seven kills while adding a team-high six blocks in the five-set match against the Yellow Jackets.
Falcons Against Ranked Teams:
Last week, the Falcons took on #15 Kansas, #17 Purdue and #23 Georgia Tech, going four sets with Kansas and five with both Purdue and Georgia Tech. BGSU has now faced at least one ranked opponent in each of the last five seasons, playing 11 ranked teams over the five-year span. This year, the Falcons forced five sets against both Purdue and Georgia Tech, giving BGSU three five-set matches against ranked opponents in the last three years, joining a five-setter against #14 Ohio State in 2023.
Western Michigan Broncos
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team heads out west this weekend for the LMU Invitational to take on three other squads which participated in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Match One: Thursday, Sept. 11 | 6:30 pm | WMU at LMU | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Match Two: Friday, Sept. 12 | 6:30 pm | WMU vs. #16 USC | LIVE STATS
Match Three: Saturday, Sept. 13 | 3 pm | WMU vs. #19 BYU | LIVE STATS
ON THE ROAD AGAIN:
Western Michigan begins a stretch of six in a row away from home to close out non-conference play this week with three matches in three days at the LMU Invitational. The Broncos start tournament play with host LMU on Thursday, get #16 USC on Friday and then face #19 BYU in Saturday's finale.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Broncos are coming off of a four-set loss to Michigan State on Monday night at University Arena. WMU claimed the opening set, but the Spartans bounced back to take the next three.
Molly Brown paced the Brown and Gold in kills for the evening with 12, while
Leah Richmond totaled 35 assists and contributed seven digs.
THE OPPONENTS:
Like Western Michigan, each of the other three teams in this weekend's LMU Invitational made the NCAA Tournament last season. The Broncos played LMU in 2024, defeating the Lions in last year's season opener in Kalamazoo, to even the all-time series up at one apiece. Both USC and BYU enter the weekend ranked inside the top-20 of this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. WMU has met up with the Trojans just once prior to this weekend, with that lone encounter coming at a tournament hosted by Hawaii in 2005. Western Michigan owns an 0-2 all-time record against the Cougars, including facing them in the 1982 NCAA Tournament, which was the Brown and Gold's first-ever appearance in the Big Dance.
WMU VS RANKED FOES:
USC and BYU serve as the first top-25 foes Western Michigan has faced in 2025. The Broncos had four regular season games against ranked opponents last season, and won at #24 Marquette in four sets to pick up their first win over a top-25 opponent since defeating #18 Ohio State in 2003.
LEAGUE LEADING LIBERO:
Elana Erickson has excelled in the libero role for WMU in the first couple weeks of the season. The sophomore leads the conference in total digs (126), which ranks 14th in NCAA Division I. She is also the league leader in digs per set, tallying 4.67 per frame, which is 35th-best in the nation.
SETTING THE TABLE:
Redshirt freshman setter
Leah Richmond has been among the MAC's best as well, ranking second in the league (and 10th nationally) in total assists with 253. Her 9.37 assists per set mark are ranked third in the conference. The Indianapolis native has also been racking up the digs, leading her to a team-best four double-doubles in seven contests.
Central Michigan Chippewas
Preview coming soon…
Miami RedHawks
Miami Best Western Invitational - Oxford, Ohio
Fri., Sept. 12 vs. Middle Tennessee, 10:30 a.m. (ESPN+); vs. Southern Indiana, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sat., Sept. 13 vs. Duquesne, 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
Miami Volleyball returns to Coach Carolyn Condit Court at Millett Hall to host the Miami Best Western Invitational Friday and Saturday. The RedHawks play at 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday and at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Get your tickets today! The RedHawks had a record crowd as they entertained Ohio State last week and were edged by the Buckeyes in five sets. Miami dropped all three matches at the Xavier Invitational over the weekend.
Northern Illinois Huskies
Friday, Sept. 12: vs. Gonzaga (Indianapolis, Ind.), 10 a.m. – Live Stats
Friday, Sept. 12: vs. Bellarmine (Indianapolis, Ind.), 4 p.m. – Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 13: at IU Indy, 1 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
The NIU volleyball team takes its 5-1 record on the road as they head to the IU Indianapolis Hampton Inn Invitational, Sept. 12-13. The Huskies will face Gonzaga (10 am) and Bellarmine (4 pm) on Sept. 12 before facing tournament hosts IU Indianapolis at 1 pm on Sept. 13. These will be the final nonconference games for the Huskies this season.
NIU was last in action Sept. 5-6 as they hosted the NIU Invitational, winning all three games. Junior middle blocker
Autumn Flynn tallied 27 kills to lead the team over the weekend as she added five service aces. Flynn also exercised her talents on the defensive side of the ball, recording nine blocks this weekend. For her efforts, Flynn was named MVP of the tournament as she started all games and played in all 11 sets for NIU. Sophomores
Rylea Alvin and
Ava Grevengoed, and senior
Alexa Hayes, were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Eastern Michigan Eagles
Preview coming soon…
Akron Zips
Preview coming soon…
Ohio Bobcats
Sept. 12 / 2025 Tru by Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational / vs. Ohio State / Dayton, Ohio / Wright State University Nutter Center / 3 p.m. ET / Live Stats
Sept. 13 / 2025 Tru by Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational / vs. No. 9 Pitt / Dayton, Ohio / Wright State University Nutter Center / 2 p.m. ET / Live Stats
Sept. 14 / 2025 Tru by Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational / vs. Ohio State / Dayton, Ohio / Wright State University Nutter Center / 2 p.m. ET / ESPN+ / Watch / Live Stats
The Ohio volleyball team (2-4) is back in action for the Tru by Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational Sept. 12-14. The three-day tournament is hosted by Wright State at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. The weekend begins on Friday, Sept. 12 when Ohio takes on Ohio State (1-3). First serve is set for 3 p.m. ET. Ohio is back on action on Saturday, Sept. 13 against No. 9 Pitt (4-2), which is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET. The weekend concludes on Sunday, Sept. 14 against host Wright State (3-2). First serve is set for 2 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN+.
Ohio State enters the matchup at 1-3 and is coming off a loss against No. 12 Florida on Sunday in Columbus. Pitt is currently 4-2 overall and the ninth-ranked team in the country, with the Panthers taking on Kentucky on Wednesday before taking on the Bobcats. Host Wright State is currently 3-2 overall and is coming off a win against Cal on Saturday after falling to No. 1 Nebraska on Friday night.
Ohio is currently 2-4 overall and is coming off a trip to the Chattanooga Classic where the Bobcats defeated host Chattanooga on Friday. In that mathc, Freshman
Mady Long led Ohio's offense with a season-high 16 kills. Long along recorded 18 points, two aces and five digs. Junior
Torre Kildow finished second on the team in kills with 14 total. Junior
Gentry Brown and freshman
Bailey Blair contributed 11 kills each. Senior
Kendall White distributed a season-high 45 assists.
Toledo Rockets
Friday, Sept. 12 / vs. Denver / Boulder, Colo. / 5:00 p.m. ET / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 13 / at Colorado / Boulder, Colo. / 8:00 p.m. ET / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats
Sunday, Sept. 14 / vs. Arkansas / Boulder, Colo. / 1:00 p.m. ET / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats
The women's volleyball team (5-1) continues non-conference play after posting a 2-1 record last weekend in Morehead, Ky. The Rockets are heading west to the Buffs Invitational on Friday, Sept. 12-Sunday, Sept 14 in Boulder, Colo. where they will face Denver, Colorado and Arkansas. Senior setter
Kelsey Smith is helping orchestrate the offense, averaging 9.33 assists per set while sophomore libero
Grace Freiberger is holding down the defense with 4.57 digs per set.
Buffalo Bulls
Preview coming soon…
Ball State Cardinals
Preview coming soon…
For more MAC Volleyball news throughout the season, visit the new
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