BGSU volleyball is home again but under different circumstances than normal. For the third time in four seasons, the Falcons have won (or won a piece of) the MAC Regular Season Title. Due to rule changes this year, the tournament has been moved to the winner of the title’s floor, and with the Falcons having gone 20-1 this season, it will be in the Stroh Center. Also new, instead of the eight-team playoff we typically see, only four teams make the tournament. The Falcons will start off against the Miami Redhawks, while the winners of the MAC West, Western Michigan takes on the Ohio Bobcats with the winners of the two games playing for the tournament crown on Saturday. Here’s the three keys for the Falcons to keep the trophy in Bowling Green.
Get the Offense Going Early:
There have been multiple times this season where BGSU has struggled offensively down the stretch. This is a two parter. The Falcons need to get off to a hot start in the beginning. Against Akron and Toledo in the Stroh, both teams made the Falcons struggle, and because of that, Toledo walked out of BG with a win. Miami, Western and Ohio all have dynamic offenses and the Falcons have the means to deal with them defensively, but when a team has two of the most dynamic hitters in First Team All-MAC Players Katelyn Meyer and Petra Indrova, offense like we saw in Buffalo where the Falcons hit quite well, no one will stop the Falcons from soaring at the Stroh.
Get the Ball to Walz
Julia Walz has been by far the best player from the service line this season. Walz, who led the Falcons with 29 aces, and was third in the MAC for aces a set at a .37%. The Falcons will have to rely on Walz for sure to get aces, but will need others to do so. Players like Katie Kidwell, and Alex Laboy who have had their struggles from the service line this year will need to be relied upon to get the ball placed on the floor with the serve. Though it’s okay to not have as many aces, the amount of Service Errors need to be diminished.
Be Cool and Collective
This is an easy one most people don’t think about, but this is the most important key to this team’s success. The Falcons coming off the best season not just in program history but in BGSU Athletics History may put unwarranted stress on pressure on the team. Coach Tomic had a great quote last season that the team needs to play their game and play at their pace. That’s what they need to do in the tournament. The regular season is over, and everything that happened good and bad is in the past. For the Falcons to succeed, they can’t let the moment be too big for them, when this team plays calmly they play confidently, and when they play confidently, no one will be able to stand in their way.
The Falcons will get the weekend started against Miami at 4:30 pm on Friday, with the Broncos and Bobcats to follow. All games will be streaming on ESPN+, and broadcasted live (for free) on mixlr.com/bgrso-falconradio