Bowling Green def. Western Michigan, 3-2
Eastern Michigan def. Ball State, 3-1
Central Michigan def. Toledo, 3-1
Northern Illinois def. Miami, 3-0
Ohio def. Buffalo, 3-0
Akron def. Kent State, 3-0
Bowling Green def. Western Michigan, 3-2
Bowling Green, Ohio – It was everything a volleyball match between the only undefeated team in a conference and the league favorite should be. Bowling Green battled back from a 7-3 deficit in the fifth set to beat preseason Mid-American Conference favorite Western Michigan in five sets Saturday night 25-18, 21-25, 25-15, 19-25, 15-11. The Falcons remained the only unbeaten team in the league at 6-0 with the win.
BGSU snapped a four-match losing streak to Western Michigan by getting at least 10 kills from four different players and holding its own against the league’s best digging team. Although the Broncos had five more digs than the Falcons, BGSU negated Western Michigan’s strength by blasting 70 kills and hitting .257.
Bowling Green won the first and third sets but Western Michigan forced a fifth by winning 25-19 in the fourth set and the Broncos scored seven of the first 10 points in the fifth set to take control. But the Falcons bounced back with a Leah Shaw kill, followed by a Western Michigan attack error, and another Shaw kill. By that point, Bowling Green had the Broncos flustered and Western Michigan committed errors on the next three points as the Falcons took a 9-7 lead.
Richelle Ranney weathered the storm with a pair of kills for the Broncos and Bowling Green led just 10-9. But Paige Penrod and Danielle Tonyan put home two assists from Laura Avila and Western Michigan burned its final timeout. Penrod added another kill after the break to make it 13-9. With a 14-11 lead, Lindsey Butterfield ended the match with a kill for the 15-11 win.
The fifth set was not the only time the Falcons showed mental toughness during the match though. After Western Michigan cruised to a relatively easy 25-21 second-set victory, the Falcons could have rolled over. Instead, Bowling Green used a momentum-swinging 8-0 run midway through the third stanza after falling behind 12-11.
In that run, Penrod had back-to-back kills and was followed by four consecutive service aces by Avila. Tonyan and Kaitlyn Skinner put the exclamation point on the run with a block that make it 19-12 as the Falcons rolled to the 25-15 win.
Bowling Green set the tone in the first set by hitting .306 and getting five kills, a block and an ace from Shaw. The Falcons never trailed in opening frame, using a 14-5 spurt to cruise to the 25-18 victory.
Penrod finished with a match-high 21 kills and Butterfield added 17. Tonyan had 16 kills and a match-high six blocks, while Shaw finished with 10 kills and three blocks. Ashley Dunn posted a career-best 29 digs and Avila handed out 58 assists.
With the loss, Western Michigan falls to 11-7 on the year and 4-2 in MAC play. Bowling Green improves to 10-7 overall and remains in the driver’s seat in the league at 6-0. In fact, the six conference victories equals the team’s MAC win total for 2011 when the squad went 6-10.
The Falcons will be back at home Tuesday for their final non-conference match of the year as the team hosts Oakland at 7 p.m. Bowling Green will then be on the road for a pair of league matches over the weekend, facing Eastern Michigan Friday night at 7 p.m. and Central Michigan Saturday at 7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan def. Ball State, 3-1
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team notched its second-straight victory Saturday, Oct. 6, when it traveled to Muncie, Ind. to take on Mid-American Conference West Division foe, Ball State University. The Eagles dropped the Cardinals in four sets (22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 26-24).
Eastern advanced to 13-9 on the season and evened up its MAC record to 3-3, while BSU fell to 9-10 on the year and 2-4 in conference play.
The Eagles were strong offensively in the match with Ball State, hitting .261 (63-20-165). Rachel Iaquaniello (Plymouth, Mich.-Dearborn Divine Child) posted 21 kills to lead the Green and White, while Kristen Baker (Mentor, Ohio-Mentor) and Erin Short (Orrville, Ohio-Orrville) notched 14 kills apiece. Kim Hildreth (Novi, Mich.-Novi) setup the EMU offense posting a double-double with 56 assists and 10 digs. Sierra Reed (Parker City, Ind.-Wapahani) led Eastern's defense with 15 digs.
Eastern dropped the opening set 22-25, hitting just .140 (12-6-43). Kara Bates was strong for BSU notching eight kills in the set, while Short led the Eagles with five of her own. Hildreth posted 12 assists in the frame as the Eagles fell behind 1-0 after a set.
The Green and White return-fired with a 25-21 second set victory to even the match at one set apiece. Iaquaniello posted a .400 attack percentage (8-2-15) to lead EMU, while Baker went 4-for-5 in attack attempts, good for an .800 attack percentage. Hildreth added 13 more assists to her total in the second frame.
The Eagles used the third set to take a 2-1 advantage with a 25-23 set victory. As a team, EMU hit .279 (17-5-43) with Baker posting a .800 attack percentage again with a 4-for-5 victory. Short posted a .400 hitting percentage (5-1-10) and Paige Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Notre Dame Academy) added four kills in the frame.
Hildreth posted a 16-assist performance in the final set of the match with EMU winning the set 26-24 to take the match. Iaquaniello posted seven kills, while Baker added five. Short notched four kills in the frame, while posting a .571 attack percentage (4-0-7).
The Eagles continue the MAC portion of the schedule when they head back to Ypsilanti to welcome the Bowling Green State University Falcons to the Covocation Center Friday, Oct. 12. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Central Michigan def. Toledo, 3-1
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Central Michigan volleyball program moved into sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference West division Saturday night, taking down Toledo, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-10.
The victory was the Chippewas' fifth-straight, improving their record to 11-6 on the season and 5-1 in the MAC. The Rockets fall to 7-11 overall and 1-5 in the MAC with the loss.
After a setback in set one in which the Chippewas fell to the host Rockets, 25-21, the visitors were able to squeak out a hard-fought second-set victory, 26-24, to even the match.
The Chippewas trailed by as many as three in the second set, 20-17, but scored four of the next five points to tie the match at 21 and force Toledo into a timeout after an error on the Rockets. Senior Lindsey Dulude served home an ace to give the Chippewas the lead out of the timeout and a kill by sophomore Kaitlyn McIntyre gave CMU set point, 24-23, forcing another UT timeout.
The Rockets were able to hold off the CMU victory thanks in part to a service error by freshman Jordan Timmer, tying the match 24-24, but junior Danielle Gotham and Dulude recorded back-to-back kills to give CMU the set victory.
Again the Chippewas fell behind in the third set, 17-14, but a 6-0 run capped by an ace from redshirt freshman Haley Barker gave CMU a 20-17 lead and forced Toledo to use each of its two timeouts. CMU was forced to take a timeout of its own after an attacking error by McIntyre allowed the Rockets to pull within two, 22-20, but the sophomore redeemed herself by slamming home a kill out of the timeout and senior Val DeWeerd scored the final two points on kills to give CMU a 25-23 win.
The fourth and final set of the night was all CMU as it jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, putting the finishing touches on the night with a 25-10 set win. The Chippewas hit a match-high .419 in the fourth set, converting on 17 of their 31 attacks with just four errors.
A kill by Dulude made the CMU advantage 7-2 early on and freshman Angelique White extended the lead to 10-2 with a kill of her own. DeWeerd scored four of CMU's six points during one stretch to push the lead to 20-7 and McIntyre closed the match out with her fifth kill of the set.
McIntyre finished the night with a match-high 19 kills, while also chipping in with 10 digs on the defensive side. Dulude and Gotham each finished the night with 11 kills, while DeWeerd and White each had nine.
Junior Kelly Maxwell dished out 41 assists on the night and chipped in with two kills, while junior Jenna Coates led the Chippewas with 15 digs.
The victory over the Rockets was also the Chippewas' fifth straight and their 11th in 12 tries versus their MAC West foe.
CMU returns home where it will look to protect its division lead when it takes on Miami Thursday before hosting the current MAC East and overall league leader Bowling Green Saturday. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.
Northern Illinois def. Miami, 3-0
OXFORD, Ohio – Rebounding from a tough loss at home to Western Michigan Thursday, the Northern Illinois volleyball team bounced back in impressive fashion by sweeping Mid-American Conference East Division foe Miami (Ohio) at Millett Hall for the first time under NIU Head Coach Ray Gooden. The 25-19, 25-17, 25-20 win was the Huskies’ (13-9, 4-2 MAC) fifth straight win over the RedHawks (5-14, 0-6 MAC) and gave them an 18-17 lead in the all-time series.
After freshman setter Alexis Gonzalez (Fresno, Calif./Bullard) struggled to find rhythm with her hitters on Thursday, “Pookie” returned to the court strong Saturday evening by guiding NIU to its highest hitting percentage of the season -- .412. Totaling 33 assists, seven digs, three kills on four errorless swings and an ace, Gonzalez helped three other Huskies hit .500 or better. Junior middle blocker Sarah Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) led the way with a .556 clip with 10 kills and 18 errorless swings. Senior outside hitter Meghan Romo (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) hit .500 with a match-high 12 kills on 24 error-free swings. Sophomore Emily Paschke (Winfield, Ill./West Chicago Community) also hit .500 with four kills on eight errorless swings. Sophomore outside MacKenzie Roddy (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) reached double figures as well, totaling 10 kills, and hit .259.
“I think that we really didn’t feel good after Thursday’s match,” said Gooden. “We were a few plays away. We wanted to make a positive turn and work on the things we wanted to work on after Thursday – we handled the ball and were much more efficient on the attack. Pookie did a really good job of rebounding and helping our team be successful with distribution.”
The defensive effort was stout as well for NIU. The Huskies out-dug MU 42-28, led by senior Sue Hayes (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley), and held a 6-1 blocking edge. Senior middle Mary Kurisch (La Crosse, Wis./West Salem) paced NIU with a match-high six blocks.
“We think we are strong defensively and wanted to establish ourselves with back row play,” Gooden said. “We continue to make strides with the front row play and blocking.”
The first set belonged nearly all to Romo as she went 7-for-7 on swings. She had three kills and a block to open up a 6-0 lead for NIU. Then with the Huskies up 16-15, kills from Roddy and Paschke, along with an MU error and Kurisch ace opened up a 20-15 lead that pushed NIU to a 1-0 match edge.
Down 9-5 in second set, NIU went on 12-5 run behind three kills, an ace and block by Roddy to open up a 17-14 edge. Then a Roddy ace and Angelos kill gave NIU a 21-16 lead and four MU attack errors helped end the set.
Tied at 13 in third, kills from Angelos and Gonzalez and an ace by Hayes gave NIU a 16-13 advantage. Angelos then followed with two more kills to open an 18-13 lead en route to ending the match.
NIU returns home next weekend to face East Division foes Buffalo Oct. 12 at 7 PM CT and Akron Oct. 13 at 7 PM.
Ohio def. Buffalo, 3-0
ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio Volleyball ran its winning streak to five as it swept another Mid-American Conference foe on Saturday night, 25-18, 25-13, 25-17. The victory over the Bulls pushed the Bobcats' winning streak to 15 consecutive sets.
Chelsea Bilger and Kelly Lamberti tied for the team lead with 12 kills apiece and the duo combined to hit .455 for the match. Classmate Serena Warner had seven kills to go along with three aces and Faith Robins also tallied seven kills (.700 hitting pct.)
Leah Petrovich led Ohio with 25 assists, one shy of her season-high done in four sets vs. nationally-ranked Oregon. The senior was also tops on the squad with three blocks.
"During this run, I think we've all been very focused," Lamberti said. "We know that from now on out, every game matters if we want to achieve our goals as a team."
"Every home win is big and we've strung together four-straight here in front of our crowd," Head Coach Ryan Theis said. "We'll see what happens next weekend when we go back on the road. That will be a real test to see where we stand."
Trailing 7-4 in the first set, Ohio used the serving of Warner and the attacking of Lamberti to string together four points and take a lead. The Bobcats eventually pushed the lead to four and forced a timeout after a Robins kill made it 19-15.
A three-point run made the score 22-16 and a bad set by the Bulls would eventually finish off the visitors, 25-18. Lamberti finished with five kills in the first set and Robins added three, while Petrovich had 12 assists.
Ohio used a five-point spurt to take an early 7-2 lead in the second set. Buffalo would still trail 11-8 as the `Cats scored four in a row, culminating in a Bilger kill to go ahead by seven.
Leading 18-12, the Green and White scored seven of the final eight points and took the set by double figures, 25-13.
With a one-point lead early in the third set, Ohio scored three in a row behind the service of Warner to take a 9-5 edge. The sophomore came up again in rotation and helped the Bobcats score three-successive points and take a 17-13 lead.
After a UB timeout, Ohio notched five more points to push the lead to eight. Kills by Robins, Lamberti and Karin Bull aided the attack. Leading 22-17, consecutive kills by Bilger were followed by a bad set, handing Ohio another sweep in conference play. The sophomore finished with five kills while Warner added four along with her two aces.
Ohio hits the road for the second time in MAC play next weekend with matches at Toledo on Friday night at 7 p.m. and at Ball State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Akron def. Kent State, 3-0
KENT, Ohio – The University of Akron volleyball team came out looking as sharp as it has all season on Saturday night, shutting down Kent State in three sets on the road for the first time in 20 years, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23.
The last time UA swept KSU in straight sets at Kent State was Nov. 6, 1992, before rally scoring was adopted by the NCAA.
Entering the match, Akron and Kent State each had two Mid-American Conference victories against the same East Division opponents – Buffalo and Miami. The victory puts the Zips ahead of the Golden Flashes in the division standings at 3-3, and also gives UA its first 0.5 point on the scoreboard for the 2012-13 PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge.
"Coming out as strong as we did in a big rivalry game like this, I couldn't be prouder of our team," said head coach Ron Arenz. "We executed our serve receive extremely well, and the speed of play was just where it needed to be to get a crucial win like this."
Akron started the match off hot and looked like a team on a mission, showing no signs of any aftermath from its setback at Ohio the night before. The game was fast-paced right out of the gate and the Zips wasted no time executing their plan of attack.
After a service error on the first play of the game and breaking through a 1-1 tie score, Akron built a lead that Kent State just couldn't catch. The Flashes stayed within a four point margin, but Alex Cocklin came out with a signature kill and solo block to make it 15-9 and force Kent State to try something different.
KSU came out of its timeout on a 5-2 run but would never get closer than two points as Akron cruised to its first win of the night.
The rivals played a tight second set in the early going, tying the score four times before the Zips hit 10 points on a Kent State error. That would lead Akron into familiar territory, giving it the advantage it once again would never release.
Heading into the break up two sets to none, Akron and Arenz felt good about their position in the match. This season, the Zips are 7-0 when leading 2-0 after two sets, and six of those seven wins have been shutouts.
There was almost no doubt Akron was headed down the same road Saturday when it kicked off the third set with an unprecedented 9-0 run to take a huge 12-2 lead. Cocklin had three kills in that mix and Tina Dimitrijevs threw in three service aces to make it look like Kent State would have no chance at a comeback.
Although UA never gave up its lead, Kent State slowly started to chip away and even made it to within one with the score at 22-21 and the serve. But Paiton Twitty, who was one of many offensive forces for the Zips Saturday, connected on one of her match-high 10 kills to keep the Zips afloat.
Kent State quickly answered with a kill of its own, and with the score at 23-22 Akron, the Flashes forfeited the serve and a point was automatically awarded to the Zips, due to a Kent State player serving before being signaled by the official.
In the ensuing match point situation, it was almost scripted that Twitty sealed the shutout with a kill from the right side to lift Akron to victory.
Jill Paluch and Chelsea Harvey were staples for Akron defensively, combining for 30 of the team's 55 digs. As a whole, the Zips also showed improvement as a team from behind the line in limiting themselves to just four service errors in the match.
The crosstown showdown at Kent was only Akron's fourth true road match this year, and the Zips now hold an even 2-2 record away from Rhodes Arena.
UA's road swing will continue next weekend when it dips into the MAC West Division with matches at Western Michigan and Northern Illinois, Oct. 12-13.