Bowling Green’s season has come to an end, but it has been a fun ride.
BGSU and Western Kentucky went back and forth throughout the match, but the Hilltoppers were able to keep the Falcons at arm’s length to end each set en route to a 3-0 sweep as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (29-3, 14-0 C-USA) pulled away from the Falcons (22-10, 15-3) in set scores of 25-20, 25-23, and 25-20 to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The win is #1000 in WKU’s program history.
“I’m super proud of our team. I have so much respect for Bowling Green. I’ve known Danijela [Tomic] for a long time and she has done an incredible job in building that program,” Western Kentucky Head Coach Travis Hudson said. “They are so hard to play against because they are so balanced and do so many things well. This has been a challenging week for us. We’ve faced as much adversity as you can face in a week.”
The matchup saw two teams that have grown since they played each other all the way back on Sep. 2, where the Hilltoppers won in four sets. Since this day, Western Kentucky have gone 22-2, including this match, while Bowling Green dominated their conference and won the MAC championship.
Despite the match ending in a sweep, the teams were evenly matched and traded blows all night. The WKU defense stiffened up at the end of each set, however, allowing Western Kentucky to escape with their fourth straight victory in the NCAA tourney’s first round.
Three Hilltoppers recorded 10 kills apiece, but fifth year senior Katie Isenbarger was a beast, adding seven blocks on the night as well, including some pivotal ones that gave the red and white momentum to close out each set. Paige Briggs and Lauryn Matthews were the other two players with 10 kills.
Western Kentucky will face the third-seeded Kentucky Wildcats tonight at 7 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, KY.
For the Falcons, their non-conference woes continued, as they finish the season 5-7 against non-MAC opponents. The loss is their first since dropping a match at home to Ball State at the end of October, and their first time getting swept since the same match.
In potentially her last match of her college career, the MAC Player of the Year Petra Indrova put on a show. She had 29 attacks on the night, moving her to fifth in BGSU history with 3,619, and 10 kills off those attacks. Her defense (five digs and a block) was able to shift the momentum in favor of the Falcons, giving the orange and brown leads in the middle of each set. She has already been honored as one of the top 50 BGSU athletes of all time, and if this is the end of the road, what a career she had.
This is more than likely the end of the road for Katelyn Meyer as well. She finished with four kills on the night, adding to her career total that is second in BGSU history, while also adding a block. Meyer is also on the top 50 BGSU athletes of all-time list, and her offensive skill will be hard to replicate.
Bowling Green is in good hands for next season and beyond, however, as MAC Freshman of the Year Lauryn Hovey has proven to be next up to lead the team. Finishing with a team high 11 kills and an ace, many teams have had no answer for Hovey’s efficiency. Mia Tyler had a phenomenal year as well, as she ended the day with seven kills and two blocks. The Hovey-Tyler duo will be a force to reckon with next season.
For more information about the team, visit bgsufalcons.com.
