FARGO, N.D. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team started the 2025 season with a pair of matches inside Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse on Friday (Aug. 29). Beginning the day at 2 p.m. EST, the Falcons battled in a close match with Temple, coming out with a 3-1 win. BGSU then quickly turned around to play host North Dakota State at 7 p.m. EST with the Bison taking a 3-0 final to move BGSU to 1-1 through the first day of the season. The Falcons will conclude their weekend on Saturday (Aug. 30) in Grand Forks, N.D. against St. Mary's at 12 p.m. EST.

For the Falcons, Lauryn Hovey led the attack with 30 kills over the two matches to give her 1,305 for her BGSU career. The total moves Hovey up to seventh on the program's Rally Scoring Era list for career kills, passing Holli Costein (1989-92). Amanda Otten added the first Falcon double-double of the season, logging 42 assists and 10 digs against Temple. 

How It Happened vs. Temple
Set 1: Temple 25, Bowling Green 22

• The Falcons jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the set with kills from Lauryn Hovey and Avery Hobson to start the season. Temple tallied their first point, but Hovey and Helen Wilford combined for a block to make it an early 3-1 advantage for the Falcons.
• Temple worked to tie the match up at 3-3 with the knotted tally carrying to 6-6 with the Falcons and Owls trading points. The string of ties was broken by a 4-0 Temple run, pushing the Owls to a 10-6 advantage.
• Bowling Green worked to trim the lead, but another 3-0 Temple burst pushed the lead to 18-14 with the Falcons calling a timeout. Another point out of the break stretched Temple's lead to 19-14.
• The Orange and Brown soon responded, utilizing a 4-0 run of their own to cut the lead down to 19-18 to force a timeout from the Temple bench.
• The Falcons kept the pressure on through the timeout, tying the match at 19-19 before taking the lead at 21-19 with a 7-0 run to force the second Temple timeout of the set.
• Coming out of the break, Temple registered a 4-0 run to reclaim the lead with a 23-21 score with BGSU taking their second timeout of the set. 
• Temple added another tally to their total after the timeout. A Hovey kill answered to keep the set alive for BGSU, but Temple closed it out with a 25-22 score.

Set 2: Bowling Green 26, Temple 24

• The two teams went back-and-forth to start the set, going to a 3-3 tie. However, a 5-1 stretch for the Owls pushed Temple out to an 8-4 advantage. 
• Bowling Green worked to chip away at the lead, including a 3-0 run that closed the gap to 11-10 Owls before the back-and-forth resumed. 
• The score carried to 15-13 for Temple, but another 3-0 burst for the Falcons pushed BGSU to a 16-15 lead in the set. However, Temple responded with a 4-0 run to reclaim the lead at 19-16, resulting in a Bowling Green timeout.
• BGSU ended the run out of the timeout, but another 3-0 Temple burst made it a 7-1 stretch and 22-17 lead. The Falcons battled back with a 3-0 run of their own, narrowing the deficit to 22-20 with a Temple timeout.
• Coming out of the stoppage, the Orange and Brown added two more points to their run, reaching 5-0, to tie the match up at 22-22 with Temple taking their second timeout of the set.
• The back-and-forth resumed through the end of the set with Hovey landing a big swing to claim the set, 26-24, to even the match at a set apiece.

Set 3: Bowling Green 25, Temple 23

• The third set began with two points to each team, but a 3-0 run for the Falcons followed to push BGSU out to a 5-2 lead.
• Temple worked to cut into the BGSU lead, tying the set at 7-7. A Hovey kill put the Falcons back in front before another tie at 8-8. The ties continued, carrying to 9-9. Bowling Green reclaimed the lead, but Temple tied it again at 12-12.
• The back-and-forth pushed the score to a 15-13 BGSU lead, but Temple responded with a 5-0 run to take an 18-15 lead, forcing a Bowling Green timeout.
• The Falcons stopped the run, but another 3-0 Temple run followed for a 21-17 score. However, BGSU utilized a 3-1 stretch of their own to cut down the deficit to 22-20 with Temple taking a timeout.
• The Owls landed the first point out of the timeout with BGSU taking a timeout of their own. The Falcons responded with two points, bringing the score to 23-22 Temple with the Owls taking their second timeout.
• The run continued for the Falcons through the timeout, reaching 5-0 to claim the set. Kendall Williams closed it out with a block and a kill for the final two points of the set for the Falcons.

Set 4: Bowling Green 25, Temple 18

• Temple opened the fourth set of the match with a 4-0 run with a Hovey kill ending the strong start for the Owls. The Hovey kill sparked a BGSU response with a 5-0 run to take over the lead before Temple tied it back up at 5-5.
• The Falcons moved back in front, but Temple answered with a 3-0 run to propel them to an 8-6 advantage. However, a 3-0 run for the Falcons swung the score back to Bowling Green, 9-8. 
• The back-and-forth continued before a 4-1 stretch for Bowling Green, including a Sydnie Hernandez ace, pushed the lead to 13-11.
• Temple was able to tie it up once again, but a 3-0 BGSU run, including an ace by Amanda Otten, made it a 16-13 Bowling Green lead with a Temple timeout. The run carried through the break, reaching 7-0 with another Otten ace and a 20-13 BGSU lead.
• The run for Bowling Green reached 9-0 with a 22-13 score, including three Otten aces during the stretch.
• Temple challenged with a 5-2 stretch late in the set, but it wasn't enough to top the Falcons with a 25-18 set score.

Falcon Stat Leaders vs. Temple
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (19)
Assists: Amanda Otten (42)
Digs: Sydnie Hernandez (19)
Aces: Amanda Otten (3)
Blocks: Lauryn Hovey (5)

How It Happened vs. NDSU
Set 1: North Dakota State 25, Bowling Green 18

• The first set began with the teams trading points, going to a 4-4 tie. The Falcons were able to break the tie with a 4-0 run, taking an 8-4 advantage.
• North Dakota State responded with a 4-0 run of their own, knotting the score back up at 8-8. The run reached 5-0 for the Bison with a 9-8 lead.
• An Edyta Waclawczyk kill tied it at 9-9, but NDSU added another pair of points to stretch their run to 7-1 with an 11-9 lead. 
• From there, the points went back-and-forth carrying to a 16-14 NDSU lead with neither team scoring consecutive points during the span.
• Later in the set, North Dakota State expanded their lead to 19-15 with Bowling Green taking the first timeout of the match. 
• The score moved to 24-18 NDSU with BGSU taking their second timeout of the set. After the timeout, the Bison closed out the set 25-18, ending on a 3-0 run across the timeout.

Set 2: North Dakota State 25, Bowling Green 20

• The Falcons utilized an early 3-1 run to move in front 3-2 in the set, but the Bison responded with a 3-0 run to push in front 5-3. The back-and-forth continued with consecutive BGSU points to tie it up at 5-5.
• The ties continued through the set, reaching 7-7 before a pair of Bison points gave NDSU a 9-7 lead.
• The back-and-forth continued to a 15-14 score with NDSU ahead, but North Dakota State put together a 3-0 run to increase their lead to 18-14 with Bowling Green calling a timeout.
• Out of the timeout, the Bison extended their run to 4-0 with a 19-14 advantage. The Falcons were able to end the run, but the trading of points resumed before two NDSU points made it 23-17 with the second BGSU timeout of the set. 
• North Dakota Statetallied the first point out of the break, but a 3-0 BGSU run followed to close the gap to 24-20 before the Bison took the set with a 25-20 score.

Set 3: North Dakota State 26, Bowling Green 24

• North Dakota State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third set, but the Falcons closed the gap to tie it at 3-3.
• The tie moved to 4-4, but the Falcons were able to tally a 3-0 run to take a 7-5 lead in the set. NDSU quickly battled back, tying it up at 7-7 with the tie stretching to 10-10.
• The string of ties was broken by a 4-0 run for the Bison, taking a 13-10 lead with Bowling Green calling timeout. The run reached 5-0 for NDSU with a 14-10 lead.
• BGSU responded with a 4-0 run to knot the score back up at 14-14. The run moved to a 5-0 stretch, reclaiming the lead with a 15-14 score to force a Bison timeout.
• The ties took over again after the timeout at 15-15, stretching to 18-18 before a trio of Bison points pushed them to a 20-18 lead with a 3-0 run.
• The NDSU lead moved to 22-19, but the Falcons narrowed the gap to 22-21. A point for the Bison made it 23-21 with a BGSU timeout.
• North Dakota State logged the first point out of the break, but two BGSU points followed to force a timeout from NDSU with the score at 24-23.
• The Falcons were able to force extra points with an Amanda Otten ace, but NDSU held on for the 26-24 set score to take the match.

Falcon Stat Leaders vs. NDSU
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (11)
Assists: Amanda Otten (28)
Digs: Amanda Otten (8)
Aces: Avery Hobson (2)
Blocks: Kendall Williams (3)

Falcon Stat Facts

• With the win over Temple, the Falcons continued a streak of three straight seasons beginning with a 1-0 start, going back to 2023. The Falcons also move to 6-1 all-time against Temple, with a six-match win streak over the Owls. 
• Lauryn Hovey came out swinging for the Falcons with a team-leading 19 kills against Temple with a .302 hitting percentage. She added a team-high five blocks while adding seven digs and an ace to a complete stat line. 
• Hovey added a team-high 11 kills in the match against North Dakota State, giving her 30 over the two matches. The total brings her career mark to 1,305 in the Orange and Brown, pushing her up to seventh on the program's Rally Scoring Era list.
• Amanda Otten started the season with a double-double, registering 42 assists and 10 digs against Temple. The double-double is the 10th of Otten's career after having seven in 2024. 
• Sydnie Hernandez just missed a 20-dig match against Temple, finishing with a team-leading and career-high 19 to start the campaign. Hernandez also landed two of BGSU's seven aces in the match and added six assists, one shy of her career-high. 
• Returning to the lineup for the first time since 2023, Helen Wilford landed four kills to match her career-high while adding four blocks as well. She then set a new career-high against NDSU with five kills and a .375 hitting percentage. 
• In her BGSU debut, Avery Hobson landed 12 kills for the Falcons, finishing second on the team. She narrowly missed a double-double, adding eight digs. As for the match against North Dakota State, Hobson landed her first two BGSU aces, leading the team.
• Edyta Waclawczyk followed Hobson on the stat sheet against Temple with nine kills, matching her career-high, while registering a new career-high six digs. 
• Making her collegiate debut, Kendall Williams landed five kills with a solo block and a dig against Temple. She followed it up against NDSU with three kills and three blocks, leading the team in blocks including her second solo of the day.
• Alivia Brown also made her collegiate debut against Temple, recording three digs. Against NDSU, Brown increased her dig total to four while also landing her first ace.

Up Next
The Falcons will conclude their opening weekend in North Dakota by transitioning to Grand Forks on Saturday (Aug. 30). North Dakota will be the host for the neutral site match between Bowling Green and St. Mary's, set for a 12 p.m. EST first serve. 

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