BGVB Tops Michigan In Front Of Packed Stroh For First Big Ten Win Since 2012

Friday, September 15

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

5-5,0-0MAC

Michigan

2-6,0-0Big Ten

Michigan

Bowling Green

BGVB Tops Michigan In Front Of Packed Stroh For First Big Ten Win Since 2012

September 15, 2023 | Volleyball

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Falcons Sparked By Early 20-2 Stretch

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

Ziggyville Population: 782
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team impressed a packed Stroh Center on Friday (Sept. 15), picking up the team's first win over a Big Ten foe since 2012. Going five sets, the Falcons topped the Michigan Wolverines 3-2 in front of the full crowd, marking the program's third win all-time over the Wolverines. The win moves BGSU Volleyball to 5-5 on the season while the athletic department is now 2-0 when facing Michigan during the 2023-24 athletic calendar.

Bowling Green was sparked by a 20-2 stretch that spanned the end of the first set and carried into the second to set up the eventual 3-2 victory. The Falcons were paced on the attack by Lauryn Hovey who landed a team-high 18 kills for the Orange and Brown. Aces proved a pivotal point in the match as well. Hannah Best led the way with a career-high four for BGSU with Alexis Mettille close behind with a season-high three.

How It Happened
Set 1: Bowling Green 25, Michigan 20

An early 4-0 run for Michigan pushed the Wolverines in front early with a 5-1 advantage, but the Falcons were able to pull within one with the score at 6-5.
The two teams traded points from there to a 12-11 score before Michigan recorded a 3-0 run to move ahead 15-11 to force the media timeout and the first stoppage of the match.
Michigan carried the run through the timeout, reaching 7-0 for a 19-11 lead, but the Falcons responded.
After giving up the 7-0 run, BGSU put together a run of their own going on a 4-0 burst to force a Michigan timeout with the score at 19-15 Wolverines.
The timeout didn't stop the Falcons, forging ahead to make it a 9-0 run, taking a 20-19 lead over the Wolverines.
Michigan recorded a point to even the score at 20-20, but the Falcons responded with a 5-0 run to close out the set, resulting in a 14-1 stretch for the 25-20 first set score in favor of BGSU.

Set 2: Bowling Green 25, Michigan 19

The Falcons carried the momentum of the first set into the second set, using an early 5-0 run to take a 6-1 lead, forcing a Michigan timeout. Going back to the first set, the Orange and Brown put together a 20-2 stretch.
Michigan chipped away at the lead before another 3-0 spurt pushed the Falcons further ahead, taking a 12-5 advantage.
The two teams continued to go back-and-forth before a late 3-0 run for Bowling Green increased their lead to 20-15, resulting in the second Michigan timeout of the set.
BGSU and Michigan continued the back-and-forth battle through the end of the set with the Falcons taking a 25-19 score to move to a 2-0 lead for the match.

Set 3: Michigan 25, Bowling Green 17

Michigan jumped out to an early lead in the third set with a 3-0 run to move ahead 4-1. The lead stretched to 9-5 when the Falcons utilized a timeout.
The Wolverines had another 3-0 run later in the set to extend their lead to 15-10, forcing the second BGSU timeout.
Soon after the timeout the Falcons recorded a 3-0 run of their own to narrow the gap to 16-15 with Michigan taking a timeout this time around.
A 4-0 run for the Wolverines out of the timeout pushed their lead back to 20-15 before closing out the set with another 4-0 run for the 25-17 score, sending the match to a fourth set.

Set 4: Michigan 25, Bowling Green 22

The fourth set began back-and-forth. An early 3-0 run for Michigan pushed them in front 6-4, but the Falcons closed the gap to tie the set at 6-6, using a 3-0 run of their own to move in front 7-6.
The ties continued in the set, coming at 7-7, 8-8, 10-10 and 11-11. Another 3-0 BGSU run pushed the Falcons in front 13-11, maintaining the advantage up to the media timeout, leading 15-13.
The lead remained for Bowling Green until a 3-0 Michigan run granted them a 17-16 lead with the Falcons taking a timeout.
BGSU drew within a point multiple times, but the Wolverines held them off before a pair of points pushed their lead to 21-18, seeing the Orange and Brown take their second timeout.
Bowling Green made a late push that resulted in a Michigan timeout, but the Wolverines held on for a 25-22 set score to send the match into a fifth set.

Set 5: Bowling Green 15, Michigan 10

Michigan again jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth set with an early 3-0 burst, but the Falcons responded with a 6-1 stretch, including a 4-0 run, to move in front 7-5 and force a Wolverines timeout.
The run carried through the timeout for the Orange and Brown, reaching 7-0, and 9-1, with Michigan taking their second timeout with the score at 10-5.
The Wolverines closed the gap to 11-8 that forced a BGSU timeout. The Falcons rebounded after the break with back-to-back points to regain their advantage at 13-8.
Michigan challenged late, but a Lauryn Hovey kill clinched the win for the Falcons with a 15-10 set score.

Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (18)
Assists: Jaden Walz (27)
Digs: Alex Laboy (18)
Aces: Hannah Best (4)
Blocks: Jessica Andrews (5)

Falcon Stat Facts

The win for Bowling Green is the program's first over a Big Ten opponent since the 2012 campaign when BGSU beat Indiana 3-1.
The win for the Falcons is the program's first over Michigan since 1990 and just the third overall. It also marks the second BGSU win over the Wolverines in Bowling Green, topping Michigan 3-0 at home in 1988.
Hannah Best landed a career-high four aces for the Falcons, leading the team. BGSU totaled nine aces, matching the high for the season after landing nine against Northern Kentucky as well.
Alexis Mettille added a season-high three aces from behind the service line. Mettille recorded a career-high 20 attack attempts and totaled a season-high 11.0 points.
Alex Laboy recorded a team-high 18 digs for the Falcons, bringing her season total to 130 digs, a new career-high for a single season with Bowling Green.
In addition to Laboy's 18, Lindsey LaPinta matched her career-high for digs in a match with 10.
Lauryn Hovey paced the Falcons in kills with 18, missing her season-high by just one. Hovey also recorded a team-best .297 hitting percentage on the attack.
Jessica Andrews matched her career-high for blocks in a match, totaling a team-high five block assists.
As an athletic department, Bowling Green is now 2-0 against Michigan with men's soccer topping the Wolverines 2-1 on Sept. 4.
The win moves Head Coach Danijela Tomic one step closer to the 200-win milestone at Bowling Green, now with 197 career wins at the helm of the Falcons.

Up Next
The Falcons and Wolverines will conclude the home-and-home series on Sunday (Sept. 17) in Ann Arbor, scheduled for a 2 p.m. first serve. BGSU will then begin conference play next week, hosting Northern Illinois on Thursday and Friday (Sept. 21-22) with both matches scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.

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