BGSU volleyball (20-8, 15-2) took on Ohio (14-14, 10-7) Friday night at the Stroh Center and pulled away with a three-set sweep for their 10th consecutive victory.
There were major Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament implications for the contest as Bowling Green held a one-game lead on second-place Central Michigan heading into the game.
With both the Falcons and the Chippewas winning on Friday, the only way Bowling Green can’t get the top seed now is if they lose Saturday night in the regular season finale against Ohio and Central Michigan beats Akron.
First Set: 25-18 (Bowling Green)
Bowling Green started off the match on a 9-4 run before Ohio finally called a timeout. While the Bobcats had some strong serves to start the set, junior opposite hitter Lauryn Hovey’s three kills during the run gave Bowling Green the early lead after another 4-2 run made it 13-6, Bowling Green, Bobcats head coach Geoff Carlston called his second timeout of the set to talk things over with his team.
Things initially went Ohio’s way out of the timeout with three straight points going to the Bobcats. However, a successful challenge by BGSU head coach Danijela Tomic negated one of the Ohio points as well as their newfound momentum.
The once slim 13-8 Falcon lead quickly became 22-15 after the 9-7 run, post-challenge. The Orange and Brown ended up prevailing in the set fairly-handedly, winning 25-18.
14 total team kills, and a whopping 23 total team digs in the first set helped secure the early match lead.
Second Set: 25-17 (Bowling Green)
Bowling Green started the second set with a dominant 10-3 run, which included a monstrous kill at the net by junior middle blocker Jessica Andrews. Only one point was scored via a kill by Ohio during the opening Falcon run.
Out of another Ohio timeout, the Bobcats started to get some more offensive efficiency but still were unable to close the gap because they couldn’t stop the Falcon’s offense. Bowling Green led the back-and-forth middle portion of the set, 9-8, to make it 19-11.
Hovey continued to dominate, as she often does, getting three more kills in the run and putting her over double-digit kills on the match.
“Lauryn can take over and take her game to the next level. Just when you think she can’t jump higher, she jumps higher and hits the ball at a higher point,” Tomic said postgame. A diving save by freshman defensive specialist Sydnie Hernandez also helped the Falcons score a huge point after a brief 3-0 Ohio run.
A few service errors by Ohio, combined with a couple of crucial kills by senior outside hitter Mia Tyler, carried Bowling Green down the stretch of the set, winning the second set 25-17.
“They were very, very clean in the first two sets,” Tomic said.
Third Set: 25-23 (Bowling Green)
The third set started as the Amanda Otten show. The sophomore setter served up the Falcon’s second ace of the game and led the Orange and Brown to a 3-0 start. The Bobcats quickly responded, however.
Two kills by Ohio’s sophomore outside hitter Kam Hunt and three kills by sophomore middle blocker/opposite hitter Olivia Gardner helped the Bobcats gain momentum, eventually going on a 14-7 run to give Ohio a slim 14-10 set lead.
After the long Ohio run, Hovey and fifth-year middle blocker Alexis Mettille each had massive spike kills. This started to give the Falcons some more offensive momentum.
When the set’s score was cut down to a 17-14 Bobcat lead, and the 1,300 Falcon fans erupted with noise, Carlston called yet another timeout.
“Our crowd was unbelievable today. You feel that energy. It’s very loud in timeouts; I wonder if they hear anything that I say,” Tomic said.
As was a theme all night, the Falcons went on a run after the Bobcat timeout, eventually tying the game at 19 a piece with a Mettille kill. After a couple of Ohio points were scored, two massive Hovey kills made it 22-22.
An attack error by Garnder then gave the Orange and Brown a 23-22 set lead, their first third set lead since it was 4-3.
The next point was originally called out off of a Falcon’s hand, but coach Tomic challenged the call. She ended up winning her second challenge of the game as it was ruled out on Hunt instead, increasing the Bowling Green lead to 24-22.
After an Ohio kill cut the Bowling Green lead back to one, Hovey blocked a spike by Hunt on the next point to win the third set 25-23 and complete the 3-0 win against the Bobcats.
“We struggled a bit in the third set. In the end, I loved our poise. I loved how we got together at the end,” Tomic said.
Hovey led the Falcons in kills (16), had the second-most digs (12), the second-highest hitting percentage (.387) and had the second-most blocks (three), including the game-winning blocks in the third set.
Mettille also led the Falcons in hitting % (.600) and blocks (five).
Otten led the Falcons in assists (30) and digs (13). She also had the third-best hitting percentage (.364) and an ace.
“I told them after the match, ‘We played like champions tonight,'” Tomic said.
The Falcons may very well be on their way as they now control their own destiny to get the top seed for the MAC Tournament with a win on Saturday night against the same Ohio Bobcats team that they just swept.
A top seed for the Falcons would force the MAC Tournament to run through the Stroh Center. If Friday night’s contest is any indication, it will be a loud and rambunctious place to play.
