Friday, September 24
Akron, OH
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
3
at
0
Akron
Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics
Falcons Begin MAC Play With Sweep Of Akron
Fri, Sep, 24 | Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons volleyball team (5-6, 1-0) swept Akron (6-7, 0-1) in their 2021 Mid-American Conference (MAC) season opener. This is the second consecutive sweep for the Falcons, who swept Oakland in Sunday's home opener.
How It Happened
Set 1: BGSU 25, Akron 8
The first set began with the teams trading points, tying 4-4 early. BGSU proceeded to score 17 unanswered points, with Kat Mandly's kill, Hanna Laube's block, and Katelyn Meyer's kill kickstarting the streak. After an attack error, Akron took a timeout. Out of the break, Petra Indrova landed a kill. Kerstie Shaw served three consecutive aces to force another Zip timeout, but the Falcons were just getting started. They scored nine more points, with three coming on kills by Meyer. Shaw capped the 17-0 run with her fourth ace of the set. The Zips got back on the board with two kills, but the Falcons capitalized on Akron errors to clinch a dominant opening-set victory.
Set 2: BGSU 25, Akron 16
Like the first set, the teams traded points early. A 5-0 BGSU run forced an Akron timeout, with the Falcons holding an 8-3 advantage. This time, two aces from Julia Walz keyed the Orange and Brown. Bowling Green scored the next three points out of the break, with two coming on blocks. This led to another timeout from the Zips, who later responded with a 3-0 run. The Falcons answered with a 3-0 run of their own, then the teams alternated points until another Akron run. Holding a 20-14 lead, BGSU went on a 4-0 run then clinched the second set with a Kat Mandly kill.
Set 3: BGSU 25, Akron 22
In the evening's most competitive set, the Falcons and Zips alternated scores for 16 consecutive points. Kills by Indrova and Madelynn Luebcke gave the Falcons a slight lead, then Indrova landed a kill and an ace to stretch the advantage to 14-10. Akron clawed their way back in with two kills, and they remained within three points until Mandly registered back-to-back kills. The Zips responded with a 4-0 run to force a BGSU timeout, but the Falcons would score the final two points to clinch a conference-opening sweep.
Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Petra Indrova (13)
Assists: Hanna Laube (32)
Digs: Julia Walz (11)
Aces: Kerstie Shaw (4)
Blocks: Petra Indrova (1 solo block, 4 block assists)
Falcon Facts
Coach Tomic's Take
"I am proud of our team's performance tonight and a great start of the MAC play. We came out focused and ready to compete and play to our standards. Our serve and serve receive were strong, which created great offensive opportunities for our hitters. We have less than 24 hours before we play Akron again, so it will be critical to learn from this match and then put it behind us and focus on the next one."
Up Next
The Falcons play their second match against Akron at 4 p.m. tomorrow. BGSU will return to the Stroh Center for the MAC home opener the following weekend, hosting Buffalo at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, and 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2.
Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons volleyball team on social media.
Twitter - @BGAthletics and @BGSUVolleyball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsuvolleyball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics' and 'Bowling Green State University Volleyball'
TikTok - @bgsuvolleyball
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'
How It Happened
Set 1: BGSU 25, Akron 8
The first set began with the teams trading points, tying 4-4 early. BGSU proceeded to score 17 unanswered points, with Kat Mandly's kill, Hanna Laube's block, and Katelyn Meyer's kill kickstarting the streak. After an attack error, Akron took a timeout. Out of the break, Petra Indrova landed a kill. Kerstie Shaw served three consecutive aces to force another Zip timeout, but the Falcons were just getting started. They scored nine more points, with three coming on kills by Meyer. Shaw capped the 17-0 run with her fourth ace of the set. The Zips got back on the board with two kills, but the Falcons capitalized on Akron errors to clinch a dominant opening-set victory.
Set 2: BGSU 25, Akron 16
Like the first set, the teams traded points early. A 5-0 BGSU run forced an Akron timeout, with the Falcons holding an 8-3 advantage. This time, two aces from Julia Walz keyed the Orange and Brown. Bowling Green scored the next three points out of the break, with two coming on blocks. This led to another timeout from the Zips, who later responded with a 3-0 run. The Falcons answered with a 3-0 run of their own, then the teams alternated points until another Akron run. Holding a 20-14 lead, BGSU went on a 4-0 run then clinched the second set with a Kat Mandly kill.
Set 3: BGSU 25, Akron 22
In the evening's most competitive set, the Falcons and Zips alternated scores for 16 consecutive points. Kills by Indrova and Madelynn Luebcke gave the Falcons a slight lead, then Indrova landed a kill and an ace to stretch the advantage to 14-10. Akron clawed their way back in with two kills, and they remained within three points until Mandly registered back-to-back kills. The Zips responded with a 4-0 run to force a BGSU timeout, but the Falcons would score the final two points to clinch a conference-opening sweep.
Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Petra Indrova (13)
Assists: Hanna Laube (32)
Digs: Julia Walz (11)
Aces: Kerstie Shaw (4)
Blocks: Petra Indrova (1 solo block, 4 block assists)
Falcon Facts
- BGSU scored 17 consecutive points in the opening set, their largest scoring run of the season. They hit a season-best .524 while holding Akron to -.034. This marks the first time the Falcons have held an opponent below .000 in a set.
- The Falcons continued their defensive dominance in the second set, holding Akron to a hitting percentage of .000. The Orange and Brown tallied four total team blocks in the set.
- Akron finished the match with a .090 hitting percentage, marking the second straight match the Falcons have held their opponent below .100.
- Kerstie Shaw tied her career-high with four aces, the highest single-match total for any Falcon this season.
- Petra Indrova logged a season-best .522 hitting percentage. She led an offensive attack that hit .337, the second-best team total of the season.
Coach Tomic's Take
"I am proud of our team's performance tonight and a great start of the MAC play. We came out focused and ready to compete and play to our standards. Our serve and serve receive were strong, which created great offensive opportunities for our hitters. We have less than 24 hours before we play Akron again, so it will be critical to learn from this match and then put it behind us and focus on the next one."
Up Next
The Falcons play their second match against Akron at 4 p.m. tomorrow. BGSU will return to the Stroh Center for the MAC home opener the following weekend, hosting Buffalo at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, and 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2.
Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons volleyball team on social media.
Twitter - @BGAthletics and @BGSUVolleyball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsuvolleyball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics' and 'Bowling Green State University Volleyball'
TikTok - @bgsuvolleyball
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'