Women's Volleyball

Volleyball's Friday Night Recap

Friday Volleyball results
Ball State 3, Akron 1
Bowling Green 3, Kent State 0
Miami 3, Buffalo 0
Western Michigan 3, Central Michigan 2
Northern Illinois 3, Eastern Illinois 0 
Toledo 3, Ohio 1
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
 
Bowling Green 3, Kent State 0 | Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team continued their winning ways, sweeping Kent State inside the Stroh Center Friday night (Sept. 26). The Falcons worked to hold the Golden Flashes to a .075 hitting percentage for the match as well as just nine points in the second set. The win moves BGSU to 2-0 to start MAC play for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. Additionally, the Falcons have now won six of their last seven matches overall. 

Avery Hobson led the way for Bowling Green, logging her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs. Edyta Waclawczyk joined in with a team-leading and career-high 12 kills with both Hobson and Waclawczyk hitting above .300 for the match. Amanda Otten set the attack with 32 assists while Sydnie Hernandez led the way in digs (13), Helen Wilford topped the stat sheet in blocks (8) and Marija Tabak landed her first four BGSU aces to pace the team. 

Falcon Stat Leaders 
Kills: Edyta Waclawczyk (12)
Assists: Amanda Otten (32)
Digs: Sydnie Hernandez (13)
Aces: Marija Tabak (4)
Blocks: Helen Wilford (8)

Falcon Stat Facts
  • The Falcons held Kent State to nine points in the second set, the first time holding an opponent to single-digits in a set at home since 2022, excluding fifth sets. The mark came in part to forcing the Golden Flashes' attack to a negative percentage at -.097. 
  • With the win, Bowling Green has now won 11 straight matches against Kent State as well as 19 of the last 20 meetings, dating back to the 2015 season. 
  • The win moves BGSU to 2-0 to start MAC play, giving the Falcons a 2-0 start in seven of the last eight seasons. 
  • Amanda Otten recorded 32 assists for the Falcons, giving her 1,947 assists for her BGSU career. The total moves her up to eighth on the program's Rally Scoring Era list for career assists, passing Jaden Walz. Otten added seven digs, three kills, two aces and two blocks to complete her stat line. 
  • Avery Hobson landed 11 kills for the Falcons while adding a season-high 11 digs, finishing second on the team in both stats. The totals give Hobson her second double-double of the season. Additionally, she maintained a .321 hitting percentage, landing the 11 kills on 28 attacks with just two errors. 
  • Edyta Waclawczyk led the BGSU attack with a team-leading and career-high 12 kills. Waclawczyk added a .333 hitting percentage in the process while recording a dig and an assist. 
  • Marija Tabak landed her first four aces as a Falcon, leading the team in the process. While the four aces are Tabak's first for Bowling Green, she did have 46 aces in 2023 for Salt Lake CC.
  • Helen Wilford paced the BGSU block for the third time in the last four matches, registering eight block assists. With Bowling Green totaling 10 as a team, Wilford was involved in 80-percent of the team's blocks. 
  • Sydnie Hernandez led the team in digs with 13 and added five assists for the Falcons. Hernandez has now led BGSU or tied for the team lead in digs in 10-straight matches as well as 12 of their 14 this season. 
  • Anastasija Bozic recorded her first two aces as a Falcon in the match while also adding a kill to the BGSU effort. 
  • For the match, Bowling Green held Kent State to a .075 hitting percentage. Through three home matches, BGSU is allowing opponents to hit a cumulative mark of .061.
  • As a team, the Falcons registered 49 digs, the most for the team in a three-set match this season. They also matched their three-set-high in blocks with 10. 
Up Next
Bowling Green will continue MAC play next week, but will have to hit the road to do so. The Falcons will start against Eastern Michigan on Friday (Oct. 3) with a 6 p.m. first serve. BGSU will then transition north to Central Michigan on Saturday (Oct. 4) with a 4 p.m. start.


Miami 3, Buffalo 0 | Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y.— The Miami University volleyball team (8-6, 2-0 MAC) rolled past Buffalo (3-8, 0-2 MAC) in a three-set victory (25-18, 25-22, 25-23) on Friday evening at Alumni Arena. 

NOTES:
  • Hanson led all players with 11 kills.
  • Anna McClure recorded a game-high 15 digs.
  • Hicks' 18 assists were the most of the match.
UP NEXT:
The RedHawks continue conference play by hosting Western Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Miami follows this up with another home contest versus Northern Illinois on Friday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m.


Ball State 3, Akron 1 | Box Score
AKRON, Ohio - - Junior middle Gwen Crull carried the Ball State women's volleyball offense early Friday night, helping the Cardinals (6-8; 2-0 Mid-American Conference) end the first weekend of league play with a 3-1 (26-24, 25-17, 23-25, 25-19) victory at Akron.

Crull smashed nine of her career-high tying 12 kills in the opening two sets, helping the guests on the scoreboard jump out two a 2-0 edge in the match. While the Zips (7-6; 0-2 MAC) were able to rally late to take the third, and play to a 17-17 tie in the fourth, Ball State went on a crucial 5-0 run to pull away and take the final set 25-20.

Despite the Akron defense locking her down early, sophomore outside Carson Tyler led the Ball State offense with 17 kills, including seven in the final frame. Tyler, who has reached double-digit kills in all 14 matches this season, also collected seven digs and one solo block.

Graduate outside Noelle VanOort tied Crull for second on the squad with 12 kills, while sophomore opposite Tiffany Snook finished the night with 11. VanOort added five digs and two blocks to her stat line, while Snook collected three digs and three total blocks.

Junior middle Camryn Wise led the Cardinals at the net with seven total blocks, while blasting five kills, adding two digs and hitting .500 (5-0-10).

Overall, the Ball State offense finished the night hitting .230 (60-22-165), with junior Lindsey Green dishing out 26 assists and freshman Reese Axness adding 24. Both would also serve up a pair of aces, while collecting five and eight digs, respectively.

Leading all players in the backcourt was Ball State sophomore libero Sophie Ledbetter with 19 digs. She also served up a pair of aces, including one to end the match.

Akron's Delaney Gash led all players with 22 kills and chipped in 14 digs. As a squad, the Zips connected for a .248 (57-19-16) attack percentage but could only amass three aces compared to Ball State's 10. Chidera Ozoh would lead all players with 11 total blocks, while Vanessa Del Real collected a team-high 17 digs.

The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena Thursday for Community Night when it hosts Northern Illinois at 6 p.m. 


Toledo 3, Ohio 1 | Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo women's volleyball rallied to pick up its fifth-straight win, a 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-19) decision over Mid-American Conference foe Ohio on Friday night.

The Rockets improve to 11-3 (2-0 MAC), continuing to keep pace with the best start in program history. Toledo also began the 2004 season with an 11-3 mark.

Senior Sophie Catalano led the Rockets' offense, recording 13 kills on a .303 clip. Redshirt sophomore Sierra Pertzborn added 12 terminations of her own to go along with five blocks.

Sophomore libero Grace Freiberger totaled 25 digs while Senior setter added 20 digs to go along with 34 assists, five kills and five blocks, marking her fourth double-double of the season.

The Rockets rattled off nine service aces in the match, led by Freiberger with three and Jessica Costlow with two. This marks the fifth match this season tallying nine or more aces.

Up Next
The Rockets continue MAC play next weekend in Michigan. Toledo will meet Central Michigan on Friday, Oct. 3 at 6:00 p.m. and conclude the weekend at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 4:00 p.m.


Western Michigan 3, Central Michigan 2 | Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team claimed a thrilling five-set victory (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-8) victory over Central Michigan on Friday night to improve to 2-0 in MAC play.   
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Central Michigan 2
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (5-10, 2-0 MAC) | CMU (3-11, 0-2 MAC)
 
Leah Richmond made it six consecutive contests with a double-double, pacing the Broncos in both assists (49) and digs (18). Mary Clare Brusek once again led WMU in kills, hammering down 18 on a .350 hitting percentage. Also in double-figures for the Brown and Gold were Annalise Patchett (15), Molly Brown (11) and Mia Jurkovic (11).
 
Western Michigan equaled its season-best of 12 blocks for the second consecutive night, getting four apiece from Brusek, Richmond and Amanda Glanton. In addition to Richmond, Elana Erickson (15) and Carley Piercefield (13) also collected double-digit digs.
 
The two teams traded runs back and forth all night, starting in the first set, which featured 10 ties and six lead changes. With Central Michigan holding a 17-16 edge, the Broncos rattled off four in a row to move ahead, 20-17. At 21-20, Western Michigan used a three-point spurt to reach set point, 24-20. The visitors fended off three consecutive set points, but Patchett provided the decisive kill to give WMU the first frame, 25-23.  
 
Western Michigan used a 5-1 run to break a 9-9 deadlock and open up a 14-10 edge in the second set. The Chippewas countered with four straight as part of an 8-2 stretch to wrestle the lead away, 18-16. After WMU drew level at 20-20, Central Michigan responded with three in a row to climb back ahead, 23-20. The Broncos fought back to within a point twice, but CMU held on to even the contest at one set apiece.  
 
A 5-1 stretch helped the Brown and Gold turn an 8-6 deficit into an 11-9 advantage in the third. Central Michigan tied it up at 15-15, but WMU countered with a four-point burst to grab a 19-15 lead. Once again the visitors clawed their way back even, 22-22, but three of the last four went to the Broncos, with Brown providing two kills and combining with Jurkovic for a block to send the home team into the fourth with a 2-1 edge.
 
Tied 12-12 in the fourth, the Chippewas picked up three consecutive points to grab a 15-12 edge. A three-point run briefly got Western Michigan back level at 19-19, but CMU countered with three straight of its own to restore the three-point cushion, 22-19. After fighting off a pair of set points, WMU drew level again at 24-24, before Central Michigan then took the next two points to force a decisive fifth frame.
 
CMU picked up five of the first seven points in the fifth. Western Michigan then ripped off five in a row to move ahead and never looked back, going on a 13-3 run to close out the set and the match.  
 
Western Michigan hits the road for its next three contests, starting next Thursday, Oct. 2, with a trip down to Oxford, Ohio, to face Miami. First serve between the Broncos and RedHawks is slated for 6:30 pm.   


Northern Illinois 3, Eastern Illinois 0 | Box Score
DeKALB, Ill. — Sweeping action on Friday evening, (September 26), the Northern Illinois University Huskies Volleyball team (9-2, 2-0 MAC) defeated the Eagles of Eastern Michigan University (8-7, 0-2 MAC). The Huskies posted set scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-21 in their third three-set match of the season.
 
The last time NIU volleyball started MAC play 2-0 was during the 2022 season.
 
Jordyn Tynsky matched her career best with four service aces, as NIU recorded five as a team.
 
Autumn Flynn and Emma McCartney led the Huskies offensively with nine kills each.
 
"They did a great job coming out strong and that's something we talked about in the locker room. They were able to maintain momentum throughout the match," said NIU Head Coach Sondra D'Amore. "We did a good job spreading the ball and keeping everyone involved and that makes it harder for teams to defend. This team has a fearless mentality….and they swung for the fences at the end."
 
The Huskies return to action as they travel to Ball State on October 2. First serve is set for 6 p.m. Eastern in Muncie, Indiana.