Bowling Green volleyball swept Ball State 3-0 on the road Thursday evening. This was their first time playing Ball State since their loss to them in the MAC Championship game in 2019.
The Falcons would dominate most of the match. They would outhit the Cardinals 27.9% to 6.8%. BGSU would also have the edge in blocking 10.5 to 5.
The depth of the Falcons was tested as senior Katie Kidwell did not play in this match.
Senior Jacqueline Askin led the team in kills with 12. Sophomore Petra Indrova and junior Katelyn Meyer would be behind Askin with 11 kills.
Sophomore Madelynn Luebcke was a force on the net. Luebcke had six block assists and the team’s only solo block.
After a 4-4 tie in the first set, the Falcons dominated the rest of the set.
BGSU would have 12 kills in the set. Ball State would have 12 attacking errors in the set. The Falcons out hit the Cardinals 24.1% to -17.6%.
The Falcons boxed in the Cardinals. BGSU had three blocks in the set. Junior Nikolija Katanic would have two block assists in the set.
BGSU won the set 25-14 and claimed the 1-0 match lead.
It was more of the same in the second set. After a 11-11 tie, BGSU took over the set.
Once the Falcons got a 16-12 lead, the Cardinals called a timeout to try and slow down the Falcons’ momentum.
BGSU continued to roll. While Ball State did have a hitting percentage of 25.7%, BGSU would hit for 45.2% in the set.
BGSU won the set 25-16 and took the 2-0 lead heading into the third set.
Ball State would battle during the third set. Each team would go blow for blow to claim the set.
Towards the end of the set, it would be a 20-20 tie. Meyer would get two kills to give the Falcons the 22-20 lead. Ball State took a timeout to try and curb BGSU’s momentum again.
The Falcons would take care of business and won the set 25-20 and completed the sweep.
The Falcons will run it back with the Cardinals tomorrow. The match is set to start at 5 p.m. EST and will be available on ESPN +.