It took 13 sets, roughly eight hours and a call to your local cardiologist, but Bowling Green volleyball is still perfect in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play through five games.
One reverse sweep was clearly not enough for the Falcons, who did double trouble this past week, playing comeback kids against Toledo on Tuesday and Western Michigan on Friday.
“An exciting night; I told the team, ‘They need to be more careful about our heart health because this is a cardiac team,'” BG head coach Danijela Tomic said following Friday’s reverse sweep against WMU. “They’re making it too exciting.”
The Falcons managed to step into the driver’s seat on Saturday, cruising to a sweep against Western Michigan to remain perfect through five games of conference play.
After their performance this week, it has become obvious that the Orange and Brown are here to stay, with every part of their offense seeming to click, despite a sloppy start to both matches against Toledo and Western Michigan.
BGSU has tightened up, currently sitting third in the MAC in overall points, averaging 16.34 per set.
Sophomore setter Amanda Otten has really cemented herself as a core player this past weekend, recording a stat line of 16 kills, 134 assists and 13 blocks through three matches, including a career-high 53 assists against Toledo.
The solid set-up game has unlocked the offense for the Orange and Brown, opening opportunities for players like senior outside hitter Mia Tyler, who led the Falcons through all three games in kills with 51, showing how strong BGSU’s weapons can be.
Junior opposite hitter Lauryn Hovey proved to be as consistent as ever, earning her 115th career service ace, passing Paige Penrod for the most service aces in the rally-scoring era in BGSU history. Hovey also notched her 1000th kill of her career in just her junior year of playing volleyball off Wooster Street.
On defense, BG has managed to complement their offense, finding themselves second in the MAC with 152.0 blocks, averaging 2.58 per set.
“We can’t win with one player, so I asked everybody to do their best, play every point one hundred percent; don’t look at the scoreboard, the score will take care of itself,” Tomic said.
It will be key for the Falcons to stand out defensively as they face the twin terrors of Michigan this week in Eastern and Central Michigan. Eastern Michigan stands tall on defense with a MAC-leading 193.5 blocks and 1084 digs, which earns them second in the conference.
CMU will also be a problem with an offense that is first in the MAC with 917 kills.
All eyes now point back to the Stroh Center as BGSU will continue their Michigan gauntlet in what will be their last home matchup until Oct. 25th.
