Bowling Green State University volleyball began the weekend series against Central Michigan with a 3-0 sweep on Friday.
The Falcons and Chippewas went into extra points to settle the first set, with the Falcons winning 28-26. The momentum from the first set win rolled into the sweep victory for the Falcons, winning the second and third sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-17.
Petra Indrova led the Falcons on the court, logging her seventh double-double of the season with 16 kills and 15 digs as well as two aces. Katelyn Meyer followed on the attack with 12 kills while Yelianiz Torres tallied a team-high 23 digs. The win moves BGSU to 11-7 on the season while being 6-1 in conference play and 5-1 at home.
How It Happened
Set 1: Bowling Green 28, Central Michigan 26
The first set was a close affair, playing straight to the media timeout with the Falcons taking a 15-14 lead into the break, including a 4-1 stretch.
Coming out of the media timeout, Bowling Green went on a 3-0 run to extend their stretch to 7-1 and prompt a Central Michigan timeout.
The Chippewas put together four straight points out of their timeout to tie it up at 18-18 and force a timeout from the BGSU bench.
CMU continued their run with two more points before the Falcons answered with a 4-0 run to reclaim the lead at 22-20 and bring another Central Michigan timeout.
Central Michigan chipped away at the BGSU lead, tying it at 23-23 to force another Bowling Green timeout.
The two teams continued to trade points into extra points before the Falcons captured a 28-26 first set score to go up 1-0 in the match.
Set 2: Bowling Green 25, Central Michigan 15
The Falcons opened the second set strong with two 3-0 runs, split by one CMU point, to jump out to a 6-1 lead. The advantage stretched to 8-2 before the Chippewas called timeout.
Another 4-0 run later in the set for the Falcons pushed the lead to 15-7 Falcons and brought about the second Central Michigan timeout of the set.
Bowling Green held the lead through the end of the set, winning 25-15 to go up 2-0 on the match.
Set 3: Bowling Green 25, Central Michigan 17
The third set began with the Falcons jumping out to a 4-0 lead, but a 5-0 run for Central Michigan put the Chippewas in front. The two teams traded points before a 7-2 stretch moved the Falcons in front 11-7 and forced a CMU timeout.
The momentum stayed for the Falcons, taking a 22-16 lead into the next timeout, coming from the Central Michigan bench.
The Falcons were able to hold the lead to capture a 25-17 set win with a 3-0 run to close the match, clinching a sweep on the night, 3-0.
Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Petra Indrova (16)
Assists: Jaden Walz, Lauryn Hovey (18)
Digs: Yelianiz Torres (23)
Aces: Petra Indrova (2)
Blocks: Alexis Mettille (6)
Falcon Stat Facts
Indrova tallied her seventh double-double of the season, finishing with 16 kills and 15 digs. Indrova also landed the only two aces for BG in the match.
Meyer was close behind on the attack with 12 kills. Meyer registered a .333 hitting percentage, tying her season-high.
Torres registered a team-high 23 digs over the three sets, coming one shy of matching her season-high, marking her seventh 20-dig match of the season.
Jaden Walz and Hovey tied for the team-lead in assists, both logging 18. Walz came two digs shy of a double-double with eight. Hovey added nine digs while also landing six kills and tallying five block assists.
Mettille not only led the Falcons in blocks with six block assists, but she also logged a career-high eight digs in the match.
With the win, the Falcons have now won six straight against Central Michigan and are winners in nine of the last 10 meetings.
BGSU is now 10-0 this season when winning the first set of the match.
The Falcons and Chippewas will be back at the Stroh Center on Saturday to conclude the weekend homestand. The match is set for a 4 p.m. serve. Bowling Green will be home again on Wednesday, hosting the Miami RedHawks for a 6 p.m. start.
