Bowling Green State University volleyball completed the weekend sweep over Central Michigan on Saturday with a 3-0 victory.
The 3-0 win marks the fourth straight 3-0 sweep against the Chippewas for the Falcons and the seventh consecutive win. The win moves the Falcons to 12-7 on the season while being 7-1 within the Mid-American Conference and 6-1 at home.
The Falcons were paced by 12 team service aces. Petra Indrova and Alexis Mettille each logged five for the Falcons while Lauryn Hovey and Jaden Walz each added one. Hovey also contributed a double-double to the winning effort for the Falcons with a team-high 14 kills and 13 digs, her fifth of the season.
How It Happened
Set 1: Bowling Green 25, Central Michigan 19
The Falcons jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead thanks to two aces by Petra Indrova. BGSU and CMU continued to play until the first timeout came with the score at 14-9 Falcons. The Chippewas paused the action in the midst of a 4-1 run by Bowling Green.
The action continued until another CMU timeout, this one coming with the Falcons out in front 22-17.
The Falcons were able to power through the rest of the set, taking a 25-19 score in the first set behind a .455 hitting percentage and just one attack error, going up 1-0 for the match.
Set 2: Bowling Green 25, Central Michigan 20
An early 3-0 burst for the Chippewas created space for CMU in the second set, taking an 8-4 lead before the Falcons called timeout.
The Falcons chipped away at the CMU lead before a 4-1 run late in the set pushed Bowling Green in front 21-19 and prompted a timeout from Central Michigan.
The momentum for the Falcons rolled into another 4-1 stretch out of the timeout to grant the Falcons a 25-20 second set victory and move to 2-0 for the match.
Set 3: Bowling Green 25, Central Michigan 18
The Falcons were able to use an early 5-0 run, including three aces, to take an 8-3 lead in the third set and force a quick timeout from the CMU bench. Mettille landed another ace out of the timeout.
Central Michigan battled back, but the Falcons stayed in front with a 3-0 run to make the score 17-13 BGSU and bring the second CMU timeout of the set.
Coming out of the timeout the Falcons put together three more straight points to extend the run to 6-0 to take a 20-13 lead.
Bowling Green closed out the set, and the match, with a 25-18 score to complete the weekend sweep.
Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (14)
Assists: Jaden Walz (22)
Digs: Yelianiz Torres (15)
Aces: Petra Indrova, Alexis Mettille (5)
Blocks: Alexis Mettille (4)
Falcon Stat Facts
Hovey tallied her fifth double-double of the season with a team-high 14 kills and 13 assists. Hovey also registered a team-best .478 hitting percentage among players with multiple attack attempts.
Bowling Green entered the weekend second in the conference for team service aces. The Falcons proceeded to land a season-best 12 aces. The program record for aces in a three set match stands at 19 against Buffalo in 2007.
Indrova tied for the team-lead in aces with a season-high five, matching her career-high. Indrova filled the stat sheet with nine digs and eight kills as well.
Mettille landed a career-high five aces for the Falcons, joining Indrova for the team lead. Mettille added the lone solo block for Bowling Green as well as three block assists to lead the team in total blocks with four.
On the attack, Meyer reached double-digit kills for the fourth consecutive match while matching her season-high for digs with four.
The Falcons have now won seven straight matches against Central Michigan, including four straight 3-0 victories over the Chippewas.
The Falcons will stay at home for their next match, hosting the Miami (OH) RedHawks at the Stroh Center on Wednesday. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first serve.
