Falcons Resume Road Slate With Trip To Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will be back on the road for the first time since Oct. 7, heading north to Kalamazoo, Mich. to face the Western Michigan Broncos. Both Bowling Green and Western Michigan enter the weekend with 6-3 MAC records, tied for third in the conference. The two will square off first on Friday (Oct. 24) with a 6 p.m. first serve before transitioning to a 4 p.m. start on Saturday (Oct. 25). Both matches will be available to stream on ESPN+.

BGSU Schedule This Week
Friday, Oct. 24 | BGSU at Western Michigan | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, Oct. 25 | BGSU at Western Michigan | 4 p.m. | ESPN+

First Serve

Bowling Green will head on the road for a pair of matches at Western Michigan. BGSU and WMU are tied for third in the MAC, both with a 6-3 record in conference play. The two trail Ball State (9-0) and Toledo (7-2) in the MAC standings.
BGSU and WMU both enter the weekend leading the MAC in a defensive category. Bowling Green tops the blocks list, averaging 2.46 blocks per set as a team. As for Western Michigan, they lead the conference in digs per set with a mark of 17.44.
As a team, the Falcons have totaled 197 blocks this season, ranking 14th in the nation and 30 behind the national leader, Utah Valley. For the MAC, BGSU leads the conference in both total blocks as well as blocks per set (2.46).
For the season, Bowling Green has held opponents to a hitting percentage of .180, ranking 50th in the nation and second in the MAC. Hofstra currently leads the stat, holding opponents to a .099 hitting percentage.
Despite the change at the setter position following Amanda Otten's absence, the Falcons have totaled 944 assists this year, ranking 30th in the nation while ranking fourth in the conference for assists per set with 11.80.
This year, BGSU has landed 135 aces, tying for 33rd in the nation. The total is tied for third in the MAC with Eastern Michigan while trailing Ohio (142) and Toledo (184) with the Rockets currently leading the nation in the stat.
For the season, Bowling Green has landed a total of 1,012 kills as a team, ranking 40th in the nation with Towson topping the list at 1,200. Additionally, BGSU is averaging 12.7 kills per set, ranking fourth in the MAC.
Going back to the 2023 season, the Falcons have won 13 of their last 14 regular season MAC matches on the road. The lone loss came against Toledo on Oct. 7 in a four-set match.
Sydnie Hernandez is coming off being named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week. The honor was the first for Hernandez of her BGSU career. She's the sixth different Falcon this season to be named a MAC Player of the Week and the second to be named a Defensive Player of the Week, joining Helen Wilford (Sept. 29).

Watching Western
Western Michigan enters the weekend with the same MAC record as BGSU, standing at 6-3. WMU's conference losses have included a four-setter against Ball State (Oct. 3), a three-setter against NIU (Oct. 7) and a five-setter against Akron (Oct. 10). The Broncos are currently coming off a pair of wins at Buffalo, winning the first in four sets and the second in five. WMU is led by senior middle blocker Molly Brown. Brown leads the team in blocks (80) as well as aces (23) while ranking third in kills (190). She's joined by redshirt freshman Leah Richmond, leading the way with 811 assists and second in digs with 265.

BGSU vs. WMU, All-Time
The Falcons and Broncos have met 74 times previously entering the weekend, including six times over the last two seasons. Last year, Bowling Green took both regular season meetings, winning the first in five sets and the second in three, but WMU claimed a win in the MAC Tournament in five sets. As for matches in Kalamazoo, Western Michigan has won the last three, all coming during the 2023 season. The last win for the Falcons at WMU was in 2022, claiming a five-set win over the Broncos on Oct. 8, 2022. Over the last 16 meetings, BGSU has a record of 11-5 against the Broncos.

Hovey Returns To The Court
Lauryn Hovey returned to the court for the Falcons against Ball State after an absence from the lineup and immediately made an impact. After helping set the Falcons to a MAC title as a freshman in 2022, Hovey returned to the role against the Cardinals, logging 17 assists and 12 kills in both matches for BGSU. In the five-setter, Hovey came a dig shy of what would have been her fifth career triple-double. For the weekend, Hovey averaged 4.3 assists, 3.0 kills and 1.9 digs per set on her way to two double-doubles.

Seeing Double-Double
In the five-set match against Ball State, the Falcons had three different players post a double-double. The feat marked the first time BGSU had three or more double-doubles in the same match since three Falcons did so against Ohio State on Aug. 26, 2023. Avery Hobson led the way with 18 kills and 11 digs. Lauryn Hovey followed closely with 17 assists and 12 kills, the first assists and kills double-double by a Falcon since Hovey had 17 kills and 17 assists against Ball State on Oct. 7, 2023. Anna Sitek rounded out the list of the Falcons with 32 assists and 10 digs, her first double-double at the collegiate level.

Hernandez Takes Home MAC Award
Sydnie Hernandez earned her first career MAC Defensive Player of the Week honor after a strong weekend against Ball State. In the first match, Hernandez registered a career-high 26 digs for the Falcons while adding six assists. The 26 digs were the most by a Falcon this season and the most since the 2022 campaign. Hernandez followed it up in the second match with 17 digs in three sets, averaging 5.38 for the weekend.

Wilford Climbs National Ranks
Helen Wilford has been a force at the net for the Falcons this season, accumulating a team-high 90 blocks. The mark for Wilford is currently tied for 35th in the nation while being fourth in the Mid-American Conference. As for MAC play, Wilford is averaging 1.29 blocks per set, which ranks third in the conference. This past weekend, Wilford totaled 10 blocks for the Orange and Brown and has logged at least nine blocks per week every week during conference play.

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Sydnie Hernandez

Avery Hobson

Lauryn Hovey

Amanda Otten

Anna Sitek

Helen Wilford

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