Women's Volleyball

BGSU Clinches First Spot in 2026 MAC Volleyball Championship Following Win in Muncie

Friday, Oct. 30 Volleyball Results
Bowling Green 3, Ball State 1
Akron 3, Eastern Michigan 1
Ohio 3, Western Michigan 2
Buffalo 3, Central Michigan 1
Toledo 3, Miami 1
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
 
Bowling Green | Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. – Two Falcons recorded double-doubles to lead Bowling Green to a 3-1 victory over Ball State in Mid-American Conference volleyball action at Worthen Arena.

Bowling Green won by set scores of 27-25, 16-25, 25-20 and 25-22 to grab their seventh consecutive victory and improve to 18-4 overall and 10-1 in conference action. Ball State fell to 15-7 overall and 6-5 in MAC play with the loss.

Senior Avery Hobson and sophomore Anastasija Bozic were the two Falcons who finished with double doubles as Hobson tallied 16 kills and 11 digs while Bozic tallied a team-high 19 kills and 17 digs. Senior teammate Amanda Otten dished out a match-best 44 assists while junior Sydnie Hernandez was credited with a match-high 32 digs.

Ball State was led by Ava Smith who tallied a match-high 20 kills while teammate Tiffany Snook added 12 for a Cardinals offense who hit at a .351 hitting efficiency.

Ball State opened the match by claiming eight of the initial 12 points and took a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. A 7-2 Bowling Green run helped the Falcons level the score and take a 22-21 lead. The Cardinals answered by taking three of the next four points to force st point, however, BGSU roared back with kills from Bozic and Molnau along with a block to steal the set and take a 1-0 advantage in the match.

After Ball State evened the match with a 25-16 win in the following set and opened the third frame by building a 15-13 lead into the media timeout. With the Cards leading, 17-15, the Falcons exploded seven consecutive scores to turn the tables and jump in the driver's seat with a 22-17 advantage before going on to claim the set by a 25-20 margin.

In the fourth set, the Cards built a 19-15 lead only to see it vanish when the Falcons used a 6-2 stretch to tie the set at 21-21. BGSU ended the match on a 4-1 run to register the victory.

Up Next: The Falcons close out the two-match weekend against Ball State tomorrow. First serve between the Falcons and Cardinals is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.

Akron | Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The University of Akron volleyball team rallied from an opening-set loss to earn a 3-1 Mid-American Conference victory over Eastern Michigan on Friday night at the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The Zips won the final three sets by scores of 29-27, 25-22 and 25-20 to secure the road win.

Akron (9-14, 4-7 MAC) finished with 54 kills and a .228 hitting percentage, while Eastern Michigan (9-14, 3-8 MAC) recorded 59 kills and hit .179. The match was played in front of 257 fans.

GAME NOTES
Aeschliman leads the offense: Jordyn Aeschliman delivered a match-high 17 kills on 27 attacks with just one error, finishing with a .593 hitting percentage. She also contributed five total blocks and 20 points. Ozoh provides an efficient attack: Chidera Ozoh recorded 13 kills on 20 attacks with one error for a .600 hitting percentage. She added three total blocks and 15.5 points. Wolf dominates at the net: Lyndi Wolf led Akron with seven total blocks, including two solo blocks and five block assists. She also added nine kills and two service aces. Gash contributes on both ends: Delaney Gash finished with nine kills, nine digs and two service aces. Christensen directs the offense: Clara Christensen led the Zips with 29 assists. Del Real anchors the defense: Vanessa Del Real paced Akron with 21 digs, while Reilly Chausse added nine digs.

BY THE NUMBERS
Akron finished with 54 kills and hit .228, compared with Eastern Michigan's 59 kills and .179 hitting percentage. The Zips held a 11-6 advantage in total blocks. Akron recorded six service aces to Eastern Michigan's four. The Zips totaled 61 digs, led by Del Real's 21. Akron's second-set performance was its most efficient, with 20 kills and a .364 hitting percentage. Aeschliman and Ozoh combined for 30 kills while hitting a combined .596.

UP NEXT: Akron returns to the George Gervin GameAbove Center on Saturday, Oct. 31, for the second match of its weekend series against Eastern Michigan. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.

Ohio | Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (13-10, 6-6 MAC) defeated Western Michigan (14-8, 6-5 MAC) 3-2 (25-16, 25-22, 21-25, 24-26, 15-6) on Friday, Oct. 30 in the Convocation Center.

Ohio finished with 65 kills, six aces, even blocks, 58 assists and 66 digs. Western Michigan finished with 55 kills, four aces, three blocks, 48 assist and 64 digs. The Bobcats recorded a .329 team hitting percentage while holding the Broncos to a .179 percentage.

Four Bobcats finished with double-digit kills, led by freshman Rose Mahin with a team-high 16 kills. Sophomore Bailey Blair recorded 14 kills, the second most on the team, in addition to seven digs. Senior Olivia Gardner recorded a team-high .500 attack percentage with 12 kills and one error on 22 total attacks. Senior Gentry Brown finished with a double-double, tallying 12 kills and 15 digs.

A main contributor to Ohio's .329 hitting percentage was freshman setter Rowan Kelly. Kelly recorded a team-high and career-high 52 assists. The freshman was responsible for the majority of the team's 58 total assists.

Junior Darbi Ricketts led Ohio in digs with 16 total. At the net, senior Emily Waddell recorded a team-high four blocks while Brown and Gardner added two blocks each.

The Bobcats will be back in action at Kent State on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. ET.

Buffalo | Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (13-9, 5-6 MAC) defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas (0-24, 0-11 MAC) on Friday evening in four sets, 25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21.

Hailey Campagna had a career night with 20 kills with nine digs and a .395 hitting percentage. Sydney Bell added 13 kills with Manoela Forlin tallying 12. Forlin is now fifth on the all-time kills list with 1,122 kills as she passed Paula Collins (1987-90; 1,111) and Katrin Trebichavska (2022-24; 1,120).

Maddie Mitchell recorded her 24th career double-double with 36 assists and 16 digs. Sadie Gladhill was second on the team with 15 digs. Abisola Adebayo and Abbie Willis each had four total blocks.

As a team the Bulls hit .266 to Central Michigan's .117. Buffalo was a major edge in the kills column, 61-42.

The Bulls are back in action tomorrow at 4 p.m. against the Chippewas. Match coverage will be on ESPN+.

Toledo | Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team picked up its third-straight win with a 3-1 decision (25-22, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19) over Miami on Friday night.

The Rockets (17-4, 9-2 MAC) win snapped the RedHawks' conference-best eight-match win streak and put Toledo in sole possession of second place in the Mid-American Conference standings.

Three Rockets tallied double-digit kills in the match, led by Ava Siefke with 16 kills on a .424 clip. Sierra Pertzborn and Lilly Merk each poured in 12 terminations with Merk tallying a team-high .545 hitting percentage.

Grace Freiberger had a team-best 17 digs to go along with three service aces on the night. Avery Adamski chipped in 14 digs, while Jessica Costlow added 12 digs of her own.

Maddy Bach recorded a team-high 27 assists to go with 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Janelle Green totaled 22 assists and 12 digs for her ninth double-double of the year.

The Rockets fired off eight total service aces for the second straight match and third overall match of the season.

Up Next: Toledo will wrap up the regular season series with Miami on Saturday, Oct. 31. First serve from Oxford, Ohio will be at 4 p.m.