BGSU volleyball gutted out a five set road win at Kent State Thursday night. This was a matchup of the best two teams in the MAC as the Golden Flashes came into the game sporting a 6-1 conference record.
The Golden Flashes stayed in the game with their offense. They had the advantage in kills, 75-61. Sophomore Savannah Matthews led the Golden Flashes with 22 kills.
On her birthday, junior Katelyn Meyer led the Falcons in kills with 17. Senior Jacqueline Askin and sophomore Petra Indrova both had double digit kills with 15 and 14 respectively.
Junior Hanna Laube recorded a double-double in the match with 49 assists and 13 digs.
Despite losing in the kills stat, BGSU was able to win the match in other areas of the game.
The Falcons had 14 total blocks compared to the 4 total blocks from the Golden Flashes.
BGSU also were able to limit their errors. They had 12 attacking errors and 4 service errors. Kent State had 33 attacking errors and 12 service errors.
The Falcons looked like they were on a mission. BGSU flew to a 13-7 lead before Kent State took a timeout.
Senior Jacqueline Askin helped the Falcons build the early lead with four early kills. Junior Katelyn Meyer and Sophomore Petra Indrova each had four kills in the set as well.
Despite Kent State having a slight 14-13 lead in kills in the set, BGSU continued to keep the big lead. The eight attack errors by the Golden Flashes helped the Falcons get the set.
BGSU won 25-16 and gained the early match lead.
The second set started off similar to the last. A BGSU 5-0 run gave the Falcons the early 6-2 lead.
The Golden Flashes would hang around throughout the set. They hit a modest 23.5% and had two total blocks. It would not be enough as the Falcons would hit for 37.1%.
A couple of kills from senior Katie Kidwell would give the Falcons the 25-19 set win. BGSU would have a 2-0 match lead heading into the third set.
From here Kent. State woke up opening the set on a 7-1 run.
The Falcons would eventually get it together and claw their way back into the set. Meyer would have five kills in the set to help BGSU stay in it.
BGSU would also get help from their front line as the team had four total blocks.
The Falcons went on a 4-0 run to gain a 22-19 lead. The Golden Flashes would eventually close the set 25-23 and stay alive in the match.
BGSU raced out to an early 7-3 lead in the fourth set. They caught Kent State off guard and forced them into a timeout.
Kent State took their second timeout down 20-17. After that timeout, the Golden Flashes went on a 4-0 run to gain the lead.
From there, each team went back and forth. BGSU hit for 13.8% and Kent State hit for 19.4%.
Eventually, Kent State took advantage in extra time and won the set 29-27 and forced a fifth set.
The fifth set was a continuation of the fourth set. Both teams tried to gain some form of momentum in the set to close out the match.
BGSU would gain their footing and go on a 6-0 run to take a 10-5 lead. They were unable to keep that momentum and Kent State got back into the set.
Askin accounted for four points in the set. She collected two kills, two block assists and an ace in the fifth set.
BGSU out hit Kent State 38.1% to 28.6% in the set. The Falcons would not have an attacking error in the set.
BGSU closed out the set 15-13 and won the match 3-2.
The Falcons will face the Golden Flashes again tomorrow at 5 p.m. EST. The game can be viewed on Golden Flashes TV. The link to the game can be found on the BGSU athletic website on the volleyball schedule page.
