Bowling Green volleyball is in danger of missing the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament. The Falcons (7-7 MAC) need two wins over Akron in their second-to-last series of the regular season for a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.
The MAC Playoff Picture
Ball State (13-1), Western Michigan (10-4), Toledo (9-5) and Ohio (9-5) have all solidified themselves as the top four in the standings, and, barring massive collapse, will be in the tournament hosted by Bowling Green.
There is a three-way battle between Akron, Miami (OH) and Bowling Green, all 7-7 in conference, through the next two weeks for fifth and sixth place in the MAC, the final two MAC Tournament spots.
Miami (OH) plays Central Michigan (6-8) and Eastern Michigan (4-10), two of the bottom six teams in the MAC. The RedHawks control their destiny with tiebreakers over both Akron and Bowling Green; three wins and Miami (OH) is in.
Bowling Green hosts Akron this weekend, a sweep for either the Falcons or Zips, all but eliminating the other from the tournament. If the teams split, it puts high pressure on the final matches of the season, Akron playing Toledo (9-5) at home and BGSU playing Buffalo (5-9) on the road.
Any team that isn’t Kent State still mathematically has a chance, although minute.
Akron
Unlike Bowling Green, Akron is hot. Although against three of the bottom four teams, head coach Tyson Norton and Akron have won each of their last five matches and six of their last eight, including a win over Western Michigan.
This includes last week’s home sweep of Eastern Michigan, landing outside hitter Delaney Gash as the MAC Offensive Player of the Week and defensive specialist Vanessa Del Real as the Defensive Player of the Week.
Akron’s offense is one of the most potent in the conference, second in points, kills and assists, and also third in hitting percentage. Gash is second in the MAC and leads the Zips in kills with 393, set mainly by junior Martina Villani, who is second in the MAC with 994 assists.
Del Real is also tied for the MAC lead in aces (40) and is second in the MAC in digs per set (4.14).
Bowling Green
The Falcons have fallen into a major rut, winning only one of their last seven matches and fell from a top-three team to a barely-in-the-tournament team.
Bowling Green now dawns junior setter Amanda Otten back on the court after missing six games and part of another due to a left-knee injury. She is not yet back to full strength, still splitting time with sophomore setter Anna Sitek, and may do so for the foreseeable future.
In the same vein, senior defending MAC Player of the Year Lauryn Hovey is showing no signs of return this weekend. In her hole has stepped both middle blocker Jessica Andrews and backup right-side Marija Tabak, totaling 71 kills through the last 16 sets/ 4 games (4.4 kills per set, Hovey averages about 3.7).
BG looks to recenter their offense after the worst offensive performance in a Bowling Green match since Sept. 6, 2014, the last time the Falcons had a sub-0 hitting percentage. BG still lacks a dangerous arm in place of Hovey; outside hitter Edyta Waclawczyk’s 65 kills are the most of any individual Falcon through the last five competitions (3.25 kills per set).
Bowling Green needs two wins for the best chance at the MAC Tournament, one they earned the right to host by winning the 2024 regular season. BG has won each of their last ten matches against Akron and has not dropped a single set to the Zips since November of 2022.
The Zips step onto Bowling Green’s Mo and Jon Stansbery Court on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. Falcon media Sports Network’s Andrew Smith will have the call of both games, with Holden Ruck joining the broadcast on Friday and Trey Kennedy on Saturday. Friday’s match will be recorded live and uploaded to bgfalconmedia.com, while the Saturday match will be on WBGU 88.1 FM.
