Bowling Green State University 5-foot-5 senior defensive specialist Alex LaBoy. (Nathan Kubala/BGSU Athletics)
Bowling Green volleyball player Alex Laboy was named the MAC East Defensive Player of the Week because of her play in the Hampton Inn Invitational at the Stroh Center over the weekend.
This is Laboy’s first recognition with Bowling Green and the team’s second this season after Amanda Otten was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week last week.
Laboy was a key piece for the Falcons during the invitational in Bowling Green this past weekend. Laboy began the weekend by recording her first career double-double, posting 19 digs and 11 assists against Loyola Chicago in five sets.
She followed up the performance against Wright State on Saturday by logging a career-high 23 digs, the team’s first 20-dig outing of the season. Against the Raiders, Laboy also landed a pair of aces while having just three serve receive errors on 43 receptions.
Behind Laboy’s double-double in the invitational opener, BGSU overcame a 2-0 deficit at home on Thursday to top Loyola Chicago, 3-2, in five sets.
After falling shy in the first two sets, the Falcons battled back to force the match into five sets and the fifth set into extra points, winning the final set 18-16 to complete the comeback over the Ramblers.
On the attack, Mia Tyler landed a team-high 20 kills on a .309 hitting percentage, followed closely by Lauryn Hovey’s 19 kills on a .533 mark. Jaden Walz and Otten set up the Falcons, each finishing with 24 assists.
In the Falcons’ second game, BGSU hosted their first SEC opponent since 1987, taking on Texas A&M Friday night. The Falcons and Aggies played three close sets that all ended in favor of Texas A&M for a 3-0 final.
BGSU wrapped up the Hampton Inn Invitational on Saturday with a four-set win over Wright State. The Falcons took the first two sets of the match, both going to extra points, before the Raiders were able to force a fourth.
BGSU closed out the match with a 3-0 run in the fourth set to secure the 3-1 victory. The win moves the Falcons to 4-2 through the first two weekends of the season.
The Falcons were paced by a pair of double-doubles. Walz led the team with 39 assists and 10 digs, her second double-double of the season, while landing a pair of kills to go along with a pair of block assists.
Hovey followed with 15 kills on a .370 hitting percentage as well as 14 digs and five aces, both career-highs. The outing secured Hovey a spot on the All-Tournament Team, being joined by Tyler who landed a team-high 41 kills over the course of the tournament.
The Falcons next set of matches will be played in Fort Collins, Colo. as part of the Colorado State Tournament. BGSU will begin the tournament against host Colorado State on Sept. 7 before facing Pacific (Sept. 8) and Baylor (Sept. 9).
BGVB will then return home to the Stroh Center on Sept. 15 to host Michigan as the Falcons try to break the program’s attendance record in the Stroh, aiming for 3,000 at the match.
