This was the final week of the 2024 regular season for MAC volleyball. It was a week filled with great games and high stakes, as the six MAC Tournament teams are now decided, and a regular season champ has been crowned.
Let’s get into it.
The Falcons are regular season champions.
On Friday and Saturday, the Orange and Brown went to battle with the Ohio Bobcats in an all-important two-game series. The Falcons were aiming to win the MAC, and the Bobcats were hoping to make the conference tournament.
Bowling Green swept OU on Friday in dominant fashion, and it looked as if they would do the same on Saturday, going up 2-0. However, the Bobcats clawed their way back and tied things up 2-2.
Despite the momentum Ohio had gained, the whole BG team stepped up and won the final set, becoming regular season conference champions.
Securing the one seed means the top six squads in the MAC will all be coming to the Stroh Center for the tournament.
On the flip side, the two straight losses mean the Bobcats needed a Toledo loss, or their season would come to a disappointing end.
Bowling Green ends the MAC regular season with a 16-2 record, and the Bobcats finish up at 10-8.
Toledo beats Kent State makes MAC Tournament.
Over the weekend, the Rockets traveled to Kent State to take on the Golden Flashes. They won both games in the series.
The first game was won with a sweep, and the second was won in four sets. These two matches advanced Toledo to 10-8 in the MAC, with Kent State dropping to 1-17.
The Bobcats and Rockets are now tied record-wise and split the two-game series they played against each other earlier in the season. So, who made the MAC tournament?
The tiebreaker came down to who won more sets when these two teams went head to head. Toledo has the edge at five sets to four and takes the sixth seed away from the Bobcats in heartbreaking fashion.
Cardinals and Broncos clash for third seed, split series
Western Michigan traveled to Muncie, Indiana, to face off against Ball State in a struggle for the third seed in the MAC tournament
The Cardinals dominated on Saturday, sweeping the Broncos. But WMU bounced back strong, winning in five sets on Saturday and snapping Ball State’s ten-game win streak.
The split series resulted in both teams finishing the season with 13-5 records, so the difference between the third and fourth seeds came down to the same tiebreaker.
Ball State wins that tiebreaker six sets to three. They now have the third seed, while the Broncos have the fourth spot.
Chippewas, hold off Zips, stay at number two.
Central Michigan went over to Akron to attempt to take the one seed away from Bowling Green. Despite not being able to accomplish this task, they still won out.
The Zips forced a fourth set on Friday and a fifth on Saturday, playing their best volleyball of the season, but it wasn’t enough. The Chippewas won both matches and found themselves safely in the two-seed.
CMU ends their MAC regular season at 15-3, and Akron ends their year with a 7-11 conference record.
Central Michigan would’ve loved to have a homecourt advantage for the MAC tournament, as anyone would, but at least they have a first-round bye to rest up.
Bulls earn fifth seed against Eagles.
Buffalo hosted Eastern Michigan over the weekend and beat them both Friday and Saturday in four sets.
The Bulls are now 12-6 in conference play, and they’ll take up the fifth seed in the MAC tournament. Meanwhile, EMU ended their season on a seven-game losing streak that dropped them to 7-11 and out of the tourney.
Northern Illinois and Miami split their series.
Miami and Northern Illinois took each other on in Oxford in a two-game series.
NIU smoked Miami in three straight sets on Friday, bringing out the brooms on the Redhawks. However, Miami came back the next day with a vengeance, winning their final game of the season in four sets.
Both teams are out of the tournament with 2-16 records apiece.
The MAC tournament:
The six squads who made the tournament are as follows:
- Bowling Green (16-2)
- Central Michigan (15-3)
- Ball State (13-5)
- Western Michigan (13-5)
- Buffalo (12-6)
- Toledo (10-8)
The tournament will begin with Ball State taking on Toledo and Western Michigan taking on Buffalo. Both the Falcons and the Chippewas will have a first-round bye as the top two seeds.
MAC volleyball this year has had it all. Crazy comebacks, beautiful sets, and spectacular kills are only some of the highlights seen from around the conference. The MACtion is only going to kick up a notch as the tournament begins.
