Falcons Advance To 7-0 Behind Fifth Sweep Of The Season

Thursday, February 11

Muncie, IN

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

7-0,7-0MAC

Ball State

5-2,5-2MAC

Bowling Green

Ball St.

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

February 11, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

Muncie, Ind. - The Bowling Green State University volleyball program picked up their fifth sweep of the season with a 3-0 victory over Ball State on Thursday night (Feb. 11). The win moves the Falcons to 7-0 on the season and keeps them atop the MAC standings while Ball State falls to 5-2. For the Orange and Brown, three different players logged double-digit kills in the contest with Jacqueline Askin pacing the team with 12. The win keeps the Falcons on pace with the 2012 MAC start at 8-0 as well as the 2011 season start at 11-0. The Falcons and Cardinals will return to the court tomorrow (Feb. 12) to conclude the series with the match set for a 5 p.m. start and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Set Scores (Box Score PDF)
Set 1 - Bowling Green 25, Ball State 14
Set 2 - Bowling Green 25, Ball State 16
Set 3 - Bowling Green 25, Ball State 20

Play-By-Play Notes

Early in the first set, the Falcons used a 5-0 run to push the score to 8-4 and gain a quick advantage. Bowling Green continued to add insurance points here and there throughout the first set to a 25-14 final.
In the second set, the Orange and Brown jumped out to a 5-1 lead, forcing Ball State to burn a timeout early in the set.
Ball State then battled back with a few small runs to bring the score to 9-9 when the Falcons used a timeout of their own. However, the Falcons would later use a 6-1 run to reclaim the lead at 16-12, prompting another timeout from the Cardinals.
The second surge propelled the Falcons to a win in the second set as well with a 25-16 set final.
In the third set, the Falcons and Cardinals trade points for much of the set, seeing a tie as late as 19-19. After a Ball State point, Bowling Green was able to use a 6-0 run to close out the set at 25-20 to win the match for their fifth sweep of the season.

Falcon Stat Facts

With the win, the Falcons advanced to 7-0 to start the season, marking the best start to a season for any BG team since the 2018-19 swimming and diving program started 7-0 as well. Over the last 10 seasons, only the 2014-15 swim and dive team (8-0) and the 2011 volleyball team (12-0) have started a season with a better record.
In terms of MAC play, the 7-0 start is the best since the 2019 women's soccer team began 7-0 in conference play. Over the last 10 seasons, just the 2018 women's soccer team (8-0), the 2012 volleyball team (8-0) and the 2011-12 women's basketball team (10-0) have better conference starts.
The five sweeps in the first seven matches is the most to begin a season for the Falcons since the 2006 campaign.
Seeing her first collegiate action along with her first start, Madelynn Luebcke landed three kills and tallied a team-high six block assists in the contest. She also added a block solo and a dig to complete her stat line.
The Falcons had three different players reach double-digits for kills on the night. Jacqueline Askin led the way with a season-high 12 with Katelyn Meyer and Petra Indrova each landing 11.
Askin and Indrova each had four block assists as well, setting new season-highs and tying career-highs for both of them. Askin also had a season-high five digs.
Nikolija Katanic logged a season-high eight kills on the night, matching her career-high, while needing just 10 attempts to do so for an .800 hitting percentage. Katanic also had a career-high three digs on the night.
For the third time this season, and the second consecutive match, Julia Walz tallied over 20 digs, accumulating a team-high 21 over the three sets.
As for assists, Hanna Laube registered 42 over the course of the match, the second time this season she has surpassed the 40 mark in a three-set match.

Coach Tomic's Take

"Ball State is always a tough team and place to play, so this win is even more special. Tonight's performance showed our team's depth and flexibility because we played in a new line-up that looked like we played in all season long. Our players executed the game plan, and everyone did their job well.

As always, this was a complete team win. However, I have to give a special shoutout to our middle blockers, Nikolija and Maddie. Nikolija's hitting efficiency was impressive, and Maddie played fantastic in her first collegiate match. Maddie has worked hard, improved daily, and has been a great teammate while waiting for an opportunity. We were all thrilled for her to shine the way she did tonight."

Up Next

The Falcons continue their series against Ball State tomorrow night (Feb. 12) with the match set to begin at 5 p.m.
Bowling Green will return to the Stroh Center on Feb. 18 and 19 to host Ohio for a two-match series. The first match will start at 6 p.m. and the second at 5 p.m.

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'
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'