DeKALB, Ill. – Bowling Green State University volleyball played four sets against the Northern Illinois Huskies on Friday, falling 3-1.
Each set was settled by only two or three points with the Falcons taking the second set of the night.
Petra Indrova and Lauryn Hovey both tallied double-doubles for Bowling Green while Yelianiz Torres and Julia Walz both landed three aces.
The loss moves the Falcons to 9-7 on the season and 4-1 within the Mid-American Conference.
How It Happened
Set 1: Northern Illinois 25, Bowling Green 23
The match began back-and-forth before the Falcons were able to put together a 5-0 run to take a 10-4 lead and force an NIU timeout for the first stoppage of the night.
Northern Illinois went on a 3-0 run out of the timeout to cut the deficit to 10-7. The Huskies continued to chip away at the lead, tying the set at 15-15. NIU moved ahead at 17-16 with the Falcons calling a timeout.
A 4-0 run pushed Bowling Green back in front with a 20-18 lead and saw NIU call a timeout.
The Huskies again battled back to go ahead 22-21 with a 3-0 run to force another Bowling Green timeout.
Northern Illinois was able to hold the lead to go up 1-0 with a 25-23 first set score.
Set 2: Bowling Green 25, Northern Illinois 23
Early in the second set the Falcons utilized a 3-0 run to move ahead 7-6. However, NIU moved back in front and took a 15-12 lead into the media timeout.
The Falcons went on a 3-0 run out of the media timeout to tie the set at 15-15.
Late in the set, Bowling Green went on a 3-0 run to reclaim the lead at 24-22, forcing a timeout from the Northern Illinois bench. NIU tallied the first point out of the timeout, but a Petra Indrova kill clinched the set 25-23 to knot the match up at 1-1.
Set 3: Northern Illinois 25, Bowling Green 22
In the third set the Falcons tallied the first three points to go up 3-0 before Northern Illinois answered with a 4-0 run to move out in front.
The set remained close, going to a 10-10 tie, before a 4-0 run for Northern Illinois pushed the Huskies in front 14-10 and prompted a BGSU timeout.
After a 19-19 tie, NIU went on a 3-0 run to move ahead 22-19, forcing a timeout from the BGSU bench.
Northern Illinois took the third set 25-22 to reclaim the match lead at 2-1.
Set 4: Northern 25, Bowling Green 23
A 3-0 run early in the fourth set for the Falcons pushed BGSU ahead 7-6. NIU reclaimed the lead, but another 3-0 put the lead back in the Falcons’ favor at 10-8.
The Falcons continued to add to their lead, growing to 19-15 when Northern Illinois took a timeout.
NIU went on a 3-0 run out of the timeout to narrow the gap to 19-18 with the Falcons answering with a timeout of their own.
Coming out of the BGSU timeout, the Falcons tallied two straight points to increase their lead to 21-18 and force another NIU timeout.
A 3-0 run for Northern Illinois tied the match at 22-22 and prompted a Bowling Green timeout. NIU carried the momentum into a 25-23 set win to take the match 3-1.
Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Petra Indrova (19)
Assists: Jaden Walz (28)
Digs: Yelianiz Torres (21)
Aces: Torres (3)
Blocks: Indrova, Jessica Andrews, Alexis Mettile (3)
Falcon Stat Facts
Indrova logged her fifth double-double of the season, concluding the match with a season-high 19 kills and 17 digs for the Falcons, leading the team in kills and being second in digs. Indrova also finished with a .415 hitting percentage, a new season-high.
Hovey also registered a double-double for the Falcons, finishing with a career-high 25 assists and a career-high 17 kills to mark her fourth of the season. Hovey also tallied a career-high seven digs, coming three shy of a triple-double.
Torres tallied her fifth 20-dig match of the season, registering a team-high 21 digs. Torres also landed three aces, bringing her season total to 26 to match her career-high for a single season.
Julia Walz landed three aces in the match for the Falcons, bringing her career total to 101. Walz is now tied for 10th all-time in program history for career service aces.
The Falcons will continue the weekend road trip on Saturday by moving on to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to face the Western Michigan Broncos. The match is set for a 5 p.m. start and will be available to watch on Western Michigan’s website.
