Bowling Green State University volleyball captured the Battle of I-75 victory on Saturday with a 3-1 win over the University of Toledo.
Bowling Green took the first set after going up 20-9 in the set. Toledo was able to even the match with a 30-28 second set score before the Falcons won the third and fourth sets, holding UT to 17 and 15 points, respectively. The Falcons have now won seven of the last eight matches in the Battle of I-75.
The Falcons were led by an efficient attack in the match with five student-athletes logging a hitting percentage of .280 or better while three finished above .540. Kat Mandly led the attack with 16 kills while Petra Indrova logged her ninth double-double of the season with 15 kills and a team-high 25 digs while maintaining a season-best hitting percentage of .542. The win moves the Falcons to 15-9 on the season while being 10-3 within the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons will return home for the final regular season home matches next weekend, hosting Akron.
How It Happened
Set 1: Bowling Green 25, Toledo 18
The Falcons started the match with a 4-0 run before utilizing a 3-0 run later in the set to take a 10-4 lead. The Orange and Brown were able to take a 15-8 lead into the media timeout.
Out of the media break, the Falcons tallied two of the next three points before the Rockets burned a timeout with BGSU up 17-9.
The Falcons continued the stretch with three straight blocks out of the timeout to go up 20-9 and bring another UT timeout.
Toledo made a push late in the set, but the Falcons were able to stay in front to claim the first set 25-18.
Set 2: Toledo 30, Bowling Green 28
The second set saw the Falcons and Rockets play up to the media timeout. Two straight points for BGSU before the break gave the Falcons a 15-14 advantage at the stoppage.
The Falcons extended their lead to 17-15 out of the timeout before Toledo used a timeout to pause the action.
A 3-0 run later in the set pushed the Rockets in front 20-19 and brought the first BGSU timeout of the match.
Bowling Green moved ahead 22-21, but a 3-0 run for the Rockets gave Toledo a 24-22 lead before a BGSU timeout.
A 4-1 stretch for the Falcons forced extra points with the score at 26-25 BGSU when the Rockets called timeout.
The Rockets took the set in extra points to even the match at a set apiece.
Set 3: Bowling Green 25, Toledo 17
The third set began similarly to the first and second, going up to the media timeout. A 4-0 run brought the score to an 8-5 BGSU lead before another 4-1 stretch pushed BGSU out in front 15-10 at the media break.
The Falcons stayed in front, holding an 18-13 lead at the next stoppage, coming from a Toledo timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Falcons tallied two more points to bring the run to 4-0 and their lead to 20-13 to prompt another Toledo timeout.
The momentum stayed for the Falcons to a 25-17 set win to go up 2-1 for the match.
Set 4: Bowling Green 25, Toledo 15
Toledo called an early timeout in the fourth set with the Falcons growing a lead to 9-6.
The Falcons put together a 4-0 run later in the set to take a 17-12 lead and force a timeout from the Toledo bench.
The Falcons were able to hold the lead through the end of the set with a 25-15 set win.
Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Kat Mandly (16)
Assists: Jaden Walz (29)
Digs: Petra Indrova (25)
Aces: Alexis Mettille (2)
Blocks: Jessica Andrews (11)
Falcon Stat Facts
Indrova paced the Falcons with her ninth double-double of the season, ending the night with 15 kills and a team-high 25 digs. The match marks Indrova’s second 20-dig match of the season while also setting a new season-high for attack percentage at .542.
Mandly led the BGSU attack with 16 kills for the Orange and Brown. Mandly maintained a .297 hitting percentage on a team-high 37 attacks.
Mettille was efficient on the attack for Bowling Green, landing a career-high eight kills on nine attempts for a season-best .889 attack percentage. Mettille filled the stat sheet with four digs, two block assists, two aces and two assists.
Hovey added 11 kills to the winning effort with a .280 hitting percentage. Hovey chipped in six block assists as well, one short of her career-high.
Andrews tallied 11 blocks for the Falcons, coming one shy of her career-high. Andrews had two solo blocks and nine block assists, matching her career-high. She added six kills to her stat line with a .625 hitting percentage.
Jaden Walz narrowly missed a double-double, registering a team-high 29 assists and nine digs. Walz landed an ace for the Orange and Brown as well.
Julia Walz ended the match second on the team in digs with 10 and added an assist to her stat line.
As a team, the Falcons concluded with a .333 hitting percentage, including a .450 mark in the fourth set, the second-best mark this season and the third time Bowling Green has finished with a hitting percentage of .300 or higher.
The Falcons have now won seven of the last eight meetings against the Rockets.
The Falcons will be back at the Stroh Center next weekend to host the Akron Zips. Friday’s match will be the Unity Match for Falcons. Bowling Green will recognize this year’s senior class with Senior Night on Nov. 5.
