On a weekend that included senior day festivities, BGSU Volleyball continued their winning ways, sweeping the Akron Zips to end the home slate of the 2022 campaign.
Here’s how it happened:
Friday
It was tougher than initially imagined, but BGSU volleyball scored a win over Akron in five hard-earned sets.
Bowling Green jumped out in front early, winning the first set 25-19 over the Zips, and things looked like they could be on their way to a sweep.
The Zips had other plans however.
Akron took the second set with a decisive 25-18 victory. Using that momentum, the Zips stunned the Falcons by taking the third set 25-21, and the Zips, who had just two wins coming into the night in Mid-American Conference play, had a real shot to take down one of the premier MAC teams.
However, the Falcons would hit back.
The Orange and Brown were able to race out to a 4-0 lead early in set four, and Akron was forced to call a timeout with the score of the set at 10-6. The timeout did not help much, as the Falcons scored nine of the next 14 points to take a 19-11 lead, which prompted another Zip timeout. Despite a late push by the blue and gold, BGSU withstood the charge and picked up a 25-18 set victory, shaping the squads up for a winner-take-all fifth set.
In set five, both teams exchanged points as the score sat at 3-3, but the Falcons ripped off four straight points to make it a 7-3 fifth set and an Akron timeout. This push would be too much for the Zips to overcome, as they missed out on a massive upset with the Falcons taking the final set 15-11 as well as the match.
A pair of seniors led the charge for the orange and brown, as Petra Indrova registered 18 kills through the match while Hanna Laube led the team in assists with 26.
Saturday
The first set would be close, but the Zips hold on to the lead 17-13 and force a BGSU timeout. The Falcons fought back with kills made by Indrova and sophomore Mia Tyler, forcing a Zips timeout with Akron in the lead 22-20.
After the timeout, setter Jaden Walz set it up Katelyn Meyer, who would send a kill to the floor to score what would’ve been the game point. With the score neck-and-neck at 25-24, the Falcons would fight for the win. Alexis Mettille scored the final point with a kill, ending the set at 27-25 in favor of BG.
In the second set, BG would jump out to a 12-9 lead and at one point would hold an 18-11 lead before Akron would call a timeout. A 7-1 run by the Orange and Brown would put away the Zips 25-12, and create an uphill battle from there on.
In the third set, the Falcons would continue to be on cruise control, maintaining leads ranging from four to seven points, and putting away the Zips in commanding fashion, 25-16.
The night at the Stroh comes to an end with BGSU winning in straight sets, with the Falcons logging their season best in attack percentage.
Meyer led the team with 11 kills and 29 attacks resulting in .310 attack percentage. Tyler also had a great performance with 9 kills and a .429 attack percentage.
As senior night came to a close, Julia Walz knows her time inside the Stroh has been special.
“BG has been a second home for the last 5 years and I ultimately came back for the people,” Walz said.
BGSU will be hitting the road next week for two matches against the Buffalo Bulls. The Falcons will start the weekend off with Friday’s match (Nov. 11) set for 6:00 p.m.
For more information about the team, visit bgsufalcons.com.
