BGSU volleyball (12-9, 6-3) hits the road for its second road series of the Mid-American Conference season at Western Michigan (9-13, 6-3), a two-match weekend between two 6-3 MAC teams.
The Falcons head to Kalamazoo, Mich., following their second winless weekend of the season and first in MAC play, against Ball State (13-8, 9-0 MAC) at home, tying them for third in the conference with WMU.
While Toledo may be Bowling Green State University’s rival, Western Michigan is certainly the rival of Bowling Green Volleyball. In the last two seasons, the two “top dogs” in MAC Volleyball have met six times, with WMU leading the series 4-2, boasting a 43-30-1 record.
Two of those wins in the last two seasons for Western Michigan come in the MAC Tournament, a five-set win in the MAC Championship match in 2023 against a red-hot BG team, and in the MAC Semifinals in 2024 over No. 1 Bowling Green (WMU was No. 4).
The biggest x-factor in all six matches was now-graduated setter Logan Case, a five-time All-MAC First Team, three-time MAC Setter of the Year, and two-time MAC Tournament MVP, while scoring 101 assists against BG in the last two tournaments.
Head coach Colleen Munson, an ex-setter herself, has pulled redshirt freshman Leah Richmond into the spotlight, the current MAC leader in assists and the favorite for MAC Setter of the Year.
Because they have their sixth straight season of an unbelievable setting, the Broncos can target a plethora of different hitters. Six Broncos have reached the 100+ kill mark this season (BG has only four), none among the top-ten kills-per-set leaderboard, but all contributing to the third-most team kills in the MAC.
Combining a great setting and swinging with a top-five blocking crew and the best defensive player in the conference (Elana Erickson, MAC leading 4.39 digs per set), Western Michigan is set up to be one of the top four teams in the conference this season.
There could also be a championship “bubble” forming in the MAC. Ball State is the clear favorite, but Toledo, Western Michigan, and Bowling Green all have 6+ wins and are all talented enough to win the MAC Tournament. For Bowling Green, WMU is the final of an incredibly important two-week stretch against two of the top four teams.
The first match against Ball State was one of the best-played matches in the season for Bowling Green, outhitting the Cardinals, dominating the match, but losing three of the five sets by a combined only eight points. Just as much as the first match was great, the second was poor, and BG dropped three straight sets and was weekend-swept by BSU.
While the offense has fired at a high pace, the return of junior setter Amanda Otten from injury will be eagerly awaited. The return of senior opposite hitter Lauryn Hovey helps both attacking and setting, Hovey knocking 12 kills and setting 17 assists in both matches in her return against Ball State.
Hovey and Bowling Green serve first against Western Michigan at 6 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 24, as well as the following day at 4 p.m. Both squads are 6-3, a sweep for BG putting them in a prime place to solidify themselves as a MAC Championship contender.
