Bowling Green’s Amanda Otten bump sets the ball during a match against Central Michigan on Friday at the Stroh Center. Central Michigan defeated Bowling Green in five sets (25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 15-25, 15-13) (Scott W. Grau | Sentinel-Tribune)
The Bowling Green State University volleyball team went five sets with Central Michigan Friday night at the Stroh Center, but the Falcons fell 25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 15-25, 15-12.
The Falcons and Chippewas traded sets with CMU taking the first and the third while BGSU claimed the second and fourth to send the match to a fifth.
Similar to the match, the fifth set was back-and-forth between the teams, but Central Michigan came out in the end for the 3-2 final. The Falcons will resume play next week on the road against Buffalo and Akron.
Central Michigan recorded a 3-0 run in response to trim the deficit to 18-13, but Bowling Green answered with a 4-0 run to push the lead to 22-13.
The two teams went back-and-forth through the end of the set for a 25-15 score, sending the match to a fifth set.
In the fifth set, rhe Falcons were able to tie it at 11-11, but back-to-back CMU points made it a 13-11 Central lead with a BGSU timeout. Bowling Green was able to log a point, but Central Michigan held on for the 15-12 set score.
Lindsey LaPinta logged her fourth 20-dig match of the season and third consecutive, finishing with 21 in the match. The total also matches LaPinta’s career-high, set earlier this season against Wright State on Sept. 8. LaPinta also matched her career-high for assists with five.
Amanda Otten finished with a double-double, her second straight and third of the season. She concluded with a team-high 33 assists and added a career-high 14 digs, which were second on the team.
Lauryn Hovey filled the stat sheet for the Falcons, logging a team-high 14 kills, nine digs, a team-high seven blocks and an assist. Hovey’s six block assists and seven total blocks were both season highs. She maintained a .323 hitting percentage as well.
Alexis Mettille registered a team-best .389 hitting percentage for the Falcons, landing eight kills on 18 attempts with one error. Mettille added a team-high four aces and two assists to her stat line, both season highs.
Mia Tyler added 11 kills for the Falcons to go along with a career-high three assists and one dig to complete her stat line.
The Falcons will take to their road for their next two matches, playing a split road weekend. Bowling Green will first head to Buffalo on Oct. 17 to take on the Bulls before transitioning to Akron on Oct. 18 against the Zips. Both matches are set for 6 p.m. starts.
