BGSU volleyball (7-6) went to battle against Kent State (5-7) on Friday night as they continued within conference play. The Falcons came into this game on a high, especially after they defeated the Bobcats last night in four sets.
Kent State was the team that started the scoring, taking an early 5-1 lead. However, Bowling Green stormed back as freshman outside hitter Anastasija Bozic executed a kill that tied the match at 11 and forced Kent State to call their first timeout.
BG’s momentum continued to mount as they possessed a 20-15 lead. Senior middle blocker Jessica Andrews had a massive impact in the first set as she had three kills, leaving Kent State with no choice but to use their last timeout of the first set.
After a late push by the Golden Flashes, BGSU hung on to win the first set by winning 25-22.
Contrary to the first set, where Kent State started quickly, the Orange and Brown grasped an early 5-0 lead that forced the Golden Flashes’ head coach, Haley Eckerman, to use an early timeout.
After the timeout, the Falcons continued to play fast as junior setter Amanda Otton dominated with two early Aces. Not to mention, freshman middle blocker Kendall Williams also contributed with a thunderous kill, pushing Bowling Green’s lead to 10-2.
Despite the early stages of the second set, the Golden Flashes used their final timeout. Even after Kent State tried to adjust, Bowling Green cruised the rest of the set, winning 25-9.
After BG took care of business in the second set, Kent State began the third set with more energy as they controlled an early 4-1 lead. Regardless, BGSU maintained its approach from the previous two sets as Bozic brought Bowling Green within one point, making it a 6-5 Golden Flashes advantage.
Although Kent State came out stronger in the third set, the Falcons continued to play at their pace while coasting to a 25-21 victory. BG in the end swept the Golden Flashes in three sets.
The key ingredient that propelled BG to a win was its hitting percentage. Bowling Green finished the night with a .266 hitting percentage compared to Kent State’s .075 hitting percentage.
“I thought that we were craving a lot of opportunities. Our middles were really efficient. That was a big piece, being able to run Kendall [Williams] and Helen Wilford. We got in the system a lot more than last night, so we need to use them and open up a lot of our pins,” said head coach Alex DelPiombo.
Also, the Orange and Brown led Kent State with total kills. BGSU had a total of 41 kills, while the Golden Flashes finished with 25 combined kills.
BG now sits with an 8-6 overall record and a 2-0 conference record in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons will now focus their attention on their next opponent, Eastern Michigan, as those two schools clash next Friday in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Falcon Sports Media Network’s Ben Corak and Andrew Smith will be broadcasting Friday’s game. Tune into WBGU 88.1 FM at 6:00 p.m. to listen to the broadcast.
