GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team picked up their second win of the season, topping Saint Mary's in a 3-1 final Saturday afternoon (Aug. 30). The Falcons jumped out to a strong offensive outing in the first set, hitting .308, but defense proved to be the key factor in the victory. As a team, the Orange and Brown totaled 17 blocks with three different student-athletes logging at least seven blocks. The win moves BGSU to 2-1 through the opening weekend of the season with three Top 25 teams on deck this upcoming week. 

On the block, Helen Wilford led the way with nine for Bowling Green. Amanda Otten and Kendall Williams each added seven to the winning effort. On top of the blocks, BGSU landed 10 aces as a team, led by Sydnie Hernandez's three with six different Falcons tallying at least one. 

How It Happened
Set 1: Bowling Green 25, Saint Mary's 16

• BGSU and Saint Mary's started out trading points for the first four points of the match. The Gaels tallied the first back-to-back points to move in front 4-2, but the Falcons answered to tie it up at 4-4 with two of their own. The run for BGSU stretched to 5-0, including an ace for Sydnie Hernandez, with a 7-4 advantage. 
• Saint Mary's responded with a 3-0 run of their own to tie the set back up at 7-7. BGSU tallied two points to create a lead, trading points back-and-forth from there to a 12-11 score. From there, the Falcons registered another pair of points, including an Alivia Brown ace for a 14-11 lead.
• The lead for Bowling Green expanded to 16-12, making it a 4-1 stretch for the Falcons to force a timeout from Saint Mary's.
• Out of the break, the Gaels registered back-to-back points, resulting in a timeout from the Bowling Green bench with the score at 16-14.
• The Falcons responded out of the break with a 4-1 stretch, taking their lead to 20-15 with Saint Mary's burning their second timeout of the set. 
• The Gaels ended the run, but Lauryn Hovey landed a pair of kills separated by an ace from Isabelle Laube. Edyta Waclawczyk kept the run going with a kill of her own before Hovey and Kendall Williams logged a block to seal the set with a 5-0 run and 25-16 score. Not only did BGSU end the set with a 5-0 run, but they finished on a 9-2 stretch as well.

Set 2: Bowling Green 25, Saint Mary's 21

• The second set began similarly to the first. The two teams played to a 2-2 tie, but a 5-0 run for the Falcons pushed BGSU out in front with a 7-2 lead.
• Saint Mary's ended the run out of the timeout, but the Falcons quickly started another. BGSU put together a 3-0 run, including an ace from Hernandez, to push the lead out to 10-3.
• The Gaels worked to close the deficit to 12-6 with the Falcons using a timeout. After the break, the two teams went back-and-forth to a 14-8 tally. 
• BGSU was able to register a pair of points for a 16-8 lead, but Saint Mary's answered with a 7-0 run, cutting the score down to 16-15.
• The Falcons were able to halt the run, but Saint Mary's kept the pressure on before tying it up at 17-17 with an 8-1 span.
• Bowling Green broke the tie with a 3-0 burst, including another Hernandez ace, to move back in front 20-17 with the second Saint Mary's timeout of the set.
• Saint Mary's answered back with a pair of points to draw within one, 21-19, but the two teams went back-and-forth to a 22-21 score. From there, BGSU closed out the set with a 3-0 run for a 25-21 set final.

Set 3: Saint Mary's 25, Bowling Green 22

• Saint Mary's started the set with a point, but a 3-0 BGSU run followed, including an ace from Hovey for a 3-1 advantage. However, the Gaels battled back to knot it up at 3-3.
• The Falcons pushed back out to a 5-3 lead. Saint Mary's worked to tie the set at 5-5, but a successful BGSU challenge switched the score to a 6-4 Falcon lead.
• The successful challenge sparked a 4-0 run for the Orange and Brown, extending the lead to 9-4 with the Gaels taking a timeout.
• Saint Mary's responded out of the timeout with a 4-0 run to narrow the gap to 9-8, but a 5-1 span in favor of the Falcons stretched the lead back to 14-9. The score moved to 16-10 with the Gaels calling timeout.
• Out of the timeout, Bowling Green added two more points for a 4-0 run and an 18-10 advantage. Saint Mary's battled back with a 5-0 run to narrow the deficit to 18-15 to force a BGSU timeout.
• The Falcons tallied two out of the break, but a 5-0 run for Saint Mary's followed, bringing the score to a tie at 20-20. The tie carried to 21-21 before Saint Mary's moved ahead with a 23-21 score off a 3-0 run and 7-1 stretch with the Falcons taking a timeout.
• Bowling Green challenged, but Saint Mary's held on to force a fourth set.

Set 4: Bowling Green 27, Saint Mary's 25

• Saint Mary's rolled their momentum into the fourth set, starting out with a 6-1 run that extended to a 10-2 start with a BGSU timeout.
• Out of the timeout, the Falcons rattled off a 4-0 run of their own, closing the gap to 10-6 with a Saint Mary's timeout. The run carried through the break, reaching 6-0 with a 10-8 score.
• The Gaels slowly increased their lead, growing to 15-10 in the set. The back-and-forth continued to 17-13, but a 3-0 Saint Mary's burst pushed their lead to 19-13.
• The lead for Saint Mary's reached 23-18 to force the second BGSU timeout of the set. The Falcons responded out of the timeout with two points, closing the deficit to 23-20 with a Saint Mary's timeout.
• Bowling Green kept the pressure on through the timeout, stretching the run to 5-0, including an Avery Anders ace, to tie the set at 23-23.
• The set moved into extra points with the teams battling back-and-forth with ties at 24-24 and 25-25. The string of ties was snapped by back-to-back BGSU points, taking the set 27-25 and finishing it out with a 9-2 stretch. 

Falcon Stat Leaders
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (13)
Assists: Amanda Otten (28)
Digs: Sydnie Hernandez (21)
Aces: Sydnie Hernandez (3)
Blocks: Helen Wilford (9)

Falcon Stat Facts

• The win goes down as the first in program history against Saint Mary's with the match being the first all-time between the two teams. 
• As a team, the Falcons leaned on serving and blocking, logging 17 total blocks and 10 aces, both season-highs for the young season. 
• Lauryn Hovey led the team in kills with 13 and added a pair of aces. Hovey now has 148 career aces, tying with Holli Costein (1989-92) for third all-time in program history. Hovey came close to a double-double as well with eight digs. 
• Sydnie Hernandez registered a career-high 21 digs for the Falcons, her first 20-dig match at the collegiate level. She added a team-high three aces, matching her career high, to go along with three assists to complete her stat line. 
• Amanda Otten came close to posting a triple-double for BGSU. Otten led the team with 28 assists, adding eight digs and a career-high seven block assists on top of two kills.
• Helen Wilford was key on the block for the Falcons with a career-high nine total blocks. She added a career-high six kills while hitting .556 for BGSU. 
• Kendall Williams put together a full stat line, headlined by seven blocks, including one solo. Williams added five kills and a .308 hitting percentage as well as three digs. Now three matches into her collegiate career, Williams has increased her block total each match. 
• For the defensive specialists, Alivia Brown tallied a season-high six digs and an ace. Isabelle Laube added two aces and two assists, both matching her career-highs. Similarly, Avery Anders made her season debut, landing a key ace in the fourth set.

Up Next
The Falcons will shift their attention to the Purdue Invitational next week. Bowling Green will begin play on Wednesday (Sept. 3) against Kansas with a 3 p.m. start before taking on Purdue and Georgia Tech. Entering the season, all three were ranked in the AVCA's Top 25 ranking with Kansas at No. 14, Purdue at No. 15 and Georgia Tech at No. 22.  

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