Bowling Green, Ohio –Anastasija Bozic erupted for 22 kills to help Bowling Green to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 32-30, 25-23) victory over Miami in the Mid-American Conference opener at the Stroh Center on Thursday evening.

With the win, Bowling Green improves to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in MAC play, meanwhile, Miami falls to 8-4 overall and 0-1 in conference action.

Bozic was aided by senior Avery Hobson who recorded her second double-double of the season with 13 digs and 16 kills. Fellow senior Amanda Otten dished out 33 assists while teammate Sydnie Hernandez led all players with 23 digs. As a team, BGSU recorded a 30-12 advantage in block assists with redshirt junior Helen Wilford and sophomore Karli Molnau each accounting for eight of those.

For Miami, Molly Creech recorded a double-double of her own, racking up 14 kills and 15 digs. Holland Van Deusen was credited with a team-best 29 assists and teammate Rachel Morgan tallied 23 digs.

Miami opened the match with a 25-23 set victory to take a 1-0 lead in the match. With both sides tied at 20-20 in the second frame, a kill from Waynar ignited a 4-0 run for the Falcons that forced set point en route to a 25-22 victory to even up the match.

The third set took extra points with the Falcons claiming the set by a 32-30 margin. A Miami service error allowed Bowling Green to force set point at 24-23 only to Miami create a 3-1 run to turn the tables and force set point at 26-25. The see-saw battle continued until Miami suffered back-to-back service and attack errors to end the battle.

BGSU took three out of the initial four points of the fourth frame and maintained the advantage to hold a 23-20 lead in the later stage. Miami pieced together two points off attack errors in hopes of forcing a fifth set, but Bozic put away the match's final two kills to secure the Falcons victory to open up conference play.

Falcon Facts

• BGSU matched up against Miami for the 98^th time in program history. The Falcons hold a 24-19 record over the RedHawks on home court.
• Bowling Green recorded a win in their MAC opener for the eighth straight season and have won their MAC home opener in each of the last seven seasons.
• The Falcons held Miami to a .173 team attack percentage, marking the eleventh time this season that opponents have hit below .200. Opposing teams average a .174-clip against BGSU.
• The fourth frame was the longest set Bowling Green has been involved in since Sept. 21, 2023 when BGSU bested NIU, 32-30, in the opening set.
• Bozic's 22-kill performance is the highest total by a Falcon in a conference opener since Jelena Sunjic also recorded 22 kills against Miami in 2016.
• Bowling Green registered a season-high 84 digs in Thursday's contest beating out their previous season-high of 83 which was set against Northern Kentucky on Aug. 29^th at Ohio State.

Up Next
Bowling Green rounds out the opening weekend of Mid-American Conference play against Miami (OH) Friday evening. First serve between the Falcons and RedHawks is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Stroh Center on Pat Peterson Alumni Night.