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March 28, 2024

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Spring Housing Guide

Netters break losing streak but can’t sweep MAC opponents on weekend

For Alex Zlabis, it was plain and simple this weekend.

She just wanted to win.

Zlabis had a career-high 27 digs Friday and helped the volleyball team snap an 11-match losing streak, beating Eastern Michigan in five sets, 17-25, 25-20, 25-18, 17-25, 15-8 at Anderson Arena.

The Falcons (8-15, 1-7 Mid-American Conference) hoped to take their momentum from Friday into Saturday’s match, but came up short to an athletic Central Michigan team.

The players and coaches were all smiles Friday after their first MAC win of the season.

‘It felt awesome,’ Zlabis said ‘We really played well as a team and everyone did their job. Not one person carried the team. It was a real team effort.’

Five of BG’s players finished with at least 10 kills and four had at least 10 digs. Kaitlin Jackson and Shari Luther led the team with 17 kills each, while Noelle Spitler added a career-high 11.

Ashley Herzberg had a career-high 16 digs, and Allison Kearney had a career day, too, with 59 assists.

Coach Denise Van De Walle couldn’t have been happier after the first victory in over a month.

‘I can’t describe the feeling. It was like we won the MAC title or something,’ Van De Walle said. ‘It was awesome. The match meant a lot to us. I thought we played really well in the fifth game, and that’s what you really need.’

The Falcons posted 89 digs, seven aces and 6.5 blocks in the match. In the three sets they won, they hit the ball well, posting .238, .294 and .321 attack percentages.

Saturday, BG had a challenging time holding onto the lead when they had it – something that has been their biggest struggle this season. Luther can’t figure it out.

‘I really don’t know,’ she said. ‘Part of it might be that we’re inexperienced. We seem to get leads and be right with a team, but we can’t hang onto it and then they pull away.

‘Central was a tough serving team, and when we needed to kill a ball, we couldn’t do it. When you have a lead, we should be playing more comfortable and laid back, so I don’t know what’s happening.’

The Chippewas won the opening set, but the Falcons came out strong in the second. It looked like they were going to pick up the win when they lead 24-19, but again, had trouble putting balls away when it mattered.

CMU got back-to-back kills and then a pair of aces, making it 24-23. After a BG attack error tied the set at 24, CMU found a way to get two more kills to win the set, which finished off a seven-point run.

BG came out of the locker room ready to go for the third set. The team hit a .297 to pull out a hard-fought 25-23 win.

Kaitlin Jackson ended up with a team-high 16 kills for the Falcons, Domek added 11 and Luther posted 10. Zlabis had another great night digging the ball, with 18 digs and Jackson posted 15, for a double-double.

Van De Walle didn’t think her team executed very well.

‘I expected a little bit more from us, I really did,’ she said. ‘I never expected our passing to be as off as it was. When we dropped that second game it came down to poor communication and poor execution.

‘We get a good four-point lead, and we’re about to close out a set against a very good Central team and I never wanted passing to be the reason why. Our passing broke down and it made it extremely difficult to put the ball away.’

The Falcons will have a week of practice before heading to Muncie, Ind. and Toledo this coming weekend.’

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