Women's Volleyball

RedHawks, Flashes, Cardinals, Rockets Sweep Friday Doubleheaders

Friday, Sept. 11 Volleyball Results
Kent State 3, Niagara 0
Ball State 3, Stetson 0
Eastern Michigan 3, Montana 0
Presbyterian 3, Buffalo 1
Toledo 3, VCU 0
Miami 3, Nicholls 0
Bowling Green 3, Austin Peay 1
Coppin State 3, Akron 2
UAB 3, Eastern Michigan 1
Ball State 3, Campbell 0
Kent State 3, Mercyhurst 2
Toledo 3, West Virginia 2
DePaul 3, Central Michigan 0
Queens 3, Buffalo 0
Miami 3, Alabama State 0
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Kent State | Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
ERIE, Pa. – Kent State won both of its contests on Friday at the Laker Invitational, beating Niagara, 3-0, and then taking down host Mercyhurst, 3-2.

The Golden Flashes (4-4) were victorious in each of their first five sets of the day before being pushed to five sets by the Lakers.

Three attackers recorded at least 20 kills on the day. Senior Mercedez Brown led the way with 23, followed by 21 from redshirt junior Adalynn Ginley and 20 from sophomore Macie Moreland.

Offensively, senior Mercedez Brown recorded a team-high 21 kills. Junior Nadia Miller and redshirt junior Adalynn Ginley added 12 kills and 11 kills, respectively. Senior Christina Vigil totaled 70 assists. Juniors Lesley Furuta (32 digs) and Nadia Miller (6 blocks) led Kent State defensively.

Match 1: Mercedez Brown finished with a match-high 12 kills and Ginley was right behind with 11. Christina Vigil totaled 33 assists, and Lesley Furuta led the team with 14 digs.

Match 2: Moreland led the offense with a season-high 14 kills. She was joined in double-figures by Mercedez Brown (11), Imoh (11) and Ginley (10). Brown added a career-high 17 digs for her second double-double of the season. Christina Vigil totaled 37 assists. Lesley Furuta led all players with 18 digs.

Up Next for the Flashes
Kent State will look to complete an unbeaten weekend on Saturday against Columbia. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m.


Ball State | Box Score 1
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team opened play in the Fairfield Inn & Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-15) sweep of Stetson Friday morning at Campbell's Gilbert Craig Gore Arena.

In improving to 6-0 on the season, a season-high 16 Cardinals saw time on the court, helping lead the team to a .333 (51-10-123) attack percentage. It was the fourth straight match Ball State has hit above .300 as a team.

The Cardinals multifaceted attack was able to keep the Hatters (3-4) defense guessing all morning, with seven different players tallying four-or-more kills. Junior opposite Tiffany Snook led the way, blasting 11 markers on 20 swings with no errors for a .550 rate of success.

Senior middle Camryn Wise was second on the list with nine kills, while hitting .471 (9-1-17) and leading all players with five total blocks. Junior outside Ava Smith followed with eight kills and a .368 (8-1-19) hitting mark.

All three setters also helped guide the offense, with senior Lindsey Green dishing out a match-high 22 assists and collecting eight digs. Sophomore Reese Axness added her second double-double of the season with 17 assists and a match-high tying 11 digs, while freshman Lucy McCollum saw her first career action in the third set with two assists, a kill and a block.

Also collecting 11 digs for the Cardinals was junior outside hitter Audrey Geer, who also finished the day with four kills.

The match also saw Ball State libero Sophie Ledbetter become the 22nd player in program history to notch 1,000 career dig in the second set. She finished the day with seven digs, raising her career total to 1,002.

Box Score 2
Junior opposite Tiffany Snook tied her career high with a match-best 17 kills Friday evening, helping lead the Ball State women's volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-20) sweep of host Campbell in its second match at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational at Gilbert Craig Gore Arena.

It was the second straight outing Snook led all players in kills after blasting 11 and hitting .550 (11-0-20) in Friday morning's sweep of Stetson. Snook, who hit .696 (17-1-23) against the Fighting Camels (2-4), helped the Cardinals improve to 7-0 with its fourth consecutive sweep.

Like the opener, 16 different Cardinals saw action in the win over Campbell, with 10 recording at least one kill. It included all three setters once again, with senior Lindsey Green, sophomore Reese Axness and freshman Lucy McCollum combining to lead the offense to a .298 (51-15-121) hitting mark.

Green would dish out a match-best 25 assists, followed by Axness with 17 and McCollum with four. Both Green and Axness would also add eight digs.

Junior outside attacker Ava Smith was second on the squad with eight kills on the night, followed by senior middle Gwen Crull with six. Four Cardinals collected four kills apiece.

One of those four Cardinals was sophomore middle Alana Bailey who also led all players with five total blocks. Both were career highs, as were her three solo blocks and two digs.

On the defensive front, 15 of Ball State's 16 players were credited with at least one dig, led by 15 from junior libero Sophie Ledbetter who climbed to 21st in program history with 1,017 career digs.

The solid defensive effort helped limit the Fighting Camels to a .137 (33-17-117) attack percentage. Hailey Heytvelt led Campbell with nine kills, while Lauren Wheeler and Sadie Johnston tied for team-high honors with 10 digs apiece.

The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Fairfield Inn & Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. first serve versus Furman.


Eastern Michigan | Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team swept the University of Montana, 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-21), at OU Credit Union O'Rena Friday, Sept. 11, powered by a nationally historic performance from Taeley Mahler and a career-high effort from freshman setter Lina Govoni.

Mahler was nothing short of dominant against the Grizzlies, recording a career-high 17 kills on just one attack error across 32 swings for a .500 hitting percentage, while adding four blocks and 19.0 total points. Mahler is the only player in the nation to record 17 or more kills, one attack error or fewer, a .500 hitting percentage or better, and four or more blocks in a three-set match this season. The performance surpassed her previous career high of 15 kills.

Govoni matched the moment from the setter position, distributing 31 assists while anchoring the back row with a career-high 15 digs — eclipsing her previous best of 14 set against Illinois State on Sept. 6. The double-double was her third of the 2026 season. Azra Eriç added nine kills on .500 hitting with two service aces and three blocks, while Nattie Slusher (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) chipped in nine kills. Surabhi Srinivasan anchored the back row alongside Govoni with 14 digs and eight assists.

Eastern Michigan then dropped the evening match to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1-3 (21-25, 25-16, 20-25, 19-25), finishing the day 6-3 overall. Mahler led the Eagles again with 14 kills on .429 hitting and three blocks, while Govoni orchestrated the offense with 35 assists. Surabhi Srinivasan anchored the back row with a match-high 17 digs, but UAB's 10 service aces — double EMU's five — and 23 Eagle attack errors proved decisive across the final three sets. 

Historical Notes 
» Eastern Michigan leads the all-time series against Montana 3-0, with the three meetings spanning 1997, 2021 and 2026.
» Taeley Mahler has recorded 12 or more kills in three consecutive matches for the first time in her career.
» EMU's all-time neutral-site record stands at 176-145-3 across 324 games over 51 seasons (1976-2026).
» Eastern Michigan's all-time series against UAB now stands at 2-1-0 following Friday's loss — the first meeting between the programs since Sept. 16, 2000, a gap of 26 years. Both of EMU's previous wins over UAB were 3-0 sweeps, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Sept. 19, 1987) and Portland, Ore. (Sept. 16, 2000). 

Up Next 
Eastern Michigan concludes the Golden Grizzlies Invitational Saturday, Sept. 12, facing the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at 3 p.m. at OU Credit Union O'Rena in Rochester, Mich. 


Toledo | Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Fly the Flag: Toledo Earns First 'Power 4' Win Since 2022 with 3-2 Victory over West Virginia


Miami | Box Score 1
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Miami University volleyball team (6-1) began its time in the ISTAP Collegiate Cup on Friday afternoon versus Nicholls (5-3) and defeated the Colonels in three sets.

Molly Creech led all players with 11 kills, and Lauren Coyne finished with the second most as she put down nine. Holland Van Deusen totaled the most assists (21) of the match, Grace Kreutz had the most digs (15), Raegan Lantz recorded the most blocks (four) and Rachel Morgan led both teams in service aces (three).

MATCH ONE NOTES:
  • Miami had a .374 hitting percentage in comparison to .037 by Nicholls.
  • The RedHawks put down 40 kills and held the Colonels to 27.
  • The Red and White had seven blocks versus one from the Red and Gray.
  • Miami served eight aces, whereas Nicholls served just three.
  • The Red and White held a team under double-digits in a set for the third time this season (set three, 25-9).
  • Ria Furuta and Reesa Zimmerman each made their collegiate debuts.

Box Score 2
The Miami University volleyball team (7-1) took down tournament host Alabama State (1-8) in the ISTAP Collegiate Cup on Friday night in three sets.

Molly Creech led all players with 12 kills, while Lauren Coyne (11) and Chelsea Williams (10) followed closely behind. Rachel Morgan totaled the most digs (16), Raegan Lantz recorded the most blocks (four) and Grace Kreutz led both teams in service aces (four).

MATCH TWO NOTES:

  • Miami had a .333 hitting percentage in comparison to .148 by Alabama State.
  • The RedHawks put down 44 kills and held the Hornets to 35.
  • The Red and White had eight blocks versus one from Alabama State.
  • Miami served nine aces, whereas the Hornets served just one.

The Red and White will conclude the ISTAP Collegiate Cup against South Carolina State on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 12 p.m. ET.


Bowling Green | Box Score
Cincinnati, Ohio – Sophomore Karli Molnau exploded for a sesaon-high 19 kills on 33 attempts to hit at a .424 efficiency to lead Bowling Green to a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 26-24) victory over Austin Peay in the opening match of the Xavier Invitational Friday afternoon at the Cintas Center.

The Falcons won its third straight match and improved to 6-1 overall. Austin Peay slipped to a 4-3 overall mark with the loss, snapping a two-match win streak.

Sophomore Anastasija Bozic aided Molnau's efforts with 15 kills throughout the contest. Senior Amanda Otten dished out a team-high 32 assists while Sydnie Hernandez collected 13 digs.

For the Governors, Nicole Okojie landed 10 kills on 15 attempts to hit at a match-high .667 clip. Brooklyn Merrell handed out 17 assists while teammate Sarah Butler added 14. Reagan Anderson led all players with 16 digs.

Falcon Facts

  • Bowling Green matched up with Austin Peay for the first time in program history.
  • Molnau's 19 kills are the most as a Falcon and tie her career-high set during her time at Loyola Chicago in the A-10 Championship against VCU.
  • Bozic notched her second double-double of the season. BGSU has recorded four double-doubles this season with Bozic and Otten each accounting for two.
  • Helen Wilford registered back-to-back matches with six blocks and has tallied five-or-more in five of the Falcons' seven matches this season.
  • Bowling Green held Austin Peay to a .158 hitting efficiency. The Falcons have limited their opponents to hit under .200 in all six victories this season.

The Falcons finish out play in the Xavier Invitational with a doubleheader tomorrow. BGSU is scheduled to battle Saint Louis at 10 a.m. before matching up with host Xavier at 7:30 p.m.