On Wednesday, BGSU Volleyball (22-9, 16-2) hosted the Binghamton Bearcats (19-10, 8-2) for the NIVC in the Stroh Center. The Falcons looked to rebound and get a tournament win after suffering a tough loss against Western Michigan.
BG won in four sets, advancing to the next tournament round. “It’s hard to lose in the tournament like we did. The credit goes to our team emotionally to get back.” said head coach Danijela Tomic after a hard-fought win.
Here’s how things went down.
First Set:
A little bit of back and forth at the beginning of the set kept things tight. The Falcons took an 8-6 lead thanks to a great swing by senior outside hitter Mia Tyler.
Bowling Green maintained their lead going into the media timeout with a score of 15-12 in favor of the Orange and Brown. Some great ball placement and power were the story of the set.
After a well-tooled block by Binghamton’s sophomore middle blocker Misa Dlouha, the score was 22-18 with the Falcons still in the lead.
The Bearcats didn’t score a point after that, and BG won the first set 25-18. Their win was thanks to some great hitting and errors made by Binghamton.
Second Set:
The second set began with a quick timeout from head coach Allie Yaeger after the Falcons went on a 7-0 run. Coming out of the TO Bowling Green extended this run to 10-0.
Binghamton continued to try to keep this set competitive. Going down 10-0 to start but shortened the lead to 16-11 off an ace.
Coach Yaeger called another timeout after her team went down 20-15 to the Falcons. They fought back well up until this point but BG was holding onto the lead tightly.
A successful challenge by the Bearcats closes the gap to 23-21, but Bowling Green steps up and wins the next two points and the set 25-21.
Third Set:
At the start of the third set, Binghamton took the lead over the Orange and Brown by a small margin at 8-7.
But the Falcons would take the lead back from the Bearcats heading into the media timeout, they led 15-12. The Falcons block was failing but their offense was forcing Binghamton to make mistakes.
The Bearcats took the lead back after a few points, however, reaching the ever-important 20 mark first. They led 20-17, not planning on their season ending tonight.
Coach Tomic called a timeout once Binghamton took a 22-19 lead. Their blocking had become problematic for the Falcons in the third, with four in the set.
Service errors haunt the Falcons once again as the Bearcats took the third set 25-21 and forced the match into a fourth set.
Fourth Set:
Coach Yaeger called timeout early on in the fourth set due to the Falcons taking a 6-2 lead. Bowling Green looked a lot more comfortable in the beginning of the fourth set versus the third.
The Falcons remained in the driver’s seat but Binghamton fought back hard just like they had in the second set. The scoreboard read 13-9 after a kill by fifth-year outside hitter Jordan Newblatt.
The second timeout was called by Binghamton after the Falcons took a 19-14 lead. The Orange and Brown fell into another rhythm and were playing well.
Bowling Green continued to roll along and reach match point without the Bearcats scoring once. They then took the set and the match with a final score of 25-15 and a 3-1 victory.
Freshman defensive specialist Sydnie Hernandez made her first start at libero for the Orange and Brown with libero grad student Lindsey LaPinta out with an injury.
“Missed her out there, she was always giving me feedback so we kind of work together over a line,” said Hernandez on stepping into LaPinta’s role.
Coach Tomic was proud of her freshman player, stating, “I thought Sydnie played well in the role she stepped into.” Hernandez had 13 digs in the Falcon’s win tonight.
This win advances the Falcons to the second round where they’ll take on the Wright State Raiders tomorrow night. BG matched up against Wright State earlier in the year during the preseason, winning that match in four sets.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Chas McNeil will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM starting at 6:45 p.m.
