Falcons Fall To Flames In Season Opener

Friday, August 27

Indianapolis, IN

10:00 AM

Bowling Green State University

0-1,0-0MAC

UIC

1-0,0-0Horizon

UIC

Bowling Green

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

August 27, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

By: by David Dietrich, BGSU Strategic Communications

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Bowling Green Falcons volleyball team (0-1) dropped a tightly contested season opener to Illinois Chicago (1-0), 3-1. This was the first match of the Top Dawg Challenge, hosted by Butler University at Hinkle Fieldhouse. UIC won the first two sets before the Falcons countered by winning the third. The Flames won the fourth set, 25-23, to win the match.

How It Happened
UIC won a back-and-forth first set that featured six ties and four lead changes. UIC held a 12-8 advantage, their largest of the set. The Falcons registered four kills as part of a 5-1 run that tied the set at 13. The teams traded points until back-to-back blocks from the Flames clinched a 26-24 set win.

The Falcons opened the second set on a 4-0 run, with Petra Indrova registering three kills. UIC chipped away at the deficit, eventually taking a 15-13 lead. The Falcons would tie the set at 15 after kills from Nikolija Katinic and Katie Kidwell, but the Flames closed on a 10-5 run to claim the second set.

Much like the second set, BGSU opened with an early lead. Two kills from Kat Mandly and aces from Indrova and Julia Walz gave the Falcons a 7-3 advantage. After UIC responded to take a 9-8 lead, the Falcons took a timeout. The Orange and Brown went on a 7-1 run to gain a 15-10 lead and force a UIC timeout. The Falcons would not relinquish the lead in this set, as an ace from Yelianiz Torres and a kill from Katie Kidwell clinched a 25-21 set win.

The fourth set was another close battle, with the teams tying four times and changing leads three times. UIC stretched its lead to 22-17 before the Falcons went on a 4-0 run. Facing match point twice, the Falcons were able to cut the deficit to one before the Flames won the set and match on a Mikala Henderson kill.

Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Petra Indrova (14), Katie Kidwell (13)
Assists: Hanna Laube (37)
Digs: Kat Mandly (13), Yelianiz Torres (12)
Aces: Yelianiz Torres (2)
Blocks: Petra Indrova (3 block assists, 1 solo block), Nikolija Katanic (2 block assists, 1 solo block)

Notes

Katie Kidwell registered two block assists, giving her a career total of 443. She is two block assists away from breaking the program record.
Kidwell also posted a team-high .579 hitting percentage, tallying 13 kills on 19 attacks.
Petra Indrova recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs.
Kat Mandly had six kills and a team-high 13 digs in her collegiate debut.
Yelianiz Torres recorded a career-best four assists.
Nikolija Katanic's total of seven kills was just one shy of her career-best.

Coach Tomic's Take
"It's a disappointing loss because we did not play up to the BGVB standards of performance that we know we are capable of playing. The credit has to be given to UIC, who played a great match and earned a win. This loss will make us better because we will learn from it. We know we are a better team than what we showed this morning, but we have to show up to compete every time we step on the court. Non-conference play is designed to help us learn about ourselves and grow as a team, and this match did that. We have an opportunity to bounce back tonight, and I know that we will show that we learned from the loss."

Up Next
The Falcons return to action this evening against host Butler. The match is slated for a 6:00 p.m. start. It will be streamed on the Butler Athletics YouTube channel, found HERE. Live stats for the match can be found HERE. Live updates will be available on the official BGSU Volleyball Twitter account, @BGSUVolleyball.