Falcons Best Wright State, Advance To NIVC’s Great 8

Thursday, December 5

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

23-9,16-2MAC

Wright State

24-7,16-2Horizon

Wright St.

Bowling Green

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

December 05, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score BGSU-Wright State Match Stats Amanda Otten, Coach Tomic Interview Support Our Student-Athletes Photo Gallery

BGVB Tallies Most Wins During Tomic Era With 23rd Victory

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team topped the Wright State Raiders Thursday night (Dec. 5) at the Stroh Center in four sets. The Falcons started strong, hitting .581 in the first set, but Wright State battled back in the second to knot the match up at 1-1. In the third set, the two teams went back-and-forth, but an Isabelle Laube ace sealed the set in favor of the Falcons. Bowling Green was able to roll the momentum into the fourth set, claiming the 3-1 final.

The Falcons have now won 23 matches this year, the most during Coach Tomic's time at BGSU. This also marks the first time under Tomic the Falcons have recorded multiple postseason wins in the same and just the third time in program history. Bowling Green will advance to the Great 8 of the NIVC with the opponent, date and location to be determined.

How It Happened
Set 1: Bowling Green 25, Wright State 18

Bowling Green opened the match with a 4-0 run to start. A 3-0 run for Wright State pulled them within one before tying it up at 7-7.
A 3-0 burst for the Falcons pushed BGSU back in front, 11-8, building the lead to 15-11 at the media timeout.
Coming out of the media break, Wright State went on a 4-1 stretch, trimming the lead to 16-15 with a Bowling Green timeout being called.
The two teams went back-and-forth until consecutive Bowling Green points pushed the BGSU lead to 21-18, resulting in a Wright State timeout.
The Falcons tallied the next two points after the timeout to stretch the lead to 23-18 with the second Raiders timeout of the set.
Lauryn Hovey added a kill followed by an Amanda Otten ace to secure the set for the Falcons, closing it out with a 6-0 run.

Set 2: Wright State 25, Bowling Green 13

The set began with the trading of points to a 4-4 tie, but Wright State followed with a 6-1 stretch to take a 10-5 advantage, forcing a Bowling Green timeout.
Each team landed a point out of the timeout, but a 4-0 run for Wright State extended their lead to 15-6 with the Falcons taking their second timeout.
The Falcons landed two points after the break, but a 4-0 Wright State run pushed their lead to 19-8 in the set.
The two teams resumed trading points until Wright State closed out the set with a 4-1 stretch for the 25-13 score.

Set 3: Bowling Green 25, Wright State 23

The two teams began back-and-forth with a tie as deep as 5-5. Back-to-back Wright State points put the Raiders in front, 7-5, but the Falcons tied it back up at 8-8.
BGSU and Wright State continued battling, trading points to the media timeout with a 15-14 Bowling Green lead.
Wright State tied it up at 15-15, but the Falcons answered with a 3-0 run to take an 18-15 advantage with the Raiders calling timeout.
The Raiders pulled within one at 18-17 and again at 19-18, but the Falcons were able to push back ahead with a 22-19 score resulting in the second Wright State timeout.
WSU tallied a 3-0 run of their own after the timeout, tying the set at 22-22 with the Falcons taking a timeout.
Each team tallied a point for a 23-23 score, but a Jessica Andrews kill and Isabelle Laube ace sealed the set for the Falcons.

Set 4: Bowling Green 25, Wright State 17

The Falcons landed the first point of the set, but Wright State responded with a 5-0 run, taking a 5-1 lead to force a BGSU timeout.
Bowling Green worked to chip away at the lead before utilizing a 4-0 run to take the lead at 9-8, resulting in a timeout from the Raider bench.
Wright State worked to tie the set at 10-10, but the Falcons put together a 4-0 run to reclaim the lead at 15-11.
The Falcons added a 4-1 stretch to extend their lead to 19-13, seeing Wright State call timeout.
Each team recorded a point, but the Falcons went on a 5-0 run to push the lead to 24-15. Wright State added two points, but Bowling Green finished the set and the match, 25-17.

Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (16)
Assists: Amanda Otten (41)
Digs: Sydnie Hernandez (15)
Aces: Avery Anders, Sydnie Hernandez, Isabelle Laube, Amanda Otten (1)
Blocks: Alexis Mettille, Mia Tyler (4)

Falcon Stat Facts

The win marks the first time during Coach Tomic's tenure that the Falcons have recorded multiple postseason wins in the same season and the third time in program history. Bowling Green recorded two NIVC wins in 1993 and five in 1992 when they finished as the NIVC Runner-Up. The Falcons are now 9-6 all-time in the NIVC.
The win marked the 23rd for the Falcons this season, now with a 23-9 record. The win total is the most for Bowling Green during Coach Tomic's time at the helm of BGVB.
Jessica Andrews tallied one of BGSU's three solo blocks in the match, her 21st of the season. The total moves Andrews up to a tie for seventh on the Rally Scoring Era list for single-season solo blocks, tied with Katie Kidwell's 2019 season and Melissa Mohr's 2004 season. Andrews is now one shy of her career-high, set in 2022 with 22 that sits at sixth on the list.
Andrews totaled two blocks on the night, now with 144 this season. The 144 blocks moves her up to fourth on the Rally Scoring Era list for single-season total blocks, passing Kendra Halm's 2006 season.
Alexis Mettille added four block assists in the match as well, giving her 131 total blocks this season. The mark ties Mettille for 10th on the Rally Scoring list for single-season total blocks with Halm's 2008 campaign.
Sydnie Hernandez had another career night, serving as the libero for the second straight match. Hernandez led the team in digs with a career-high 15 and added a career-high seven assists, which finished second on the team.
Amanda Otten filled the stat sheet and nearly logged a double-double. She concluded the match with a team-high 41 assists, nine digs, four kills and an ace while setting the BGSU attack to a .316 hitting percentage.
Lauryn Hovey led the Falcon attack with 16 kills while maintaining a .333 hitting percentage. Hovey added seven digs in addition to a block and an assist.
Mia Tyler tallied 14 kills for BGSU, second on the team, while hitting .400 for the Falcons. She added a solo block and three block assists, tying for the team lead in blocks.
Isabelle Laube and Avery Anders produced similar stat lines for the Falcons, each logging four digs, two assists and an ace.
Bowling Green has now topped Wright State twice this season, accounting for two of Wright State's seven total losses. Both of BGSU's wins were in four sets, winning 3-1 on Sept. 8 as well. The Falcons have now won the last four meetings with the Raiders.

Up Next
The Falcons will advance to the Great 8 of the NIVC. BGSU will play the winner of tomorrow's (Dec. 6) match between DePaul and Omaha scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. The location, date and time of Bowling Green's next match will be determined upon the opponent.

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