This week of Mid-American Conference (MAC) volleyball was defined by a two-game series between teams, with the exception of three games on Tuesday. It was a week that showed which teams are here to win and which teams are willing to roll over.
Bowling Green and Central Michigan are now tied with 9-2 records for first place in the MAC standings. CMU wins the tiebreaker due to their win against the Falcons earlier this season.
Let’s get into it:
Before the series started…
On Tuesday, Kent State went on the road to face the Ohio Bobcats. Ohio won the match in four sets, taking sets one, two, and four. The only close set was the first, with a final score of 25-23.
OU is now above .500 in the MAC, with a record of 5-4, while the Flashes are still winless 0-9 in the conference.
Western Michigan proved they can still play on their home floor against NIU. The Huskies lost in three straight sets to the Broncos.
The Broncos beat Northern Illinois in all major statistical categories. The sweep improves WMU’s MAC record to 5-4, while NIU is 1-8.
The final game from Tuesday was between Buffalo and Akron on the Bulls’ court. The game needed a fifth set to be decided, and the Bulls came out on top with the win.
The Zip’s MAC play record fell to 4-6, and Buffalo bounced back after losing to Bowling Green, getting to 8-2.
Falcons sweep Golden Flashes twice in two days
On Friday, the Falcons began their home series with a slow start in each of the three sets. But they came back in each to take the set wins.
Much of this game was decided in battles at the net. With the Falcons finding an offensive rhythm despite the chaos, and winning the deciding points.
The game resulted in a third straight sweep for the Falcons, with Kent State still struggling to get a win in MAC play.
The final set scores were 25-23, 25-16 and 25-22.
Junior opposite hitter Lauren Hovey played phenomenally, filling up the stat sheet with 14 kills, two service aces, two assists, seven digs and a block.
The next day, Bowling Green solidified themselves as the stronger team. They won this game by much more, again winning in sweeping fashion, extending the streak to four games.
Kent State closely contested the first set 22-25 but soon fell apart, with the Falcons playing well and taking advantage of the Golden Flashes mistakes.
The Orange and Brown won the next two sets 25-15 and 25-13, rolling into a victory at the Stroh.
Amanda Otten played very smartly in this match, and it did not go unnoticed by head coach Danijela Tomic, who praised the junior setter for her excellent play.
The Falcons had the Flashes beat in every statistical category besides digs in this matchup, only losing in that regard 37-34.
After winning both games in the series, BG advances to 14-8 and 9-2 in the MAC. Meanwhile, Kent is 1-20 and 0-11 in conference play.
In the second match, Kent State seemed to run out of gas, but in the first, they were playing their best volleyball of the season.
This Golden Flashes squad is hungry for that first win, while the Falcons are ready for the MAC playoffs and a shot at redemption against Central Michigan.
Central Michigan proves win against Bowling Green was no fluke
This week, the Chippewas faced the tough opponent of Buffalo in a two-game series. But it seems this team was up to the task of defending their home court against the Bulls.
On Friday, the Bulls took set one against CMU, but then lost the next three sets, with set two going into extras (27-25).
Despite Buffalo having one more kill than the Chippewas and a superior hitting percentage, they still fell to the Cippewas in four sets.
Central Michigan is a scrappy team that quite simply finds ways to win, even if the stat sheet begs to differ.
Buffalo was hoping to end the story differently on Saturday. These teams looked extremely evenly matched.
The Chippewas went up 2-0, but the Bulls fought back to force a fifth set. However, their comeback was cut short as CMU won the last set 15-12 and won the match.
Central Michigan stays in first place in the MAC with a 9-2 record, while Buffalo falls to 8-4.
Toledo bounces back after last week’s loss to Buffalo
Miami came to town on Thursday to play the Rockets and probably wish they hadn’t. The Redhawks lost to Toledo in three quick sets.
The Rockets had 10 blocks as a team, and fifth-year outside hitter Taylor Alt had a great outing with 10 kills and four service aces.
Toledo had a team-hitting percentage of .300, while Miami’s hitting percentage was less than stellar at .071
The next day, Miami again went down two sets to none but managed to find a set win in the third. The Rockets then stopped the comeback right away, winning the fourth set 25-22.
The Redhawks have now fallen to 1-10 in conference play. Toledo stands tall in the MAC at 8-3.
Western Michigan might be getting hot at just the right time
Thursday night in Akron, the Broncos faced off against the Zips. The squads tied up at one set a piece, but Western Michigan took the next two to win the match.
Akron’s senior outside hitter Lauren Baker led both teams in kills with 19, but WMU’s fifth-year outside hitter Anna Calcagno had 16 kills of her own, the most of any Bronco.
On Friday, Akron forced the game into a fifth set after WMU went up 2-1. The Zips lost in the end, with a final set score of 15-8.
