Falcons, Rockets To Reignite Battle Of I-75 Rivalry Tuesday In Toledo

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will begin the first of two matches in the Battle of I-75 this season, heading to Toledo on Tuesday (Oct. 1) for a 6 p.m. start. Both the Falcons and Rockets enter the match with a 2-0 record to start the MAC portion of the schedule with BGSU topping Ball State and Toledo besting Northern Illinois this past weekend. The second leg of the Battle of I-75 is set for Nov. 5 in Bowling Green.

First Serve

The Falcons and Rockets will be meeting for the 78th time in program history with Bowling Green holding the all-time advantage with a record of 59-18 over Toledo in the Battle of I-75.
This will mark the first trip to Savage Arena for the Falcons since 2021, picking up a 3-1 win in that trip. BGSU is 25-13 when playing on the road against the Rockets, including four straight wins dating back to the 2017 season.
Bowling Green and Toledo are two of four teams in the MAC with a 2-0 record after the first weekend of conference play. The other two, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan, also play against each other on Tuesday (Oct. 1), scheduled for a 6 p.m. start in Mount Pleasant.
The Falcons are off to a 2-0 MAC start for the sixth time in the last seven seasons and are seeking a 3-0 start for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.
The last 17 meetings between Bowling Green and Toledo have gone either four or five sets. The last 3-0 sweep for either team was BGSU claiming a 3-0 win at home on Oct. 25, 2008. Since then, 13 of the 17 have gone four sets with four going five.
Junior opposite Lauryn Hovey enters the weekend with 112 career aces, needing two to tie and three to break the program's Rally Scoring Era record (2001-Present), currently held by Paige Penrod.
This season, Hovey has landed 27 aces, leading the Mid-American Conference, and is tied for 15th in the nation. Additionally, she's averaging 0.59 aces per set, which currently ranks 12th in the nation and second in the MAC.
Alexis Mettille currently leads in the MAC in hitting percentage with a mark of .411, landing 83 kills on 163 attacks with just 16 errors. Only one other player in the conference is hitting above .350 (Abby Leigh, Buffalo, .385).
As a team, the Falcons enter the week second in the MAC for blocks per set, averaging 2.48, trailing only Eastern Michigan in the stat (2.55).
Individually, both Jessica Andrews and Mettille are inside the top five in the MAC for blocks per set, making BGSU the only team with multiple players in the top five. Andrews is third, averaging 1.22 blocks per set, while Mettille is fifth with a mark of 1.07 blocks per set.

Falcons Off To Strong MAC Start
The Falcons are off to a strong start in conference play, being one of four teams in the MAC to reach 2-0. Bowling Green has started MAC play 2-0 in six of the last seven seasons and 1-0 in seven straight. If the Falcons can tally another win to move to 3-0 it would mark the fifth 3-0 MAC start in the last seven seasons for the program. BGSU started 4-0 in 2022, 11-0 in 2021 and 18-0 in the 2020-21 campaign. As for the other 2-0 MAC teams, Toledo is seeking their third-straight 3-0 MAC start while CMU hasn't been 3-0 since 2019 and EMU's last 3-0 MAC start was in 2010. CMU and EMU will also play against each other on Tuesday (Oct. 1).

Taking On Toledo
Toledo enters the match coming off two home wins over Northern Illinois to open MAC play, both 3-0 victories. The last four wins for Toledo have come in three sets, topping Belmont and Marshall as well, but the streak was interrupted by a 3-2 loss to South Dakota State and 3-1 loss to Idaho State. In addition to the NIU wins and the Marshall victory, the Rockets also topped Eastern Washington and Northern Kentucky, both 3-1 scores, at home for a 5-0 home standing. The only common opponent for BGSU and Toledo is Illinois, both falling to the Illini in three sets.

BGSU vs. Toledo, A History
The Battle of I-75 history leans to the Falcons, but the last four meetings have been split down the middle, 2-2. The Rockets claimed the most recent meeting, facing just once last season with it going five sets in Toledo's favor. This will mark the first trip to Savage Arena for the Falcons since the 2021 season. Bowling Green has had favorable results in the venue, winning the last four meetings in Savage, going back to the 2017 campaign. Four and five set matches are common in the rivalry with the last 3-0 sweep for either team being a 3-0 win for BGSU in 2008.

Hovey Closing In On Rally Record
Lauryn Hovey is sitting just two aces away from tying and three away from breaking the program's Rally Scoring Era record for career aces. Hovey currently has 112 over her BGSU career, sitting in second for the Rally Scoring Era and 10th all-time. Paige Penrod currently holds the Rally Scoring record with 114 from 2010-13. As for the all-time mark, Linda Popovich holds the record with 190 career aces from 1986-89. So far, Hovey has 27 aces this season, which is tied for 15th in the nation and first in the MAC, and is averaging 0.59 aces per set, which is 12th in the nation and second in the MAC.

Falcons On The Attack
In Saturday's match against Ball State, the Falcons eclipsed a .300+ attack percentage for the first time this season, hitting .305. So far this season, attack percentage has been an indicator in outcome for BGSU. When Bowling Green hits above .200 as a team, they hold a record of 7-1. However, when the Falcons hit below .200 they are 0-5 this season. In terms of cumulative stats, the Orange and Brown are hitting .262 in matches won and .117 in losses.

Andrews, Mettille In Record Chase
Middle blockers Jessica Andrews and Alexis Mettille are both inside the top 10 in the program's Rally Scoring Era records for career solo blocks, block assists and total blocks. In the solo block column, Andrews and Mettille are tied for eighth with 36 each. Mettille is seventh in total blocks and eighth in block assists while Andrews is 10th in both. For the season, Andrews is averaging 1.22 blocks per set while Mettille is averaging 1.07. That puts both inside the top five within the Mid-American Conference, making BGSU the only team with two inside the top five.

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons volleyball team on social media
Twitter - @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUVolleyball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsuvolleyball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics' and 'Bowling Green State University Volleyball'
TikTok - @bgsuvolleyball
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results