Women's Volleyball

Flashes, RedHawks, Cardinals Wrap Undefeated Weekend Competition; BSU's Kelli Miller Phillips Gets Her 200th Career Win

Saturday, Sept. 12 Volleyball Results
Bowling Green 3, Saint Louis 0
Kent State 3, Columbia 0
Akron 3, Valparaiso 1
Buffalo 3, Chattanooga 0
Miami 3, South Carolina State 0
Ball State 3, Furman 1
Auburn 3, Central Michigan 0
Oakland 3, Eastern Michigan 0
DePaul 3, Western Michigan 0
#12 Penn State 3, Ohio 0
UIC 3, Central Michigan 0
Xavier 3, Bowling Green 0
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Bowling Green | Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Cincinnati, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team split a doubleheader against Saint Louis and Xavier in the final day of the Xavier Invitational on Saturday inside the Cintas Center.

The Falcons picked up a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-16) sweep over Saint Louis before falling to host Xavier 3-0 (25-27, 22-25, 18-25).

SAINT LOUIS RECAP
In the first match of the day, sophomore Anastasija Bozic recorded a match-high 14 kills to lead Bowling Green to victory. Senior Amanda Otten led all players with 28 assists in the contest.

Bowling Green hit at a .343-clip with Bozic accounting for six of the Falcons' 16 kills throughout the opening set. BGSU used a 10-4 run through the middle portion of the frame to take the set, 25-21.

With the score level at 17-17 in the second set, sophomores Karli Molnau and Cecily Waynar teamed up with back-to-back kills to ignite the Falcons' offense to take eight of the next 12 points to win the set, 25-21, and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Bowling Green continued its domination in the third frame, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. Later on, the Falcons cashed in an 11-3 run to create breathing room and went on to take the set, 25-16, and complete the sweep.

Falcon Facts
  • Following this morning's win over Saint Louis, Molnau recorded double-digit kills for the third straight match. She has been credited with 10-or-more kills in six of the Falcons' nine matches this season.
  • The Falcons have held their opponents to hit under .200 in both matches today and in eight of their nine contests this season. BGSU is 7-1 when their opponent is under that mark.
  • Otten dished out her 2,6xxth assist on Saturday evening and sits just 10 assists away from 10th place all-time for career assists in program history.
  • Freshman Fetia Rovira made her collegiate debut against Saint Louis and recorded her first career kill.
Up Next
The Falcons return home to host Dayton and Missouri in the BGSU/Toledo Invite. Bowling Green begins play on Friday at 7 p.m. against Dayton before concluding the two-match weekend against Missouri on Saturday at noon. Both matches will stream live on ESPN+.


Kent State | Box Score
ERIE, Pa. – Kent State removed Columbia from the list of unbeatens with a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-14, 25-16) on Saturday to finish 3-0 at the Laker Invitational.

The Golden Flashes won nine of 11 sets overall during the weekend and improve to 5-4 heading into the final week of non-conference competition.

Senior Christina Vigil had a team-high 24 assists and distributed the ball well to Kent State's attacking arsenal. Brown finished with 11 kills, Moreland had nine and junior Nadia Miller and Verhey had eight each.

Junior Lesley Furuta once again led the defense with 15 digs. Junior Hailey Brenner contributed 10 digs.

Kent State finishes non-league action this coming week with a home match against Cleveland State on Thursday, Sept. 17 and then travels to Youngstown State on Friday, Sept. 18.


Akron | Box Score
AKRON, Ohio – In the final match of the Zips Invitational, the Akron volleyball team turned in a strong offensive performance, posting a .300 hitting percentage on its way to a 3-1 victory over Valparaiso at James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday morning.
 
The Zips (3-6) claimed the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-21, before Valparaiso (5-4) answered with a 25-22 third-set victory. Akron closed out the match with a 26-24 win in the fourth set to secure its third victory of the season.
 
Akron finished the match with 62 kills, 59 assists, 73 digs and nine total team blocks. The Zips' .300 hitting percentage marked their most efficient offensive performance of the match, highlighted by a .424 attack percentage in the fourth set.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Delaney Gash recorded her second double-double of the weekend, finishing with a team-high 17 kills and 15 digs. She also added three block assists.

GAME NOTES
  • Gash Leads Offense: Gash paced the Zips with 17 kills and added 15 digs. She hit .208 for the match.
  • Balanced Attack: Akron had three players reach double figures in kills. In addition to Gash's 17, Chidera Ozoh recorded 14 kills and Jordyn Aeschliman added 13.
  • Ozoh Efficient: Ozoh turned in one of Akron's most efficient offensive performances, recording 14 kills without an attack error on 22 attempts for a .636 hitting percentage.
  • Aeschliman Strong: Aeschliman contributed 13 kills while hitting .385, committing just three errors on 26 attacks.
  • Setting the Attack: Masa Prascevic directed Akron's offense with 38 assists.
  • Defensive Leader: Vanessa Del Real led all Akron players with 25 digs. The Zips finished with 73 digs as a team.
  • At the Net: Akron recorded nine total team blocks, with Chidera Ozoh contributing seven block assists.
  • Fourth-Set Finish: Akron hit .424 in the fourth set, recording 16 kills and only two errors to close out the match.
  • Team Effort: The Zips finished with 62 kills, 59 assists, 73 digs and nine blocks while limiting Valparaiso to a .238 hitting percentage.
  • Home Success: Saturday's match was played before an attendance of 250 at James A. Rhodes Arena.
 

Buffalo | Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (6-3, 0-0 MAC) defeated the Chattanooga Mocs (4-5, 0-0 SoCon) in the final match of the Queens Fall Classic on Saturday afternoon.

Manoela Forlin led Buffalo's offensive attack with 15 kills. Abbie Willis added nine kills and seven digs. Sydney Bell was very efficient on the attack with a .438 hitting percentage as she finished with eight kills on 16 attempts. Maddie Mitchell tallied her 18th career double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs.

The Bulls were aggressive off the serve as they finished with eight aces to Chattanooga's two.

The Bulls will stay on the road as they'll face FDU and Syracuse next weekend.


Miami | Box Score
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Miami University volleyball team (8-1) rolled past South Carolina State (2-8) in three sets to conclude its time in the ISTAP Collegiate Cup on Saturday afternoon.

Molly Creech led the match with 10 kills, and Holland Van Deusen totaled 20 assists to lead all players, while Grace Kreutz poured in a match-high six service aces. Defensively, Kreutz recorded the most digs (11) and Lydia Michelin put down the most blocks (six).

NOTES:
  • Miami had a .400 hitting percentage in comparison to .056 by South Carolina State.
  • The RedHawks put down 42 kills and held the Bulldogs to 26.
  • The Red and White had 11 blocks versus three from South Carolina State.
  • Miami served 10 aces, whereas South Carolina State served just two. 

The Red and White return to the court for a pair of home-and-away matches against Northern Kentucky on Sept. 18-19. The RedHawks will host the Norse on Friday, Sept. 18 and then follow this up by going south to Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 19.


Ball State | Box Score
BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- The Ball State women's volleyball team closed play in the Fairfield Inn & Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational with a 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 23-25, 25-18) victory over Furman Saturday afternoon at Gilbert Craig Gore Arena, giving head coach Kelli Miller Phillips her 200th career victory.

"I continue to think about how incredibly blessed and fortunate I am to coach for this program, surrounded by amazing players, coaches and staff," Phillips said. "Every win is a culmination of such hard work from so many people and milestones like this remind me to reflect with gratitude on the past 11 seasons and excitement for what's to come."

In her 11th season as head coach, Phillips becomes just the second coach in program history to reach 200 career wins with the Cardinals (8-0). Her career record of 200-108 (.649) is second only to Randy Litchfield's (1989-2006) mark of 373-179 (.676).

In Saturday's win over the Paladins (4-4), junior outside hitter Ava Smith tied for match-high honors with 16 kills, while adding nine digs and hitting at a .316 (16-4-38) clip. Junior opposite Tiffany Snook followed with 10 kills to boast double-digit kills in all three outings on the weekend. She also tied for team-high honors with four total blocks.

Junior libero Sophie Ledbetter also shined in the win, making several solid plays to keep rallies alive and help her finish with a match-best 26 digs. She also served up three aces and dished out six assists, while boasting a perfect reception percentage in eight attempts.

Senior middle Camryn Wise and senior opposite Madison Buckley also had strong outings, with nine and seven kills, respectively. Wise led Ball State's top attackers with a .643 (9-0-14) attack percentage and tied Snook for team-high honors with four total blocks.

Junior outside hitter Audrey Geer fell one kill shy of her fifth double-double of the season with nine kills and 14 digs.

Senior Lindsey Green led Ball State's 6-2 duo with 27 assists and seven digs, while sophomore Reese Axness collected 19 assists and eight digs. They combined to help the Cardinals hit .217 (56-23-152) in the win.

It will be a quick turnaround for the Ball State women's volleyball team as it travels to Cincinnati for a 6:30 p.m. first serve Tuesday. The Cardinals then open the home portion of its 2026 slate with a 6 p.m. match up versus Northwestern Thursday.