Falcons Fall In Five At Shamrock Invitational Finale

Sunday, September 5

Notre Dame, IN

11:30 AM

Bowling Green State University

3-3,0-0MAC

Cincinnati

3-3,0-0AAC

Cincinnati

Bowling Green

Photo by: Jeff Myers

September 05, 2021 | Volleyball

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By: by David Dietrich, BGSU Strategic Communications

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Bowling Green Falcons volleyball team (3-3) lost in five sets to Cincinnati (3-3) in their final match at the Shamrock Invitational. The Falcons lost the first two sets but rallied to win the next two and force a fifth. Trailing 10-5 in the final set, BGSU mounted a 7-1 run to cut the deficit to one, but Cincinnati would score the final two points to clinch the set and match.

How It Happened
Set 1: BGSU 19, Cincinnati 25
The teams traded kills for the opening part of the set, with Katelyn Meyer's kill tying the set at 6. Cincinnati would score the next four points, building a lead they would keep for the rest of the set. The Falcons took a timeout with Cincinnati holding an 18-13 lead. From that point, the teams alternated scores until the Bearcats clinched a 25-19 set victory.

Set 2: BGSU 14, Cincinnati 25
Cincinnati started fast in the second set, building leads of 6-1, 9-2, and 14-5. At one point, 12 consecutive points were scored on kills, with a service error breaking the streak and bringing the score to 22-10. The Falcons would make a late push, fighting off set point three times. A service error gave the Bearcats the set win and a 2-0 set lead.

Set 3: BGSU 25, Cincinnati 16
In a set that was back-and-forth to start, the Falcons gained the upper hand with a run in the middle. Trailing by one, BGSU went on an 8-1 run to take a 14-8 lead. Yelianiz Torres and Julia Walz each served an ace, and Katie Kidwell added a pair of block assists. Three consecutive kills from Meyer pushed the Falcon advantage to ten, and a Kat Mandly kill followed by a Cincinnati attack error gave the Falcons their first set win of the afternoon.

Set 4: BGSU 25, Cincinnati 23
Like the previous one, the fourth set was close early, with BGSU utilizing a run to take a midpoint advantage. Meyer and Katie Kidwell registered kills, then Madelynn Luebcke and Jaden Walz combined for a block to make it 9-6. The Bearcats scored the next two points, but the Falcons responded with five of their own. Later in the set, the Orange and Brown capitalized on three Bearcat errors and a Kidwell kill to push their lead to eight. After a 4-0 Cincinnati run, BGSU went on a 5-2 run to reach the set point. Cincinnati mounted a furious rally, scoring five straight points and cutting the Falcon lead to one. Jaden Walz clinched the set with a solo block, forcing a decisive fifth set.

Set 5: BGSU 12, Cincinnati 15
The Bearcats jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead, but two kills from Indrova and a block from Kidwell and Jaden Walz made it 6-4. Cincinnati responded with a 6-1 run, but the Falcons continued to fight. Two kills from Meyer and one from Indrova forced a Cincinnati timeout, and the Bearcats scored the ensuing point. BGSU did not surrender, scoring the next four points behind a Meyer kill, an Indrova and Luebcke block, an Indrova kill and a Cincinnati attack error. The Bearcats took a timeout, holding a 13-12 lead. Two attack errors would give Cincinnati the two points they needed to win the set and match.

Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Petra Indrova (14), Katelyn Meyer (14)
Assists: Jaden Walz (34)
Digs: Julia Walz (21), Kerstie Shaw (19), Petra Indrova (14)
Aces: Yelianiz Torres (1), Julia Walz (1)
Blocks: Petra Indrova (6 block assists), Katie Kidwell (1 solo block, 4 block assists), Madelynn Luebcke (5 block assists)

Notes

Petra Indrova logged 14 kills and 14 digs, marking her team-best fourth double-double this season. She also set new career bests in block assists (6) and total blocks (6)
Jaden Walz set new season highs in assists (34), digs (6) and kills (2), while notching her first career solo block.
Julia Walz recorded a season-high 21 digs, the second time a Falcon has recorded over 20 digs this season.
Kerstie Shaw registered 19 digs, tying her career-high and setting a new season best.
Madelynn Luebcke tied her season best with three kills on a career-high eight attacks. She also tallied five block assists, her highest mark this season.

Coach Tomic's Take
"This loss hurts because of how much resiliency we showed to come back after losing the first two sets but unfortunately did not carry that momentum in the fifth set. When we focus on ourselves and play to our standards, we are tough to beat. However, today we failed to meet any of our standards and struggled with executing the game plan. There are lessons that we are still learning, and this loss will make us better in the long run. We are pleased that we showed improvement from a week ago and won two hard-fought matches. However, we are not satisfied because we know that there is so much more in us and that we will continue getting better."

Up Next
The Falcons concludes the road portion of their non-conference schedule next weekend at the Panther Challenge, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh. The Falcons open at 12 p.m. on Friday, September 10 against No. 13 BYU. They will play two matches on Saturday, September 11, with the first coming against High Point at 11 a.m. BGSU concludes the weekend with a 7 p.m. match against No. 7 Pitt.

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