Falcons Open Shamrock Invitational With Sweep Of Notre Dame

Friday, September 3

Notre Dame, IN

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

2-2,0-0MAC

Notre Dame

2-2,0-0ACC

Bowling Green

Notre Dame

Photo by: Jeff Myers

September 03, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score BG ND Box Score Box Score (XML)

By: by David Dietrich, BGSU Strategic Communications

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Bowling Green Falcons volleyball team (2-2) opened its weekend at the Shamrock Invitational with a sweep of host Notre Dame (2-2). The Falcons used the momentum from a fast start to win the opening set 25-19. The second set was a back-and-forth battle, but the Falcons closed on a 7-3 run to win a 25-23 thriller. After trailing early in the third set, BGSU went on a 14-5 run to win the set and match.

How It Happened
Set 1: BGSU 25, Notre Dame 19
After Notre Dame took an early 2-1 lead, the Falcons went on a 9-0 run to take a commanding lead. Five of those points came on kills from Kat Mandly, including four consecutive kills to start the run. Mandly would finish the set with nine kills. BGSU would maintain their lead throughout the set, withstanding a late 5-0 run from Notre Dame. Katelyn Meyer's kill clinched the set for the Falcons, giving them the early 1-0 set lead.

Set 2: BGSU 25, Notre Dame 23
In the most competitive set of the night, the Falcons and Fighting Irish stayed within three points of each other the entire time. This time, it was Petra Indrova's turn to register nine kills, with her first four helping the Falcons to a 5-2 lead. After a Notre Dame service error, Yelianiz Torres tied it at 20 with an ace. The libero would serve another ace to give the Falcons a 21-20 lead. The set featured eight ties, with the final one coming at 23-23. The Falcons took a timeout at this point, then clinched the set behind a Hanna Laube kill and a Notre Dame attack error.

Set 3: BGSU 25, Notre Dame 18
Notre Dame opened the third set on a 4-0 run, forcing a BGSU timeout. The Falcons chipped into the lead with kills from Meyer, Mandly, and Indrova, but would have to take another timeout after a 3-0 Fighting Irish run. The Orange and Brown came out of the break on a 5-1 run, with Katie Kidwell registering a kill and serving two aces. An attack from Nikolija Katanic was ruled out of bounds, but the Falcons challenged the call. The review showed a touch by Notre Dame, giving Katanic a set-tying kill. Notre Dame would score the next two points, but the Falcons would dominate the rest of the set and match. Petra Indrova's three kills were part of an 8-1 run that would give the Falcons a lead they would not relinquish. Katelyn Meyer's kill clinched the set and match for BGSU, giving them a sweep to start the weekend.

Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Petra Indrova (19), Kat Mandly (13)
Assists: Hanna Laube (35)
Digs: Julia Walz (14), Hanna Laube (13), Yelianiz Torres (13)
Aces: Yelianiz Torres (3)
Blocks: Nikolija Katanic (1 block solo, 1 block assist)

Notes

Petra Indrova registered 19 kills on a .436 hitting percentage, both season-highs.
Katelyn Meyer had eight kills in the match, including five in the third set. She scored the winning point with a kill in the first and third sets.
Hanna Laube recorded 35 assists and a career-best 13 digs, marking her second double-double of the season.
Kat Mandly and Petra Indrova each registered nine kills in a set, the highest single-set total for a Falcon this season.
Yelianiz Torres set new career-highs in aces (3) and assists (7).
The Falcons served a season-best eight aces, with Torres leading the team at three. Julia Walz and Katie Kidwell each registered two.
BGSU also set a season-best mark in hitting percentage with .271. Their defense held Notre Dame to a .167 hitting percentage, the second time the Falcons have held an opponent under .200.
This marks the second consecutive weekend the Falcons have defeated the host of the weekend invitational. Last week, BGSU defeated Butler in four sets at the Top Dawg Invitational. This is also the first time the Falcons have played in a three-set match this season.
This is the program's first victory over an ACC opponent since defeating Notre Dame in 2015, 3-1.

Coach Tomic's Take
"Tonight's win is special because it is not easy to beat a nationally ranked team, especially on their home court. We have a lot of respect for the Notre Dame volleyball program, and we knew that we would have to play at a high level and execute the game plan to have a chance to win. We served tough, serve received well, played relentless defense, and offensively put a lot of pressure from the pins while being efficient. We also showed a lot of heart, determination, and joy tonight, which makes a team with the level of talent and skills that we have hard to beat.

We will enjoy this win until the morning and then focus on Milwaukee, another tough opponent we face tomorrow. Ay Ziggy!"

Up Next
The Falcons will return to action at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow. They will face Milwaukee (1-3), who beat Cincinnati in four sets tonight. The weekend will conclude with a match against Cincinnati on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. The Bearcats, who play Notre Dame tomorrow, are currently 1-3.

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'