The 2025 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Volleyball Tournament takes place in Bowling Green State University’s Stroh Center from Fri., Nov. 21, to Sun., Nov. 23. The Falcons host the tournament in a new location format starting this season, with the regular season winner hosting the following season’s tournament.
Bowling Green won the 2024 regular season with a record of 16-2 in conference play, hosting both last season’s tournament under the old format and this season’s under the new.
No. 4 Western Michigan won its second straight MAC Tournament in 2024 for the third time under head coach Colleen Munson, squashing No. 5 Buffalo in the quarterfinal (3-1), eliminating No. 1 Bowling Green (3-2) in the semifinal, and sweeping No. 3 Ball State (3-0) in the final.
History
MAC’s playoff weekend will be the 42nd in their volleyball history, the first won by Miami (OH), who defeated Central Michigan in DeKalb, Illinois. Since then, the tournament has been won nine times by Ohio, eight times by both Ball State and Western Michigan, and seven times by Miami.
Since 2015 (10 seasons), the tournament has been hosted by Bowling Green three times, Ball State, Ohio, and Miami each twice, and Western Michigan once. BGSU has led final match appearances with five during this period; the Falcons, Western Michigan, and Ball State each winning two of the last six.
Implications
The winner advances to the NCAA Tournament; the MAC has reached the second round of games 21 times in 41 years, and the third round only three times. Western Michigan has the most games played of any MAC team in the national tournament, a record of 8-14 in 14 appearances and advancing to the third round twice (1983, 2008).
Generally, the best team eliminated from the MAC Tournament is invited to compete in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, running from 1989 to 95, and 2017 to the present. Bowling Green has the most NIVC appearances (6) and best record (12-7), advancing to the NIVC Championship match and losing to Arizona in 2024.
All-Tournament teams
The only returning players from the 2024 MAC All-Tournament Team to play in the 2025 tournament are Ball State’s outside hitter Carson Tyler and Bowling Green’s middle blocker Jessica Andrews. All other 2024 players have graduated, except for Central Michigan’s middle blocker, Abby Olin. As a result, CMU will miss the 2025 tournament, having been the No. 2 seed in 2024.
There is only one player from the 2023 All-Tournament Team that is still on a MAC roster, Bowling Green’s Lauryn Hovey, also present on the 2022 list. Bowling Green has had a player on nine straight All-Tournament teams, the only team to have a streak longer than two seasons (Western Michigan 2023 & 2024).
Broncos and Cardinals and Falcons, Oh My
Western Michigan, Bowling Green, and Ball State are the only teams to appear in the last six title matches. Ball State and Bowling Green have met three times (2019, 2021, 2022), Bowling Green and Western Michigan twice (2020/21, 2023), and Ball State and Western Michigan the most recently in 2024.
Bowling Green had appeared in five MAC Championship matches during this time; the five-in-a-row, in concert with a 2-3 record, ended in 2024. Four of the six title matches included one of the three teams as the No. 1 seed, three of them including a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Four of the matches went to five sets, the only sweep coming from WMU to BSU in 2024.
The home team had made the title match every season since Ohio missed in 2014, until BG was eliminated by Western Michigan in the 2024 semifinal. Home teams are 6-3 in title matches through the last 10 seasons and 3-2 in the last six.
All three teams are in the 2025 conference tournament. Ball State and Western Michigan are the top two seeds, and Bowling Green is the sixth and final. The last time one of the three teams missed the playoffs was WMU in 2022.
In the all-time head-to-head record, Ball State is 49-24-1 and Western Michigan is 45-30-1 against Bowling Green. Ball State and Western Michigan have a 50-50 record against each other in both regular-season and playoff matches.
2025 teams
No. 1 Ball State- undoubtedly the favorite in the tournament this season. They pace all teams with a 17-1 conference record, 21-9 overall, as the only MAC team without double-digit losses.
The only loss for the Cardinals came at home against Ohio in their fifth weekend series of the MAC season. Head coach Kelli Miller Phillips and her team struggled the most in the conference series that split weekend, the only weekend losing more sets than they won (3-2 W, 0-3 L).
They have only lost two sets since then, in separate matches.
Ball State relies on three main players, most notably sophomore outside hitter Carson Tyler, who leads the conference in kills and points by a commanding margin. She was last season’s MAC and AVCA-Midwest-Region Freshman of the Year, also a part of the MAC All-Freshman team, All-Tournament team, and First Team All-MAC.
Sophomore middle blocker Camryn Wise also does ridiculous damage for the Cardinals, leading the MAC in hitting percentage and kills among middle blockers. She adds a team-leading 92 blocks to a defense that sports a libero with the second most digs in the MAC, sophomore Sophie Ledbetter.
Ball State reached the 2024 MAC Tournament final against Western Michigan, losing to the Broncos in three sets. They receive a first-round bye and will play either Miami (OH) or Toledo in the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m., broadcast on Falcon Radio streaming at bgfalconmedia.com.
No. 2 Western Michigan- the two-time defending MAC Tournament Champions. Western Michigan had great success despite massive turnover from 2024 to 2025, graduating six highly impactful players.
Finishing the regular season second at 13-5, three of the losses came in just one week in October, 12-2 outside of this single week. The Broncos were able to steady themselves after a nine-game losing streak, not losing a single series the rest of the season.
The biggest pre-season question mark was the setter for head coach Colleen Munson’s team, who graduated five-year star setter and MAC all-time career assists leader Logan Case after the 2024 season. Yet Munson pulled redshirt freshman Leah Richmond, who now leads the MAC in assists and assists per set, and made a serious bid for the MAC Setter of the Year award.
Western Michigan is good, not great, at every aspect of a volleyball game, well coached by Munson, who is the leader in wins among active head coaches and fourth all-time in MAC wins. They are, however, an incredible defensive team.
The Broncos have led the conference in digs every season since 2022, last year landing their senior libero, Andelyn Simkins, the MAC Defensive Player of the Year award. They replace her with sophomore outside hitter turned libero Elana Erickson, who is fifth in the MAC in digs.
Defensive specialist Reeghan Boyer and Richmond have more digs individually than Ohio, Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, and Kent State’s liberos. The two, along with Erickson, combine for about 10 of WMU’s about 17 digs per set.
Munson beat No. 6 Bowling Green in the 2023 MAC final and No. 3 Ball State in the 2024 MAC final, winning back-to-back. Earning a bye to the semifinals this season, if the Broncos win the tournament again, it will be their second MAC Championship three-peat and first since 1989 (1987, 1988, 1989).
WMU plays its first match against either No. 3 Ohio or No. 6 Bowling Green on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m., broadcast on Falcon Radio streaming at bgfalconmedia.com.
No. 3 Ohio- the only team with a losing overall record to make the MAC Tournament. The Bobcats won only two games in non-conference play, finishing 14-16 overall but 12-6 in conference. How?
Ohio rode a seven-game losing streak into MAC play, including four sweeps. They extended this to 11 with MAC losses to non-tournament Akron and Buffalo teams, as well as Bowling Green and Toledo, who are now both behind Ohio.
Following the 3-2 loss to Buffalo, Ohio swept Kent State, weekend-swept Miami (OH), then torched the rest of the MAC for a 12-2 run. Interim head coach Kenzie Brinkman even managed to beat Ball State, handing the Cardinals their only loss of the MAC season.
Ohio may be even better than its record shows, considering that MAC-opening four-game skid. Since they have only risen in the standings and statistical leaderboards, a top-three team in kills, assists, and aces, while allowing some of the least in the same categories.
Brinkman has coached a complete team effort, tallying four players with 200+ kills, five with 20+ aces, and five with 150+ digs. The biggest disparity is in blocking, the worst blocking team in the MAC being starkly led by junior middle blocker Emily Waddell’s 105.
The program has not made the MAC Tournament since 2023 and hasn’t been to the semifinals since 2021. This is despite having the most MAC Tournament wins and tied with Ball State for the most overall MAC titles (22).
Ohio’s first round matchup is against No. 6 Bowling Green, which swept the Bobcats at home in their first MAC match of the season. First serve of the match will be on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m., broadcast on Falcon Radio streaming at bgfalconmedia.com.
No. 4 Toledo- would be a much higher seed aside from the last four weeks. Still with the second-best record in the MAC, Toledo faded quite a bit in the latter half of conference play and gave up a first-round bye position.
Toledo started the MAC season 5-0 following their Tuesday night rivalry match against Bowling Green at home. They were then swept by Ball State and split every subsequent series, falling to Bowling Green on the road in their final Tuesday night match and dropping to 6-7 after the five-straight wins.
While not having played well in the last weeks of the season, the Rockets are still unbelievably talented. Their biggest x-factor has been redshirt sophomore Sierra Pertzborn, Toledo’s points leader with the most points of any middle blocker in the MAC. She has 241 kills, the MAC’s fourth-highest ace total, and a team-leading 128 blocks, good for fourth in the conference.
Maybe better is senior setter, Kelsey Smith, picked up this offseason from Alabama-Birmingham. The transfer from UAB is third in the MAC in assists and is the only player in the NCAA with over 1000 assists, over 300 digs, over 100 kills, and over 75 blocks.
Toledo is at the top of the conference in many statistics, notably points and aces. They have some of the best court control of the six remaining teams, top two in allowed kills, hitting percentage, assists, and blocks.
The Rockets have made the tournament in five straight seasons, not making a single championship match in the four previous.
First-year head coach Brian Wright looks to pave the path to Toledo’s first-ever MAC title, starting with the first match against Miami (OH) on Friday, Nov. 21 at 4 p.m., broadcast on Falcon Radio streaming on bgfalconmedia.com.
No. 5 Miami (OH)- trended up majorly in the last three weeks of their season. While Toledo played well early and .500 late, the Redhawks played 5-6 through the first five weeks and played a great 5-1 in the last three to bring them to 10-8 in conference.
Miami’s strength all season has been its blocking, leading the MAC in total blocks by 22 and owning the conference’s leading blocker, senior middle blocker Gentry Warrick. She is one of three statistical leaders for the Redhawks, leading in blocks and ninth in hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Molly Creech is eighth in the conference in digs.
Aside from blocking and a decent overall defense, there isn’t much claim for Miami in MAC statistical success. Miami has simply found a way to win in many matches this season, including a sweep of Bowling Green at home and a solo win against Toledo.
While they may have won their way into the tournament with late-season strides, Miami still holds a 3-6 record against MAC Tournament teams. This gives them a 7-2 record against teams with an even or losing record and subpar odds at winning chances in the playoffs.
Miami has not made the MAC Tournament since 2020, nor has it won the playoffs since 2017. They play their first match against No. 4 Toledo on Friday, Nov. 21, at 4 p.m., broadcast on Falcon Radio streaming on bgfalconmedia.com.
No. 6 Bowling Green- snuck into the tournament after a tight three-team race for two sports with Miami (OH) and Akron. The Falcons’ season has been one of streaks, riding a three-game streak into their quarterfinal match against Ohio.
BG started the MAC season 4-0 before their first loss to Toledo on their first Tuesday rivalry night. They swept Northern Illinois, followed by a four-game losing streak to both Ball State and Western Michigan, losing in five sets three times in two weeks. BGSU then swept Toledo at home and went on a three-match losing streak, followed by a three-match winning streak to clinch the postseason.
It has been a mildly disappointing season for BG. They were the high favorite to win both the MAC regular season and tournament by the preseason coaches’ poll, but had their season derailed by untimely injuries in difficultly scheduled patches.
The middle of the season was the hardest of the season for BG, playing at-the-time top-three teams to a 1-5 record in the middle of the season. In addition, the Falcons dealt with off-and-on injuries throughout this time and the season to key players, which did not help their momentum.
Star senior opposite hitter Lauryn Hovey was injured for all but two matches of conference play, playing both matches against Ball State at both right-side and setter. She played setter because junior setter Amanda Otten injured her knee during the first Toledo match, the Falcons playing without her for 6.5 games before her return to limited action.
Bowling Green played without both their 2024 First Team All-MAC setter and opposite hitter for four matches, without Hovey for 16 matches, and without Otten for six, limited in another four.
Consistency is hard to come by when missing your best two players; however, Otten is back and playing full-time and has settled the team into a three-game win streak. BG is 8-3 with Amanda Otten healthy for the entire match, which is how they will play the MAC Tournament.
Bowling Green has not been eliminated from the first round of the MAC Tournament since 2013, but has not won the playoffs since 2022. First-year head coach Alex DelPiombo and the Falcons have home games for as many as they can win, starting with No. 3 Ohio on Friday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m., broadcast on Falcon Radio streaming on bgfalconmedia.com.
