Falcons Dominate Block Column In Five-Set Victory Over Ball State

Saturday, October 26

Muncie, IN

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

13-9,7-3MAC

Ball State

11-11,5-5MAC

Bowling Green

Ball St.

Photo by: Alex Streff

Falcons Dominate Block Column In Five-Set Victory Over Ball State

October 26, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

Muncie, Ind. - The Bowling Green State University volleyball program went the distance with Ball State in Muncie, outlasting the Cardinals in a five-set win with a 3-2 final. The Falcons and Cardinals traded sets from the first to the fourth, but in the final set, Bowling Green landed 15 points in the final set to best the Cardinals and advance to 7-3 in the MAC, 13-9 overall, behind a stout defense that tallied near record numbers for blocks.

Next Home Match: Bowling Green will return to the Stroh Center on Nov. 1 to take on Kent State for Trick or Treat at the Stroh. Tickets for that match, and all BGSU home matches, can be purchased HERE.

Set Scores (Box Score PDF)
Set 1 - Ball State 25, Bowling Green 19
Set 2 - Bowling Green 25, Ball State 23
Set 3 - Ball State 25, Bowling Green 19
Set 4 - Bowling Green 25, Ball State 20
Set 5 - Bowling Green 15, Ball State 13

Play-By-Play Notes

The first set ran deep with ties, seeing the Falcons and Cardinals trade points until a run by Ball State created separation.
That little separation would prove to be the difference with it propelling the Cardinals to a 25-19 first set win.
The second set began similar to the first with a close score until a 3-0 run by Ball State granted the Cardinals a lead, 8-4.
The Orange and Brown quickly battled back, bringing the score within one once again with a 3-0 run of their own.
Another run in the set, this time 4-0, by Bowling Green pushed the lead to swing in favor of the Falcons, taking an 18-17 lead.
The run would help push the Falcons to a 25-23 set win, evening the match at a set apiece.
In the third set, the score would stay close for the duration of the set with the Cardinals able to keep just enough of a cushioned lead to ward off any runs by the Falcons.
A late effort would prove to be not enough in the third set with Ball State reclaiming their advantage in the match heading into the fourth set.
To begin the fourth set, the Falcons fell behind but used a 4-0 run to take an early 5-4 lead.
The run would set up momentum for the Falcons, forcing a fifth set by winning the fourth, 25-20.
In the fifth set, the Falcons jumped out to a 9-7 lead, growing to 12-9 before the team was able to close the door on the match with a 15-13 victory.

Strong Individual Performances

Block assists proved to be a pivotal point of the match. As a team, Bowling Green logged two solo blocks and 30 block assists, just six off of the all-time five-set record, for a team total of 17 blocks.
Katie Kidwell set a new season-high for the team with eight block assists, also moving her career total to 308, taking over the ninth spot all-time for career block assists in program history.
Nikolija Katanic chipped in a career-high seven block assists of her own, which would have tied the team season-high had it not been for Kidwell's eight.
With 39 assists, Isabelle Marciniak shattered the 3,500 career assist mark, ending the night with a total of 3,536. With nine digs, Marciniak nearly had her second double-double of the weekend while also adding four block assists.
For digs, Julia Walz paced the Falcons with 30 on the night. Taylor Haberland pitched in 19 with Paulina Iacobelli logging a season-high 13. As a team, BGSU totaled 97 digs over the five sets.
As for kills, Katelyn Meyer led the way with 20, her second 20-kill match of the season, while also maintaining a .250 hitting percentage on 64 attacks. Jacqueline Askin wasn't far behind with 14 and Kidwell was also close with 12, a season-high for her.
Senior Macie Linne also saw her first action of the season, knocking down five kills along with one block assist.

Up Next

BGSU will return to the Stroh Center on Friday, Nov. 1 to take on Kent State followed by Ohio on Nov. 2. Both matches will serve as the second meetings between the Falcons and their foes. In each previous match the Orange and Brown were victorious, beating Ohio in a heated 3-2 comeback win with a Kent State sweep the next day.
The match against Kent State will be Trick or Treat at the Stroh with the Ohio match being a "Buy One Get One" event, paired with football. Additional details will be made available the week of.

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