It may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes, the best motivation for a team is a tough, hard-fought loss.
That is exactly what happened to Bowling Green volleyball earlier this month when the Falcons fell in back-to-back five-setters at the Stroh Center.
Since that fateful weekend, the Orange and Brown have not dropped a single set to opponents, sweeping four straight opponents, including back-to-back sweeps against Kent State on home court, avenging their previous home losses this past weekend.
Despite the total dominance by BG, the Falcons are still in second place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), sitting with a 9-2 conference record, which ties them with Central Michigan, who hold the tiebreaker.
“Our mantra is consistently let’s play this point to the best that we can; we believe that you don’t have control over the outcome, only how you do things,” BG’s head coach Danijela Tomic said.
Consistency has been key for the Orange and Brown, who are led by a stifling defense that continues to impress as the season progresses.
The Falcons have a wall up front, leading the MAC in blocks, averaging 2.59 per set, sitting fourth in opponent kills, averaging 11.84 per set, and limiting teams to the third-lowest hitting percentage in the MAC, .187.
The BG backcourt has also impressed with the youth of freshmen defensive specialists Sydnie Hernandez and Avery Anders, meshing well with BGSU’s experienced grad student libero Lindsey Lapinta.
The ability to create a good, clean first touch has also helped to set the Orange and Brown’s offense into motion with no stop in sight. In their two games against Kent State, the Falcons managed to have a different kill leader in each matchup, with Lauryn Hovey (14) on Friday and Jordan Newblatt (10) on Saturday.
On any given day, it feels like the BGSU will reload in their outside hitter position, mixing and matching their stacked lineup until they mash their opponent. BGSU currently ranks third in the MAC in points per set (16.80) and hitting percentage (.230).
With all that power, it would seem that this would be the extent of the Falcon’s offense, but you would be sorely mistaken because BGSU loves to get scores from everyone on the court. Fifth-year middle blocker Alexis Mettille sits at the very top of the MAC in hitting percentage at .409 off of 308 total attempts, which, if you didn’t know, is absolutely mindbogglingly insane.
Tomic even loves to get sophomore setter Amanda Otten involved in the action because, why not, with Otten tallying five kills on Saturday against Kent, which is just two short of a season-high.
“Amanda is so versatile; she set and hit for us last year. We decided this year to focus on her setting, and she is doing a great job,” Tomic stated. “She’s a hitter and a setter, and we want opponents to treat her as an offensive threat in rotation.”
With all of these pieces clicking simultaneously, the question might be asked: what is the key for the Falcons? The answer is quite simple: win early.
Through the first five “first” meetings of MAC play, the Falcons went to five sets against their opponents, Ball State, Toledo, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. Since the back-to-back losses, BGSU has locked down their quality of play early and cut down on their early mistakes.
Bowling Green looks to keep their season rolling as they hit the road on Halloween night for a weekend series against the Miami (OH) RedHawks (7-15, 1-10 MAC) starting on Friday, Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio, and Saturday, Nov. 2 at 4:00 p.m. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Chas McNeil will have both calls. First, on Friday on Falcon Radio with Carter Leonard, and then on Saturday on WBGU 88.1 FM with Andrew Smith.
