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Friday, October 7
DeKalb, Ill.
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
at
Northern Illinois
Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics
Falcons Return To The Road With Matches At NIU, WMU This Weekend
October 05, 2022 | Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball program will return to the road for a pair of Mid-American Conference matches this weekend, facing Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. The Falcons will first face Northern Illinois, playing on Friday (Oct. 7) with a 7:00 p.m. EST start. BGSU will then transition to Western Michigan on Saturday (Oct. 8) for a 5:00 p.m. first serve.
The Falcons will enter the weekend with a 4-0 record within the MAC, having swept Kent State and Ohio, and a 9-6 standing on the season. So far this year, the Falcons have played the sixth-toughest schedule in the nation and were ranked 30th in the first RPI rankings of the season. BGSU has also won six of their last seven matches, including a four-match win streak.
Hounding The Huskies
Northern Illinois will enter the weekend with a 4-1 conference standing and 11-4 record overall. NIU is coming off a 3-0 loss to Buffalo that snapped an eight-match win streak for the Huskies. Of those eight wins, six came in the form of a three-set sweep. As for the series overall, NIU leads the way against the Falcons with a record of 28-17, however, it's been Bowling Green in the win column of late. BGSU has won six straight matches against Northern Illinois, going back to 2017. This will be the Falcons' first trip to DeKalb since 2018.
Northern Illinois enters the weekend leading the conference in hitting percentage (.261), opponent hitting percentage (.170), kills per set (14.17), blocks per set (2.37) and digs per set (17.31). Junior middle blocker Sammi Lockwood leads the MAC with 1.24 blocks per set while sophomore defensive specialist Francesca Bertucci is atop the digs per set list with an average of 5.90. The Huskies also have three players inside the Top 10 in the conference for hitting percentage.
Battling The Broncos
The Western Michigan Broncos will head into the weekend with a record of 11-6 in 2022, being 3-2 within the MAC. After closing out non-conference with three straight wins, the Broncos swept Buffalo twice to begin conference play. WMU then fell to NIU before splitting with Akron last weekend. All-time the Broncos lead the series with a record of 39-27-1 against the Falcons with the tie coming in the first ever matchup in 1979. BGSU has won eight of the last nine meetings between the two, including four straight in Kalamazoo.
Western Michigan is led on the court by junior setter Logan Case. Case is second in the nation for assists per set with a mark of 11.64. Senior outside hitter Maggie King is near the top of the conference as well, being second in service aces per set (0.46, 27 total) and fourth in kills per set (3.39, 200 total) entering the weekend. As a team, the Broncos are currently second in the conference for hitting percentage, with a team mark of .241.
Strengthening Through Schedule
Up to this point in the season, the Bowling Green Falcons have played the sixth-toughest schedule in the nation according to past opponents win-loss percentages. Only five teams have faced a more difficult schedule to this point in the year than the Falcons, being Ohio State, Minnesota, Stanford, Texas and Louisville. The teams BGSU has played thus far have a combined record of 148-65 (.695). The next team in the MAC on the list is Eastern Michigan at 90th with a mark of .563.
RPI Released
The first RPI rankings of the 2022 season were released this week and the Falcons were ranked 30th, the top team from the Mid-American Conference. Central Michigan is the next MAC team listed, coming in at 99 in RPI and 100 for adjusted RPI.
Falcons In Conference Play
Dating back to the start of the 2017 season, Bowling Green has posted a record of 77-14 (.846) in conference play during the regular season, including going 40-3 (.930) since 2020. Since 2017, the Falcons have tallied three MAC Regular Season titles and one MAC Tournament title as well as a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Over the same five-year span in the MAC, only Ball State (62-29, .681), Miami (57-34, .626) and Western Michigan (50-42, .543) have maintained a winning record in MAC play.
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'
The Falcons will enter the weekend with a 4-0 record within the MAC, having swept Kent State and Ohio, and a 9-6 standing on the season. So far this year, the Falcons have played the sixth-toughest schedule in the nation and were ranked 30th in the first RPI rankings of the season. BGSU has also won six of their last seven matches, including a four-match win streak.
Hounding The Huskies
Northern Illinois will enter the weekend with a 4-1 conference standing and 11-4 record overall. NIU is coming off a 3-0 loss to Buffalo that snapped an eight-match win streak for the Huskies. Of those eight wins, six came in the form of a three-set sweep. As for the series overall, NIU leads the way against the Falcons with a record of 28-17, however, it's been Bowling Green in the win column of late. BGSU has won six straight matches against Northern Illinois, going back to 2017. This will be the Falcons' first trip to DeKalb since 2018.
Northern Illinois enters the weekend leading the conference in hitting percentage (.261), opponent hitting percentage (.170), kills per set (14.17), blocks per set (2.37) and digs per set (17.31). Junior middle blocker Sammi Lockwood leads the MAC with 1.24 blocks per set while sophomore defensive specialist Francesca Bertucci is atop the digs per set list with an average of 5.90. The Huskies also have three players inside the Top 10 in the conference for hitting percentage.
Battling The Broncos
The Western Michigan Broncos will head into the weekend with a record of 11-6 in 2022, being 3-2 within the MAC. After closing out non-conference with three straight wins, the Broncos swept Buffalo twice to begin conference play. WMU then fell to NIU before splitting with Akron last weekend. All-time the Broncos lead the series with a record of 39-27-1 against the Falcons with the tie coming in the first ever matchup in 1979. BGSU has won eight of the last nine meetings between the two, including four straight in Kalamazoo.
Western Michigan is led on the court by junior setter Logan Case. Case is second in the nation for assists per set with a mark of 11.64. Senior outside hitter Maggie King is near the top of the conference as well, being second in service aces per set (0.46, 27 total) and fourth in kills per set (3.39, 200 total) entering the weekend. As a team, the Broncos are currently second in the conference for hitting percentage, with a team mark of .241.
Strengthening Through Schedule
Up to this point in the season, the Bowling Green Falcons have played the sixth-toughest schedule in the nation according to past opponents win-loss percentages. Only five teams have faced a more difficult schedule to this point in the year than the Falcons, being Ohio State, Minnesota, Stanford, Texas and Louisville. The teams BGSU has played thus far have a combined record of 148-65 (.695). The next team in the MAC on the list is Eastern Michigan at 90th with a mark of .563.
RPI Released
The first RPI rankings of the 2022 season were released this week and the Falcons were ranked 30th, the top team from the Mid-American Conference. Central Michigan is the next MAC team listed, coming in at 99 in RPI and 100 for adjusted RPI.
Falcons In Conference Play
Dating back to the start of the 2017 season, Bowling Green has posted a record of 77-14 (.846) in conference play during the regular season, including going 40-3 (.930) since 2020. Since 2017, the Falcons have tallied three MAC Regular Season titles and one MAC Tournament title as well as a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Over the same five-year span in the MAC, only Ball State (62-29, .681), Miami (57-34, .626) and Western Michigan (50-42, .543) have maintained a winning record in MAC play.
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'
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