BGSU volleyball (21-8, 16-2 MAC) won in five sets on Saturday against Ohio Bobcats at the Stroh Center, taking home the 2024 Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular-season title.

“To win a regular season championship here at Jon Stansbery court, in front of our fans, in the fashion that we won it, feels so special,” said BGSU head coach Danijela Tomic postgame.

Winning the MAC regular season is a huge honor and achievement, but more so winning the regular season in honor of Jon Stansbery, who passed away in late October.

“I’ve been thinking a lot since his (Jon Stansbery’s) passing; I don’t know if I would still be in Bowling Green if it wasn’t for Jon and Mo (Stansbery),” said Tomic. “There’s a lot of stuff he has done behind the scenes that people don’t even know, and his unconditional support. He’s someone who believed more than I would in our team, and he communicated that to me.”

“Our mark is not measured by the years we live, it’s the impact we make on others,” said Tomic. “Jon has made a huge impact on me, our program, and so many other people. Our team knows that it’s playing for something bigger than themselves, and they’ve seen our community that gives, and gives, and gives, and that’s what we want to do.”

With Bowling Green’s win against Ohio and the Toledo Rockets winning out against Kent State, the Bobcats and the Rockets are tied in the MAC standings at 10-8.

Here’s how the match went down:

First Set:

Bowling Green starts off the match with great blocking, something that has come to be expected from this team.  They took an early 7-5 lead over the Bobcats. 

Going into the media timeout, Bowling Green led 15-13.  The two squads went back and forth with great plays and a few offensive mistakes. 

OU head coach Geoff Carlston called a timeout shortly after following a swing by junior opposite hitter Anna Kharchynska that barely landed outside the lines.  The Falcons led 17-15 entering the TO.

Thanks to a strong hit by junior opposite hitter Lauryn Hovey, coach Carlston called another timeout, with BG taking a 22-18 lead.

After a timeout by Falcons’ head coach Tomic, the Bobcats kept the set very close, but a few errors cost Ohio the set.  The final score was 25-23, with the Falcons taking a one-set lead. 

Second Set:

Air traffic control, aka Amanda Otten, kicked off the second set with great decision-making on where to go with the volleyball.  Her stellar play caused an OU TO and a BG lead of 9-5.

Coach Carlston then called an early second timeout after Bowling Green fifth-year middle blocker Alexis Mettille shut down an attack from the Bobcats’ sophomore outside hitter Kam Hunt.  The Orange and Brown lead 13-6.

The Bobcats challenged a no-touch call, but it was unsuccessful.  The Falcons now held a commanding lead of 21-12.  Bowling Green would go on to win the second set 25-14 and went up 2-0 in the match.

Third Set:

Ohio is not about to go away without a fight, however.  The Bobcats went on a 4-1 run to put themselves in the driver’s seat at 8-7, which led to a Falcon timeout.

Coach Tomic called a timeout after a communication error in the backcourt that led to a service ace by Kharchynska, putting Ohio up 16-12.

Geoff Carlston called two straight timeouts after each time Bowling Green closed the gap to two points.  The Bobcats led 19-17 entering the timeout. 

OU took the third set by a score of 25-22.  Despite the Falcon’s best efforts to steal it away, the Bobcats hold firm and force a fourth set. 

Fourth Set:

The Ohio block causes trouble for the Orange and Brown, as Fifth-year outside hitter Jordan Newblatt is shut down twice in a row before Coach Tomic calls her first timeout of the set.  OU leads 7-3.

Another BG TO is called after a serve-receive error by freshman defensive specialist Sydnie Hernandez.  Ohio doubled up the Falcon point total, with the score reading 14-7. 

The Bobcats reached the 20-point mark first, leading 20-11 due to great hitting around the BG blocks.  They then went on to win the set 25-16 and force a fifth and final set.

Fifth Set:

After a successful Falcon challenge and a poor set by OU freshman setter Bryn Janke, a usually very posed player, Coach Carlston calls timeout.  BGSU leads 5-1.

OU asked for a challenge of their own, which was again a successful one.  The score read 8-5 going into the media timeout as the teams switched sides.

After some more incredible rallies, Hovey sends a shot through the Bobcat defense, winning the match and securing the number one seed and home-court advantage for the Falcons. 

This was the first five-set match Bowling Green has played in 10 games.  It looked as if they had their backs against the wall, with Ohio having all the momentum. 

However, Mettille said it best post-game, “That’s the beautiful thing about volleyball is it goes back to 0-0 every set.” 

The middle blocker had 14 kills, two service aces, and three total blocks for the Orange and Brown in the big win. 

Bowling Green now enters the MAC tournament as the number one seed and will face the winner of the Western Michigan or Buffalo on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 4 p.m. at the Stroh Center.