Earlier Saturday evening, Bowling Green Volleyball played another efficient match versus the Kent State Golden Flashes, only taking two minutes longer than last night.
Bowling Green was able to defeat KSU in straight sets again, extending their win streak to four and improving their Mid-American Conference record to 5-6, reaching a tie for third place in the MAC East with Akron.
Dominating the scoresheet with kills, assists, and digs, the Falcons put together a productive offense and defense performance to close out Family Weekend in the Stroh.
Here’s how it happened.
Set 1: 25-17 (Bowling Green)
The first set started with back-and-forth play, but BGSU first took hold of the lead after a Lauryn Hovey ace.
Not stopping at tying it up, with Hovey behind the service line, the Falcons jumped into a 7-3 lead. After Bowling Green took an early lead in the stat sheet with seven kills and an ace, Kent State began to make up some ground, coming within one point of the tie, 9-8.
After some BG attack errors, the Golden Flashes were able to close the gap, logging their first ace to make the score 12-12. The Falcons held the lead 15-13 going into the media timeout with Hovey was leading the charge for Bowling Green with six kills.
Coming out of the media timeout, the Falcons kept their lead going with a 3-0 run, the score reaching 18-15 before Kent State called for a timeout.
The Falcons continued to push toward 25, reaching a 23-17 score before the Golden Flashes called for their second timeout. Quickly reaching the set point with 18 kills, 21 digs, and a hitting percentage over .500, the Falcons were able to secure the first set.
Set 2: 25-16 (Bowling Green)
The beginning of the second set followed the trend of the first…trading off points. The back-and-forth game played out until Kent State logged a 2-0 run, including an ace to take the lead, 8-6. With a sense of urgency, the Falcons fought to tie it back up 9-9, eventually taking the lead back 11-9.
Playing until another media timeout, the Falcons narrowly held the lead 14-13. After some errors by the Flashes, the Falcons extended their lead to a 19-14 score, forcing a Kent State timeout.
Within less than a minute, Kent State called for their final timeout as Bowling Green entered the twenties with a 21-15 lead. Out of the timeout, the Falcons continued the charge, not letting up until they secured the second set.
Set 3: 25-11 (Bowling Green)
They say the third time’s the charm and this was especially true for the beginning of the third set. It once again, began with nail-biting back-and-forth scoring. Just like the other sets, Bowling Green found a way to get ahead. After back-to-back aces by Hovey, the Falcons were able to snag a 7-4 lead. The Falcons continued to push forward to a 10-5 score until they were stopped by a Kent State timeout.
Adding another 5-1 stretch after the timeout, the Orange and Brown moved to a 15-7 score over the Flashes. Throwing another three points on top, including an ace by Jaden Walz, Kent State called for their final timeout.
Out of the KSU timeout, the Falcons left the Flashes in the dust, reaching 20 points before Kent State could reach 10. Staying on top until the end, the Falcons claimed the third and final set 25-11.
Commanding the stat sheet, the Falcons had 43 kills, 49 digs, and a whopping 12 aces, their season high in that category.
The match leaders were Hovey with 15 kills, 21 points, nine digs and five aces. Walz came short of topping her season record for assists with 37 and led the night with 16 digs. Mia Tyler added 11 kills as the second effort in the respective category for the orange and brown.
From here, the Falcons are going on a road trip for the next portion of their schedule, first traveling to Eastern Michigan and then Central Michigan next Thursday and Friday.
First serve from Ypsilanti on Thursday is at 6 p.m.. Catch the Falcon Media Sports Network pregame show on 88.1 FM WBGU beginning at 5:45 that night.
For more stories related to BGSU Athletics, follow Falcon Media Sports Network on X (@bg_fmsn).
