What a fantastic matchup for a midweek MACtion game in the second week of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season. 2-0 BGSU versus 2-0 Toledo in the Battle of I-75 at Savage Arena in Toledo.
With five games in nine days, generally healthy teams, up and down non-conference schedules, so many different dynamics are at play in these two teams: condition, previous play, future opponents, not to mention the only two other 2-0 teams battling on the same day and time.
On paper, Toledo played better than the Falcons through the start of the season. The Rockets are 9-5, two wins and a loss better than Bowling Green (both teams have two wins so far in conference play). They have also accumulated a strong MAC stat profile, sitting second in points per set (/s) with 16.89, third in hitting percentage with .227, fifth in kills/s with 12.82 and second in aces/s with 1.92 across their 51 sets played.
Yet competition detracts from an impressive start to their season as a whole. The Rocket’s seven non-conference wins come from small schools (four with records under .500, three who barely cracked .500 in 2023) and one of their losses to Idaho State 3-1, a team that finished 2023 8-20.
It’s not quite as impressive as the numbers may demonstrate.
Just as many who are faithful to BG would tell you, the Falcons are the opposite. 7-6 is not an impressive record, especially when five of the losses are three-set sweeps. Yet three BG wins and one loss came from teams who won their conference and played in the NCAA tournament, as well as four losses coming from Big Ten or Big 12 opponents (Illinois, Cincinnati, and Ohio State x2).
One may say that MAC play is what truly matters. Let’s look at each conference opponent:
Toledo swept Northern Illinois in six sets to win their first MAC series. NIU went 8-22 in 2023, 6-12 in the MAC, finished second to last in MAC West, and started 2024 2-10.
Bowling Green won six of eight sets against Ball State in their first MAC campaign. BSU finished as the third seed in 2023, amassing a 13-5 conference record and winning four MAC season series.
It’s not surprising that Toledo was able to best NIU. While it isn’t surprising that BG took two from the Cardinals, it is immensely impressive given the resume and prestige of the team.
Much of this preview has been hype-dispelling Toledo’s hot start. Yet the Rockets are still a formidable team for BG to handle, and their team relies on two pieces for most of production.
Veteran outside hitters Taylor Alt and Izzy Granger are major parts of UT’s overall gameplay. Alt is in her fifth year of volleyball as a Rocket, chasing her fourth year of 450+ kills. In her 50 2024 sets, she has a MAC-leading 191 kills (3.82/s) and 225 points (4.5/s), with a .266 hitting percentage, 16 assists, 19 aces, 110 digs and 25 blocks.
Granger is a few years younger but only slightly behind Alt in stats. The Junior has 155 kills through 51 sets, a .206 hitting percentage, nine assists, 19 aces, 124 digs, 18 blocks and 183 total points.
Between Alt and Granger, UT has a powerful one-two punch over the net. Even more impressive is the two’s ability to impact almost every portion of the game, both offensively and defensively.
However, UT has the tougher task in dealing with BG. The Rockets are trying to stop a true machine, who, against Ball State, posted 99 kills, a .282 hitting percentage, 14 aces, 93 digs, 22 blocks and 135 points.
One of either the Falcons or the Rockets will stay undefeated; one will receive their first MAC loss. You can listen to a win for either team on WBGU 88.1 FM, where Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Chas McNeil will have the call starting at 5:45 p.m. for pregame and 6 p.m. for first serve.
