BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will return home to the Stroh Center this weekend, hosting the Western Michigan Broncos for two matches. The series will begin on Friday (Oct. 4) with a 6 p.m. first serve followed by a 4 p.m. start on Saturday (Oct. 5) to conclude the weekend series. BGSU enters with a 3-0 MAC record taking on the reigning MAC champion Western Michigan Broncos who went 18-0 in MAC play a season ago.

Weekend Schedule
Bowling Green vs. Western Michigan | Friday, Oct. 4 | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Bowling Green vs. Western Michigan | Saturday, Oct. 5 | 4 p.m | ESPN+

Falcons Off To Strong MAC Start
The Falcons are off to a strong start in conference play, being one of two teams in the MAC to remain undefeated, joined by Central Michigan with both BGSU and CMU standing at 3-0. Bowling Green has started MAC play 3-0 in five of the last seven seasons. A 4-0 start for BGSU would be the fourth in the last five seasons while a 5-0 start would be the third in the last five seasons, starting 11-0 in 2021 and 18-0 in 2022. As for Central Michigan this weekend, they are 3-0 for the first time since 2019 and will host Ball State this weekend. 

First Serve 

• The Falcons and Broncos have met 71 times previously with Friday marking the 72nd matchup and Saturday the 73rd. The all-time series leans to WMU with a record of 42-28-1 over 71 meetings.
• The weekend series with be the first time Western Michigan will be in the Stroh Center since the 2021 season. BGSU has won three of the last four meetings between the two in Bowling Green. 
• The two matches will be the first at home for the Falcons during the Mid-American Conference season after playing four home matches during the non-conference portion of the schedule.
• Bowling Green enters the weekend as one of two remaining undefeated teams in the MAC, joined by Central Michigan at 3-0. The start is the fifth time in the last seven seasons BGSU has started MAC play 3-0 or better. 
• Lauryn Hovey has 114 career aces, being tied for the program's Rally Scoring Era record and ninth all-time. She needs one more to take sole possession of the Rally Scoring record.
• Hovey is also closing in on 1,000 career kills as a Falcon. She enters the weekend with 974, needing 26 to reach the milestone. 
• Jessica Andrews and Alexis Mettille are both moving up the Rally Scoring Era block lists with both inside the top 10 for solo blocks, block assists and total blocks. Andrews and Mettille are tied in solo blocks with 37 each.
• Alexis Mettille currently leads the MAC in hitting percentage and ranks 25th in the nation with a mark of .417. 
• This season, Bowling Green is 8-1 when registering a hitting percentage north of .200 and is 6-0 when logging a higher hitting percentage than their opponent. Similarly, BGSU is 5-2 when holding opponents under a .100 hitting percentage. 
• Lauryn Hovey is coming off her first double-double of the season, registering 17 digs and 12 kills against Toledo. Hovey is the third Falcon this year to have a double-double joining Amanda Otten (20 assists, 11 digs at UIC, Sept. 12) and Jordan Newblatt (11 kills, 14 digs at Wright State, Sept. 8)
• Bowling Green is in the program's 49th varsity season with the program beginning during the 1976 season. This year marks the 42nd season in the Mid-American Conference for BGVB, officially joining the sport in the MAC in 1983. 

Battling The Broncos
Western Michigan went 1-1 during the opening weekend of conference play, trading sweeps with Buffalo. The loss on Saturday (Sept. 28) was the first conference loss for WMU since Nov. 12, 2022 after going 18-0 in the MAC last season. Western Michigan returned 2023 MAC Player of the Year and 2023 Setter of the Year Logan Case as well as 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Andelyn Simkins. During the non-conference season, WMU took on Clemson, Michigan State, #24 Marquette, #15 Tennessee and #13 Kansas, claiming a 3-0 win over Michigan State and a 3-1 win over #24 Marquette.  

BGSU vs. WMU, A History
The Falcons and Broncos have been common postseason foes, facing in the MAC Championship in both 2023 and 2020-21. Bowling Green took the 2020-21 match, but Western Michigan claimed last year's. The two teams faced three times last year with WMU taking all three, but that snapped a six-match win streak for BGSU in the series as well as being winners in nine of the previous 10 meetings from 2016-2022. As for matches played in Bowling Green between the two, the Falcons have won three of the last four going back to the 2016 campaign as well. 

Hovey Ties Rally Record
During her time as a Falcon, Lauryn Hovey has landed 114 aces, tying the program's Rally Scoring Era record (2001-Present). Landing two against Toledo on Tuesday (Oct. 1), Hovey matched Paige Penrod's career total from 2010-13, placing her in a tie with Penrod for first during the Rally Scoring Era and ninth all-time. As for the all-time mark, Linda Popovich holds the record with 190 career aces from 1986-89. So far, Hovey has 29 aces this season, which is tied for 14th in the nation and first in the MAC, and is averaging 0.57 aces per set, which is 16th in the nation and second in the MAC. 

Blocking Green
As a team, the Falcons have moved inside the top 50 in the nation for total team blocks with 126, averaging 2.47 blocks per set which is second in the conference. Jessica Andrews tops the team's stat sheet with 63 blocks this year, tied for 42nd in the nation and second in the MAC. Andrews and Alexis Mettille are also both inside the top five in the MAC for blocks per set, making Bowling Green the only team with two players inside the top five and one of two (Central Michigan) with two inside the top 10. Andrews is third with 1.24 and Mettille is fifth averaging 1.06. 

Mettille Moving Up Nation's List
Alexis Mettille not only leads Bowling Green in hitting percentage, but the Mid-American Conference as well, maintaining a mark of .417. Mettille's efficient attack has also moved her inside the top 25 in the nation, coming in at 25th. Mettille has hit at least .300 each of the last two seasons, finishing 2022 with a mark of .313 and then .314 in 2023. This year, Mettille has 93 kills on 180 attempts with 18 errors. For her career as a Falcon, Mettille's hitting percentage clocks in at .341 with 356 kills on 781 attacks and just 90 errors. 

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons volleyball team on social media
Twitter - @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUVolleyball
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsuvolleyball'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics' and 'Bowling Green State University Volleyball'
TikTok - @bgsuvolleyball 
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'