BGSU volleyball (17-8, 12-2) started their week with a Battle for I-75 and a four-set win against the Toledo Rockets (15-11, 8-6).
Here’s how things went down:
First Set:
Alexis Mettille opened up the scoring for the Falcons, with both teams starting the game with hot hitting, going back and forth with the score tied at 3-3.
The Falcons then went on a 6-1 run to make the score 9-4. Toledo head coach Jason Oliver was forced to call a timeout to allow his team to reset.
Toledo later would go on a 3-0 run that was capped off by a service ace from redshirt freshman middle blocker Sierra Pertzborn. This run caused a BG timeout with the score reading 15-13.
Coming out of the timeout the two teams went right back to trading points. But Toledo again went on a run of 3-1 to tie the match at 17.
The game stayed tied until the Rocket grabbed two quick points, leading 21-20 before head coach Tomic called her second and final timeout.
Following the timeout Senior outside hitter Mia Tyler sent a bullet into the Toledo defense, tying the game back up for the Falcons. BG then took the lead 22-21.
Toledo responded with their final timeout and then dropped the next three points ending the set. BGSU wins the first set with a final score of 25-21.
Second Set:
BG took a 3-0 lead to start the set but the score then switched to 4-3 after strong topspin serving from Pertzborn, and Toledo took the lead from BG.
However, the Rockets later went on a 3-0 run to tie the game at 10 points apiece. Toledo extended this run to five and took the lead at 12-10. BG took a timeout to stop the momentum.
Toledo takes a timeout after a kill by Mettille, the score when the break occurred read 19-18 in favor of the Rockets.
After exiting the timeout TU got to 20 points first, but lost the lead due to a BG 3-0 run on the back of Hovey, who swung for two kills during that time frame.
The squads then traded kills with the Rockets taking back the lead at 23-22 on a great block by outside hitter Taylor Alt. BG head coach Danijela Tomic called a timeout in response.
Coming out of the timeout Toledo continued their run and won the set 25-22 after Alt tooled the late block by the Falcons.
Third Set:
Bowling Green started the third set looking impeccable both offensively and defensively. They made Toledo take a quick timeout with a lead of 6-1.
The Rockets pushed to close the gap, but BG kept an 11-6 lead off a call that was challenged unsuccessfully by Toledo.
BG continue to extend their lead beyond four points, leading 15-8 going into another Toledo.
Junior Setter Amanda Otten continued her dominance for BG. Her play led to an 18-10 score in favor of the Orange and Brown.
Another swing rings true for junior opposite hitter Lauryn Hovey and BG goes up 23-14, closing in on the set win. But Toledo had something to say about that, going on a 3-0 run and forcing a BGSU timeout.
It ended up being too little too late, as freshman defensive specialist Sydnie Hernandez got her third ace of the match and won the set 25-18 for the Birds.
Fourth Set:
The fourth set opened with Bowling Green taking a 6-3 lead over the Rockets, largely due to great backcourt play.
The Falcons reached the 10-point mark first, extending their lead to 10-6. BG then went up by two more and forced a Toledo timeout with the score at 12-6.
BG Redshirt freshman outside hitter Edyta Waclawczyk bump set Hovey beautifully to put the Falcons up 16-9. Eddie then swung for a kill and caused the Rockets to call their last timeout as Bowling Green went up 18-13.
The 20-point barrier was then breached by the Falcons of a hitting error from TU. BGSU looked to close out the match with this set.
At the end of a long rally, Toledo’s tired junior outside hitter Izzy Granger misses a line shot to end the match. Falcons fans go home happy with a BG win of three sets to one.
This victory is Bowling Green’s seventh straight in a row. The win is the second this season against the Rockets, dominating in the battle of I-75.
Coach Tomic stated this win was for Jon Stansbery, who passed away on October 31st. Who, along with his wife, Mo, donated the funds for the team’s court, which is duly named after the couple.
When asked what her favorite memory of Jon was, Coach said, “I don’t think I can pick just one…I saw him two days before he passed and he was still Jon.”
Stansbery will live on in the Falcon’s hearts and minds as they go through the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Bowling Green’s next matchup is against the NIU Huskies on the road this Friday. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak will be on the call for Friday’s match on Falcon Radio and Saturday’s game on WBGU 88.1 FM.
