CHICAGO, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team began the Loyola Invitational on Thursday (Sept. 11) against (RV) Indiana. Over the three sets, the match had 15 ties, including 10 in the second set alone, and five lead changes with both teams posting side-out percentages north of 60-percent. In the end, Indiana continued their strong start to the season, extending their set-won streak to 18 with a 3-0 final over the Falcons. The Hoosiers marked the final team in a stretch of four straight for BGSU that were receiving votes in the AVCA's Top 25 poll. Bowling Green now turns to face Stephen F. Austin on Friday (Sept. 12) with a 3 p.m. EST first serve. 

How It Happened
Set 1: Indiana 25, Bowling Green 21

• The Falcons registered the first point of the match with a block from Amanda Otten and Helen Wilford, but Indiana answered with a 3-0 run to move in front. 
• The two teams went back-and-forth for a few points before consecutive Falcon tallies tied the set up at 5-5. The trading of points continued to a 6-6, but a 3-0 run for BGSU, including back-to-back Avery Hobson kills, pushed the Falcons out in front with a 9-6 lead.
• Indiana worked to pull within one, but another 3-0 run for the Falcons extended the lead back to 13-9. The Hoosiers again battled back, registering a 4-0 run of their own to tie the set up at 13-13.
• The run for Indiana extended to 5-0, moving the Hoosiers out to a 14-13 lead. However, a kill from Wilford ended the run and tied the score at 14-14.
• Indiana built a 4-1 stretch, moving out to an 18-15 advantage in the set. The score moved to 20-16 with the Falcons taking a timeout.
• Coming out of the break, the two teams traded points to a 23-19 score with the second BGSU timeout of the set. After the break, the back-and-forth continued through the end of the set with a 25-21 score.

Set 2: Indiana 25, Bowling Green 19

• The second set began similarly to how the first set ended, seeing ties at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3 before BGSU pushed out in front, 5-3. However, the Hoosiers tied it up again at 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10 and again at 11-11.
• The string of ties was broken by consecutive Indiana points for a 13-11 score. Indiana turned the burst into a 4-1 stretch, taking a 15-12 lead into the media timeout.
• Out of the timeout, the Falcons and Hoosiers resumed going back-and-forth to a 20-17 score. Back-to-back Indiana points ended the point-trading, resulting in a Bowling Green timeout with the score at 21-17.
• Following the timeout, Indiana closed out the set with a 4-1 stretch for a 25-19 set score.

Set 3: Indiana 25, Bowling Green 19

• Indiana opened the third set with a 3-0 run before an attack error for the Hoosiers gave BGSU their first point.
• The Falcons registered consecutive points to narrow the gap to 5-3, but another 3-0 Indiana run pushed their lead to 8-3.
• The two teams traded points to a 9-5 score, but a 3-1 Indiana span extended their score to 12-6.
• The Falcons chipped away at the lead, utilizing a 3-0 run to close the deficit to 13-10 with Indiana calling a timeout. Indiana answered back with a 3-1 stretch, making it a 16-11 score with a BGSU timeout.
• The back-and-forth resumed to an 18-13 score, but a pair of points for the Falcons cut the lead down to 18-15. Indiana answered back with consecutive points for a 20-15 tally. However, another 3-1 stretch in favor of the Falcons forced the second Indiana timeout with the score at 21-18.
• Out of the timeout, Indiana went on a 4-1 run to close out the set with a 25-19 score.

Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (14)
Assists: Amanda Otten (28)
Digs: Sydnie Hernandez (11)
Aces: Avery Hobson (2)
Blocks: Amanda Otten, Helen Wilford (2)

Falcon Stat Facts

• Amanda Otten led the team in assists with 28 and added 10 digs for her team-leading third double-double of the season. Otten now has 12 double-doubles for her BGSU career. As for her assists total, it marks the fourth time through seven matches this season she has finished with exactly 28 assists.
• Lauryn Hovey led the Falcons on the attack with 14 kills while maintaining a .281 hitting percentage. Hovey added three digs, two assists and a solo block to her stat line.
• Sydnie Hernandez paced the Orange and Brown in digs with 11 and added five assists, continuing a streak of at least three assists in each match so far this season.
• Ava Buddelmeyer finished second on the team in kills with eight. She also added her first assist and her first four digs at the collegiate level.

Up Next
Bowling Green will continue play at the Loyola Invitational on Friday (Sept. 12) with a 3 p.m. EST start against Stephen F. Austin. The Falcons will wrap up the weekend on Saturday (Sept. 13) against host Loyola with a 3 p.m. EST start as well. 

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