The Bowling Green State University volleyball team overcame a 2-0 deficit for the second straight match on Friday (Oct. 4), topping the Western Michigan Broncos in a 3-2 final.
After coming back against Toledo on Tuesday (Oct. 1) this marks the first time in program history the Falcons have battled back for a win from a 2-0 deficit in consecutive matches. The win was capped off by a 9-0 run in the fifth set, tying the longest run by the Falcons this season.
The win bumps BGSU up to 4-0 in MAC play while being 9-6 on the season. With a loss for Central Michigan Friday night, Bowling Green is now the only undefeated team remaining in MAC play.
Mia Tyler paced the BGSU attack with 19 kills and a .312 hitting percentage followed closely by Lauryn Hovey with 17 kills and a .333 mark as well as Alexis Mettille with 10 kills and a team-high .450 hitting percentage.
As a team, Bowling Green recorded a season-high 16 blocks, led by Mettille’s eight and Jessica Andrews’ six. In addition, three Falcons reached double-digit digs led by Lindsey LaPinta’s 14 to go along with 11 from Sydnie Hernandez and 10 from Avery Anders.
Set 1: Western Michigan 25, Bowling Green 20
Bowling Green landed the first two points of the match followed by a 3-0 run by Western Michigan. The Falcons landed a point with a kill from Lauryn Hovey for a 3-3 tie in the early going.
Western Michigan tallied another 3-0 run to reclaim the lead at 6-4, but the Falcons chipped away to tie the set back up at 7-7.
The teams continued battling back-and-forth up to the media timeout, coming from Hovey’s 115th career ace for a 15-14 BGSU lead at the media break.
The Falcons landed the first point out of the break, but WMU responded with a 3-0 run to force a BGSU timeout with the Broncos leading 17-16.
Western Michigan added two more to the run after the timeout for a 5-0 stretch and 19-16 lead.
WMU later tallied back-to-back points to stretch their lead to 23-19 to force a BGSU timeout. The Falcons added a point to their tally, but the Broncos took the first set 25-20.
Set 2: Western Michigan 25, Bowling Green 17
The second set began with ties up to 4-4, but a 4-0 Western Michigan run pushed the Broncos to an 8-4 lead, resulting in a Bowling Green timeout.
Bowling Green worked to decrease the deficit, utilizing a 4-1 stretch to cut into the lead, 12-10.
A pair of points for Western Michigan extended their lead to 17-13, bringing about the second BGSU timeout of the set.
The Falcons registered the next two points out of the timeout, closing the gap to two again, this time at 17-15.
Western Michigan put together a 7-1 run to push the score to 24-16. The Falcons tallied a point, but WMU answered for a 25-17 score.
Set 3: Bowling Green 25, Western Michigan 19
The Falcons started off the third set with a 5-0 run, capped off by back-to-back blocks by Amanda Otten and Alexis Mettille, forcing a Western Michigan timeout.
BGSU registered another point out of the timeout for a 6-0 run, but Western Michigan answered with a 3-0 run to cut into the lead, 6-3.
The Falcons came back firing, rattling off another 5-0 run, resulting in the second WMU timeout of the set with Bowling Green up 11-3.
After a back-and-forth affair, BGSU tallied a 3-0 burst to extend their lead to 21-13, but Western Michigan answered with a 3-0 run of their own to pull the score back to 21-16.
Bowling Green was able to maintain their advantage through the end of the set for a 25-19 score.
Set 4: Bowling Green 25, Western Michigan 17
The two teams each tallied a point to start the set, but the Falcons quickly logged a 4-0 run to take a 5-1 lead. They followed with a 3-0 run to make it an 8-2 lead and 7-1 stretch, resulting in a WMU timeout.
The Falcons and Broncos went back-and-forth through the set, trading singles and pairs of points, before a 3-0 WMU run trimmed the lead to 21-15 with a BGSU timeout.
Out of the timeout, Bowling Green registered a pair of points to push ahead 23-16 before trading points through the end of the set for the 25-17 score.
Set 5: Bowling Green 15, Western Michigan 7
The teams started the set back-and-forth to a 5-5 tie, but a 4-0 run for the Falcons pushed BGSU to an 8-5 lead, switching sides of the court.
The run for Bowling Green carried through the timeout, extending to a 9-0 run for the Falcons with a 13-5 lead and a Western Michigan timeout.
The Broncos landed back-to-back points out of the timeout, but the Falcons responded with a pair of their own to secure the set and the match.
