Falcons Fight Through Five Sets With Western Michigan For Second Straight Match

Saturday, October 25

Kalamazoo, Mich.

4 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

12-11,6-5MAC

Western Michigan

11-13,8-3MAC

Bowling Green

Western Mich.

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

Falcons Fight Through Five Sets With Western Michigan For Second Straight Match

October 25, 2025 | Volleyball

Box Score BGSU-WMU Box Score Support Our Student-Athletes

Bozic, Sitek, Waclawczyk All Post Double-Doubles For BGSU

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team concluded the weekend series against Western Michigan on Saturday (Oct. 25) with another five-set fight. The Falcons took the first set, beginning the back-and-forth through the first four sets. In the fifth, Western Michigan pulled ahead to take the fifth set. The Falcons will be back on the court on Tuesday (Oct. 28) for the Battle of I-75 with a 6 p.m. first serve inside the Stroh Center.

How It Happened
Set 1: Bowling Green 25, Western Michigan 23

Western Michigan tallied the first point, but two BGSU points followed, including an ace from Sydnie Hernandez, beginning a back-and-forth between the two teams.
The back-and-forth moved the score to 4-3 Bowling Green, but WMU battled back with a 3-0 run to take a 6-4 advantage. BGSU answered with a pair of points to tie it up at 6-6.
The Broncos broke the tie with a 4-0 run, moving out to a 10-7 lead. Back-to-back kills from Avery Hobson cut into the score, 10-8.
The Falcons worked to draw within one, 11-10. Hobson and Helen Wilford partnered for a block before Wilford moved over next to Jessica Andrews for another block to close the gap.
BGSU soon after put together a 4-0 run to take a 14-12 lead in the set, including another ace from Hernandez. Each team tallied a point from there for a 15-13 BGSU lead at the media timeout.
The two went back-and-forth out of the break until an ace from Kendall Williams aided a 3-0 Bowling Green run to put BGSU in front 19-15 with a Western Michigan timeout.
After the timeout, the teams traded points before a 4-1 stretch from WMU closed the gap to 22-20. The Broncos continued to chip away, cutting the deficit to one at 24-23 with a BGSU timeout. Marija Tabak clinched the set after the timeout with a kill.

Set 2: Western Michigan 25, Bowling Green 19

Western Michigan started the second set with a 3-0 run, rolling into a 5-1 advantage. The back-and-forth continued from there, carrying to a 9-5 score before a 3-0 run for WMU made it a 12-5 lead with a Bowling Green timeout.
The Falcons began battling back after the break, using a 4-2 stretch to trim the score to 14-9. From there, the trading of points resumed to move the score to 16-11 before back-to-back WMU points made it 18-11 with the second BGSU timeout of the set.
Bowling Green responded out of the break with a 3-0 run, including an ace from Isabelle Laube, trimming the score to 18-14. The 3-0 run sparked a 6-2 stretch in favor of BGSU to cut the lead down to 20-17.
Western Michigan answered with a 5-2 stretch to close out the set to even the match.

Set 3: Bowling Green 25, Western Michigan 21

Western Michigan opened the third set with a pair of points, but the Falcons tallied two of their own for a 2-2 tie in the early going. Two more points for WMU pushed them out to a 4-2 lead.
Bowling Green added a tally, but a 5-0 run for Western Michigan extended the score to 9-3 with a BGSU timeout.
Each team registered a point after the break before the Falcons broke off a 4-0 run to close the gap to 10-8 with a timeout from Western Michigan.
A 3-1 stretch from WMU out of the break moved the score to 13-9, but back-to-back Bowling Green points narrowed the deficit back to two at 13-11. The Broncos answered with two of their own to match the points for a 15-11 score.
Bowling Green worked for a 4-1 stretch, pulling within one with a 16-15 tally. A 3-1 span for Western Michigan followed to extend the lead back to 19-16 with the second BGSU timeout of the set.
WMU added a tally after the timeout, but the Falcons put together a 4-0 run to tie the set up at 20-20. WMU landed a point, but two more for Bowling Green pushed the Falcons in front, 22-20, following a 6-1 stretch to force a Bronco timeout.
Out of the break, the Falcons kept the pressure on with three more points, including an ace from Williams, to close out the set with a 9-1 run.

Set 4: Western Michigan 25, Bowling Green 12

The Falcons rolled the momentum into the start of the second set. Edyta Waclawczyk started the set with an ace, kickstarting a 2-0 start. WMU knotted it up at 2-2.
The ties carried to 3-3 and 4-4 before Western Michigan tallied a 5-1 stretch to a 9-5 score. BGSU ended the stretch, but two more WMU points followed for an 11-6 score and a Bowling Green timeout.
Bowling Green tallied the first point out of the break, but a 5-2 stretch for the Broncos made it 16-8 with the second BGSU timeout.
A similar sequence followed with BGSU landing the first point after the timeout, but WMU answered with a 6-0 run for a 22-9 tally.
The Falcons challenged late, but Western Michigan closed out the set, 25-12.

Set 5: Western Michigan 15, Bowling Green 8

Western Michigan opened the fifth set with a 3-1 span, but the Falcons battled back to tie it up at 3-3. WMU broke the tie with a 3-0 run for a 6-3 advantage to force a timeout.
The teams traded points after the timeout to the midway point of the set, switching sides with an 8-5 WMU lead. The Broncos added another tally after the switch to force a BGSU timeout with a 9-5 score.
The run for Western Michigan reached 3-0 with a 10-5 lead. The two traded points from there to close out the set and match.

Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Marija Tabak (12)
Assists: Isabelle Laube (25)
Digs: Sydnie Hernandez (16)
Aces: Sydnie Hernandez (3)
Blocks: Helen Wilford (6)

Falcon Stat Facts

Anastasija Bozic posted her first double-double as a Falcon, totaling 15 digs and 11 kills, finishing second on the team in both stats. Both mark career-highs for Bozic as well.
Anna Sitek tallied a double-double as well for Bowling Green, concluding the match with 21 assists and a career-high 12 digs for her second double-double of the season.
Edyta Waclawczyk recorded a double-double with 10 kills and a career-high 12 digs. The double-double is the first of Waclawczyk's career.
With Bozic, Sitek and Waclawczyk all logging double-doubles, the match marks the second time in two weeks that BGSU has had three double-doubles in the same match. Previously, the team hadn't done so since the 2023 campaign.
Marija Tabak led the Falcons in kills for the match, landing a career-high 12. This is the first time Tabak has led the team in the stat, becoming the sixth different Falcon to solely lead the team in a stat this season. Tabak added a career-high six digs to her stat line as well.
Sydnie Hernandez paced BGSU in digs with 16 while also leading the way in aces with three. The aces are the most for Hernandez in a match since landing five against NIU on Oct. 9.
For the second consecutive night, Isabelle Laube led the team in assists. She finished with a career-high 25, passing her previous career-high of 21 from Friday's match.
Helen Wilford topped the stat sheet in blocks, posting six with one solo and five block assists. Wilford added two kills and a dig as well.
As a team, the Falcons landed 73 digs to set a new season-high. It's the first time BGSU has eclipsed 70 digs in a match since having 79 against Western Michigan on Nov. 23, 2024.
Bowling Green registered seven aces as a team, matching the team's season-high for a five-set match.

Up Next
Bowling Green will have a quick turnaround to their next contest, hosting the Battle of I-75 on Tuesday (Oct. 28) The Falcons and rival Rockets are set for a 6 p.m. start inside the Stroh Center. The night will include Trick or Treat on the concourse and an Orange Wave for all fans.

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