On Friday, BGSU volleyball (2-2) secured a convincing win in their first game of the Tru by Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invite, sweeping UMBC (0-4).
This win was a great bounce-back after being swept by Illinois and Cincinnati in their previous two games at the Best Western Invitational at the Stroh Center.
UMBC was topped by BG in most major statistical categories. The Falcons beat the Retrievers in kills (41 to 26), hitting percentage (.208 to .126), service aces (14 to eight), assists (37 to 24), and digs (38 to 32).
This was the Falcon’s first-ever win in volleyball against UMBC, having been bested in the first and second meetings against the Retrievers. Junior opposite hitter Lauryn Hovey led Bowling Green in kills with 12, with a career-high of seven service aces.
Here’s how the match played out:
First Set
Bowling Green came out swinging, starting the game on a 3-0 run. They stretched their lead to 4-2, before the retrievers mounted a small comeback, tying the set at five a piece.
Both teams continued to battle and found themselves again tied 9-9. The Falcons then went on a small 3-0 run to put themselves in the lead at 11-9.
The Falcons continued to ride this momentum, and UMBC fell behind 16-11. The Retrievers fought back though, cutting the lead to 17-15.
UMBC was forced to call a timeout shortly after, as Bowling Green went further ahead, making the score 20-16. The Retrievers got a point coming out of the timeout, but a 3-0 run by BG made a comeback seem even more unlikely.
The Falcons held off UMBC with a final score of 25-21, winning the first set.
Second Set
The Orange and Brown showed determination at the beginning of the second set, fighting back from being down 5-1 and turning the score into 7-5 with a six-point run, forcing the Retrievers to call a timeout.
The rest of the set was very back-and-forth, with neither team able to pull ahead. UMBC went up late in the set 18-17 with back-to-back points, causing a timeout from the Bowling Green coaching staff.
Following the timeout, BGSU went on a 3-0 run to make the score 23-21. The Retrievers didn’t go away though, and the score changed to 24-23 in favor of the Falcons.
Despite the timeout to kill momentum, UMBC extended their run to 3-0, making the score 25-24. The game went into extras, but Bowling Green went on their own 3-0 run to seal the set for the Falcons.
Third Set
UMBC started this set off strong, taking a 5-2 lead through a 4-0 run. The Falcons chipped away at the Retrievers three-point lead, tying things up at 8-8.
This initiated some back-and-forth play, with the teams staying tied at 12 points each. The Retrievers then went on a quick 3-0 run, leaving them up 15-12 heading into the media break of the set.
Coming out of the break, Hovey smashed a spike for a kill and then followed it up with a service ace, her fifth of the match. Another serve from Hovey led to a kill from fifth-year opposite hitter Jordan Newblatt, tying the score at 15-15.
Bowling Green’s run continued due to UMBC errors and blocks from Newblatt and junior middle blocker Jessica Andrews, creating a 5-0 run overall and leading to a Retrievers’ timeout.
The run then stretched even further to 9-0 with yet another ace from Hovey, making seven service aces for her for the match, the most of her career with the Falcons.
With the set ending in a back-and-forth battle and a win for the Falcons. The final score for the set was 25-18 after a challenge resulted in the final point being overturned in Bowling Green’s favor.
Game Review:
After an off-game from Hovey against Cincinnati, she returned to the court with a vengeance, leading the Falcons with 12 kills. Her seven aces in the game put her fifth all-time on the BGSU program’s Rally Scoring Era list for most career service aces. She has 97 and is nearing the top ten for the program’s all-time list.
Freshman setter Anna Sitek set her career high in the match, with 34 assists for the day, the most by a Falcon this season. She also had two aces and six digs to help out with the Falcons’ victory.
Sophomore outside hitter Marija Tabak made her debut for the Falcons. She had an impressive eight kills on 24 attacks and five digs to go along with it.
Andrews in the middle blocker position did her job today and did it well, shutting down attacks on five blocks.
The Orange and Brown have achieved both their wins this year while wearing their orange jerseys. They might want to wash those jerseys and wear them again tomorrow, as they will be facing the 22nd-ranked team in the country the Dayton Flyers on Saturday, Sept. 7, with the first serve set for 3 p.m.
