In their first match of the Michigan classic, the Bowling Green Falcons (5-5, 0-0 MAC) would defeat the Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-2, 0-0) in a five-set thriller by the score of 26-24, 25-23, 24-26, 16-25, 15-8. This is the second straight win for the Falcons after losing the previous two matches.
Today’s win for the Falcons would turn out to be a historic one. The victory would go down as Bowling Green’s 800th win in program history. BGSU’s first ever victory came all the way back on October 9th, 1976, where the Falcons would defeat fellow MAC opponent Miami of Ohio.
Head Coach Danijela Tomic also hit a milestone in her career. Today’s victory also marked her 175th win as the Bowling Green State Volleyball coach.
Bowling Green is now 2-0 all-time against Mississippi State, with the first victory coming in 1999.
The MSU match brought out a career performance out of several players. Freshman Lauryn Hovey put up 15 kills, 15 assists and 5 digs, all of which are career highs. Senior Petra Indrova put up a double-double of her own with14 kills and 13 digs. Sophomore Mia Tyler also had a day with a career high 12 kills on 37 attacks.
Mississippi State was voted just five places outside of the top 25, so a top 30 win for BGSU is the best win of the season.
“This was a big win for us tonight. Not only because we beat a very good Mississippi State team but because of how we did it.” Said Coach Tomic. “It’s not easy to gain the momentum back after losing two sets going into a fifth set. We are proud of our team and how they refocused and executed at a high level when it mattered most. That’s a sign of mental toughness and what we call a Warriors Mindset.”
Bowling Green will go for win 801 all-time on Sunday at 2 PM, when they play the Michigan Wolverines.
