It may be hard to hear but the BGSU volleyball season is rolling to an end with the final road series on the horizon this Friday, Nov. 8, and Saturday, Nov. 9. as the Bowling Green Falcons (17-8, 12-2 Conf) take on the Northern Illinois Huskies (3-21, 1-13 Conf).
The series marks the second straight weekend series that the Orange and Brown are hitting the road with the Falcons beating Miami 3-1 Friday and 3-0 Saturday.
The first match of the series kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday with the second game falling at 5 p.m. on Saturday, both matches will be held at Victor E. Court in DeKalb, Illinois.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak will have the broadcast call for both matches , starting at 6:45 p.m. for pregame on Falcon Radio this Friday, and 4:45 p.m. for pregame Saturday on WBGU 88.1 FM.
Matchup History
Huskie volleyball holds the overall record against the Falcons going 30-18 since the teams first matched up on Oct. 8, 1982.
The road trip also doesn’t bode well for the Orange and Brown historically who are just 3-16 on the road against Northern Illinois, the last time BG won in DeKalb was November 3rd, 2018 (3-0).
Recency bias also favors NIU who won the most recent matchup against the Falcons, 2-3 in the Stroh Center on Sept. 22, 2023.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Orange and Brown have been on a heater since dropping their second Mid-American Conference (MAC) game on October 11th to Central Michigan (3-2). BG VB has won seven straight matches since that day, winning sets (21-2) including five sweeps.
With a bit of help from the Ohio Bobcats, the Falcons are now in the driver’s seat to host the MAC tournament, one win above second-place CMU.
Statistically, the Falcons also trend towards the top, earning themselves first in blocks (2.62 per set), points (17.17 per set), and second in hitting percentage (0.241).
Bowling Green find themselves sixth in the MAC in kills which can come as a bit of a surprise but with their dominant block and ability to spread the offense, there shouldn’t be an issue.
Scouting NIU
It’s been tough sledding for the Huskies so far this season with Northern Illinois only able to win one match in MAC play, sweeping Kent State at home.
The lone win over Kent State earns NIU the tiebreaker meaning they are second to the bottom of the MAC, behind Kent, with a losing streak of nine straight conference games.
In the stat column, it has also been a bit of a difficult journey with NIU’s highest stat coming from their backcourt averaging 15.36 digs per set, 3rd best in the MAC. Nearly every other statistic places the Huskies ninth with points per set (15.37), assists per set (11.42), and kills per set (12.40).
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Lauryn Hovey (Bowling Green #14)
Despite the Falcons’ ability to spread the ball, if they find themselves in a tough stretch they turn to the junior opposite to close out games and with the stout backcourt of the Huskies Hovey’s 44 service aces could also come in handy.
The Waterloo, Ontario native leads the team in kills (294) and service aces (44) while also finding herself second in digs (231) further proving her versatility.
Alexis Mettille (Bowling Green #16)
To say that the fifth-year middle blocker has been impressive would be doing a disservice. Mettille ranks fifth in the MAC in blocks per set (1.14) four spots behind her teammate junior middle blocker Jessica Andrews.
The stat that has been a standout for Mettille’s season is hitting percentage where she ranks first in the MAC (.436) which is also good enough to put her ninth in the nation.
Hoffmeier has arguably been the brightest spot for the Huskies tallying 442 digs which is the best in the entire conference.
The Louisville, Kentucky native will be one of the keys for Northern Illinois if they want to knock off the Falcons, anchoring the backcourt and weathering strong attacks.
The freshman setter has also been an exciting addition to Northern Illinois as she is the only other Huskie in the top ten in any MAC statistic. Strausberger is tenth in the conference in assists per set (6.08).
Despite a below-average attack, it will be key for NIU to get good placements from the set if they want to knock off the MAC-leading Falcons.
