Falcons Battle Broncos To Five Sets In MAC Tournament Semifinals

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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team took on the Western Michigan Broncos in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament Saturday (Nov. 23) at the Stroh Center. BGSU and WMU went back-and-forth through the match, trading not only points, but sets. In the end, Western Michigan edged out the Falcons for the 3-2 final. Jessica Andrews and Alexis Mettille combined for 30 kills on 58 attacks with just one error, hitting .500 from the middle blocker position for the Falcons.

How It Happened
Set 1: Western Michigan 25, Bowling Green 18

Western Michigan came out of the gates strong, registering a 6-1 stretch to begin the match with an early Bowling Green timeout.
The Falcons soon responded with a 5-0 run to trim the lead down to 9-7, but Western Michigan answered back with a 4-0 burst to push the lead back to 13-7.
Bowling Green continued to chip away, utilizing a 3-0 run to cut the score to 15-13, but a 3-0 run for WMU later in the set created a 20-15 lead with the second BGSU timeout.
The two teams traded points to a 22-18 score, but a 3-0 run for Western Michigan closed out the set, 25-18.

Set 2: Bowling Green 25, Western Michigan 21

The Falcons inched ahead early in the set with four of the first six points, maintaining the advantage to a 9-7 score.
From there, Bowling Green rattled off a 5-0 run to take a 14-7 lead, resulting in a Western Michigan timeout.
BGSU added two more points out of the timeout to make the run 7-0 with a 16-7 advantage on the scoreboard.
The two teams went back-and-forth before the Broncos chipped away with a 22-16 tally, forcing a Bowling Green timeout.
Western Michigan added three more to their tally after the timeout with a 5-0 run to trim the score to 22-19 with the second Falcon timeout.
The run for WMU extended to 7-0, trailing 22-21, but the Falcons closed out the set with a 3-0 run to even the match.

Set 3: Western Michigan 25, Bowling Green 23

The third set began back-and-forth to a 3-3 tie, but the Falcons put together a 3-0 run to move in front 6-3 in the early going.
The Falcons soon registered another 3-0 run, including a Sydnie Hernandez ace, to stretch the lead to 11-6 with a WMU timeout.
Western Michigan worked away at the lead, using a 4-0 run to draw within one at 13-12, resulting in a BGSU timeout.
The back-and-forth battle resumed with Western Michigan tying the set up at 16-16. The Falcons moved in front, but the Broncos tied it again, this time at 21-21, with a BGSU timeout following.
The trading of points carried through the end of the set with WMU taking a 25-23 score.

Set 4: Bowling Green 25, Western Michigan 20

The Falcons jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the set, using a string of three-straight blocks for a 6-0 run that forced a WMU timeout.
A 3-0 run for WMU out of the timeout cut into the lead, 7-5, eventually tying the set at 11-11.
The back-and-forth carried deep into the set before a 4-0 BGSU run put the Falcons in front 22-18 with another Bronco timeout.
Despite the timeout, the point trading continued with the Falcons taking the set 25-20, forcing the match to a fifth set.

Set 5: Western Michigan 15, Bowling Green 8

Western Michigan started the fifth set with a 4-0 run, resulting in a Bowling Green timeout.
The run carried through the timeout for the Broncos, adding three more for a 7-0 start to the set.
The Falcons worked to chip away, cutting the score down to 12-7 in the set, but Western Michigan pushed ahead for the 15-8 score.

Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Jessica Andrews (16)
Assists: Amanda Otten (48)
Digs: Lindsey LaPinta (25)
Aces: Lindsey LaPinta (3)
Blocks: Jessica Andrews (10)

Falcon Stat Facts

As a team, the Falcons logged a season-high 18 blocks, surpassing the previous high of 16 against Western Michigan on Oct. 5.
Jessica Andrews tallied a double-double for the Falcons, logging a career-high 16 kills and 10 blocks to lead the team in both stats. The double-double is the first of Andrews' career and the first double-double by a Falcon with kills and blocks since Katie Kidwell had 14 kills and 10 blocks on Oct. 11, 2018.
Of Andrews' 10 blocks, three were solo blocks. Andrews now has 47 career solo blocks, passing teammate Alexis Mettille on the Rally Scoring list for fifth and is now tied with Madeline Brandewie for fourth.
Andrews added seven block assists, bringing her season total to 118. She passed both Caty Rommeck and Kendra Halm on the single-season Rally Scoring list for block assists, now in eighth.
Andrews also entered and moved up the single-season Rally Scoring list for total blocks. Now with 137, Andrews jumped up to seventh on the list after entering the match outside the top 10.
After entering the night hitting. 439 on the season, ranked fifth in the nation, Alexis Mettille hit a team-high .519 over the course of the match. Mettille landed 14 kills, tied for second on the team, on 27 error-free attacks. Mettille added seven block assists in the match for the Falcons.
Mettille's seven block assists moved her career total to 305, surpassing Caty Rommeck for ninth on the all-time list.
Lauryn Hovey landed two aces in the match for the Falcons, giving her 135 for her BGSU career. The mark ties Hovey with Kelley Ellett for sixth on the all-time list.
Hovey added 16 digs and 14 kills to her stat line, recording her fourth double-double of the season.
Amanda Otten totaled 48 assists in the match, bringing her career total to 1,233 to move her into 10th on the Rally Scoring Era list for career assists.
Otten contributed across the stat sheet for the Falcons, logging seven digs, seven blocks and three kills. Of her seven blocks, one was a solo and six were block assists.
LIndsey LaPinta led the Falcons in digs in the match, tallying a career-high 25 for the Falcons. The total marked the seventh time this season that LaPitna has finished with 20 or more digs. She added a team-leading and season-high three aces.
Mia Tyler and Jordan Newblatt rounded out the BGSU attack with Tyler finishing with eight kills and Newblatt with four.
Sydnie Hernandez and Avery Anders each added double-digit digs to the BGSU effort. Hernandez tallied 11 while Anders logged 10. Each added an assist and an ace as well.

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Jessica Andrews

Alexis Mettille

Lauryn Hovey

Mia Tyler

Players Mentioned

Avery Anders

Jessica Andrews

Sydnie Hernandez

Lauryn Hovey

Lindsey LaPinta

Alexis Mettille

Jordan Newblatt

Amanda Otten

Mia Tyler

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