BGSU volleyball (6-6, 0-0) turns a corner in its season as it begins Mid-American Conference (MAC) play with its first home series of the season against Ohio and Kent State. The matches feature a set of four different teams, with the first four matches for BG, and first-year head coach Alex DelPiombo looks for her first conference victory in her career.
The Falcons went 6-6 through their non-conference schedule, the most difficult in the MAC with five power-four and four ranked opponents, along with an undefeated Michigan State team. This record shows a one-win improvement over an easier 2024 non-conference schedule and includes six set wins against the power four, compared to only one in 2024.
BG’s record placed them fifth in the MAC before any conference matches were played, Toledo (9-3), Eastern Michigan (8-5), Northern Illinois (7-2), and Akron (7-4) leading the conference. Due to regionality, both BGSU and Toledo play Ohio and Kent State at home this week and go on the road to play Eastern and Central Michigan next week.
Ohio
The Bobcats finished just outside of the MAC Tournament cutoff with two losses to BG in the Stroh Center at the end of 2024. They have good losses this season to four power-four teams, but otherwise are 2-6 and have the worst record in the MAC.
Kenzie Brinkman leads Ohio Volleyball as interim head coach in 2025, the coaching turnover mirroring the loss of four 100-set players, three top scorers, and their main setter from 2024. They are bottom in almost every statistical category other than aces, fifth in the conference in aces, with four 10+ ace players.
Freshman middle blocker Bailey Blair has been the sparkplug of the Bobcats, with the most points by over 70 and the team leader in kills and blocks. She is the only player with 100+ kills on the team; Ohio has five players with over 60 and fewer than 80 kills.
Kent State
While the Golden Flashes seem to have stepped up from the worst team in the MAC in 2024, with their 5-6 record. However, even though they have already won three more matches than last season, their schedule is still on the easy side, with their premier losses being 8-4 Texas Tech and 9-4 Florida Atlantic.
Kent State’s senior outside hitter Mackenzie McGuire, who has had three straight seasons of 3+ kills per set, has a conference-leading 4.3 kills per set in her senior season. Her setter, junior Christina Vigil, is chasing the lead in assists per set, about 180 of them attributed to McGuire, one of the biggest setter-hitter connections in MAC volleyball.
Bowling Green
BG’s disparity between record and talent may be the biggest in the MAC. Among statistical leaders, BG has two players in kills, blocks, aces and points; their libero is a leader in digs and the setter is the leader in assists.
Two of the last three matches have not been played by the star opposite hitter, Lauryn Hovey. Stepping up largely is junior transfer Avery Hobson, who led BG in kills in four of the last five matches. The combination may be the best attacking duo in the MAC, Falcons adding in the conference’s best setter, Amanda Otten, and 2024’s leading blocker, Jessica Andrews.
BG won the MAC regular season in 2024 with a 16-2 record, their first regular season championship in a divisionless conference. The Falcons take on Ohio at 6:00 p.m. in the Stroh Center on Thursday and Kent State at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
