Falcons Continue MAC Play, Host Huskies And Broncos

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons volleyball team (8-6, 4-0) will continue conference play with two home matches this weekend. On Friday, Oct. 8, the Falcons host Northern Illinois (8-7, 2-3) for a 6 p.m. match. On Saturday, Oct. 9, BGSU hosts Western Michigan (12-4, 5-0) for a 5 p.m. showdown.

This will be the third weekend of conference play for the Orange and Brown, with this being the first that features two different opponents. This is the second consecutive weekend the Falcons will be on their home floor. Last weekend, Bowling Green notched consecutive sweeps of Buffalo at the Stroh Center.

How to Follow
Friday's match will be televised on ESPN+, streamed HERE. Saturday's match will be televised on ESPN3, streamed HERE. Both matches will be broadcast by BGRSO, streamed HERE. Live stats for both matches are available HERE.

The matches will also have live updates on BGSU Volleyball's official Twitter page, @BGSUVolleyball.

Tickets, Parking, and Attendance Guidelines
Tickets for both matches are for sale beginning at $6. Tickets for Friday's match are available for digital purchase HERE. Tickets for Saturday's match are available for digital purchase HERE.
Parking will be available at the Stroh Center.
Regardless of vaccination status, all guests, staff, and vendors will be required to wear a face covering while in the Stroh Center. Fans are not required to show proof of vaccination to enter the Stroh Center, but face coverings – covering the nose and mouth – are required for all fans as they watch the game from their assigned seat and enter, exit, and move around. Children 2 and younger will not be required to wear a face covering. If spectators are unable to wear face coverings, they are encouraged not to attend games in-person for the sake of their health and the health of others.

Roster Sheets Go Digital
The printed roster sheets that are typically placed throughout the Stroh Center will now be available digitally. QR codes will be placed in various areas of the Stroh Center. Fans will be able to scan the code and access a digital copy of the match's roster sheet.

Falcon Facts

The Falcons are 3-0 in home matches and have outhit their opponents .311-.091. In six of the last nine sets, BGSU has held their opponent to a hitting percentage below .100.
On Monday, Julia Walz and Hanna Laube were recognized as MAC Players of the Week for the second consecutive weekend. Laube's 38-assist performance and Walz's 21-dig performance against Buffalo marked their season-bests in three-set matches.
Entering the weekend, the Falcons have three players in the top ten of a career statistical category. Katie Kidwell ranks second in career blocks with 552. The senior also holds the career block assist record with 482. Katelyn Meyer is fourth in career attack attempts with 3,674, and Julia Walz is seventh in career digs with 1,361.

Series Info
Northern Illinois: In their most recent match, Bowling Green swept Northern Illinois on January 23, 2021. Katelyn Meyer was impressive for the Falcons, registering 19 kills on a .474 hitting percentage. The Huskies lead the all-time series, 28-15. The Falcons have won the last five matches against the Huskies, with four of those occurring in the Stroh Center. Three of those four matches have lasted five sets, with the exception being Bowling Green's sweep last January.

Western Michigan: The last time Bowling Green played Western Michigan was the 2020-21 MAC Tournament Championship, when the Falcons defeated the Broncos in four sets to win the MAC title and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Petra Indrova's double-double (17 kills, 12 digs) paced the Orange and Brown. Western Michigan leads the all-time series, 40-26-1, but the Orange and Brown have won the last four matches. The Falcons have not hosted the Broncos for a regular season game since Sept. 29, 2019, a four-set victory for WMU.

Opponent Outlook
Northern Illinois: The Huskies will continue their conference campaign with two matches in Ohio. On Friday, they will travel to the Stroh Center to face Bowling Green. The next night, they head south to Oxford for a 5:00 p.m. match against Miami (OH). The Huskies played the MAC's three Michigan teams to start the season, splitting with Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan, and losing their lone match against Western Michigan. NIU is 2-3 on the road, including a four-set victory over host Charleston Southern to claim the Buccaneer Invitational crown.

Western Michigan: The Broncos enter the weekend on a six-match win streak, with the last five being conference matches. The Broncos will play the opposite schedule of Northern Illinois, playing Miami (OH) on Friday and Bowling Green on Saturday. Standing at 5-0 in the MAC, Western Michigan has defeated Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan twice, while winning one match against NIU. Sophomore Logan Case has been recognized as MAC West Setter of the Week four times this season.

Coach Tomic's Take
"After a successful MAC opener series last week, we look forward to playing again at home this weekend. We were pleased with our team's performance against Buffalo but not satisfied because we know that we are still a work in progress, and our goal is to continue improving every day. Our team showed this week in practice that we are hungry to get better and have done the work to prepare us for our next test.

This upcoming weekend will be different than the last two because we will play NIU and WMU only once, and it might be the only time we play them this season. Our mindset and approach are always the same: 'One match, one point at a time,' and that is what we will do on Friday and Saturday. We expect two very competitive matches in the Stroh Center, and we hope that our Falcon fans will be there to create a great atmosphere and a home-court advantage."

Up Next
The Falcons travel to Mount Pleasant next week for two matches against Central Michigan. They begin the series at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14, then complete it at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16. The Falcons will then head south to Oxford for a 7 p.m. match against Miami (OH) on Wednesday, Oct. 20.

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons volleyball team on social media
Twitter - @BGAthletics and @BGSUVolleyball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsuvolleyball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics' and 'Bowling Green State University Volleyball'
TikTok - @bgsuvolleyball
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'

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Petra Indrova

Katie Kidwell

Hanna Laube

Katelyn Meyer

Julia Walz

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