BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team swept the first-place Buffalo Bulls Thursday night (Oct. 17), taking a 3-0 final to secure the team's 12th-straight win over the Bulls. The Falcons held Buffalo to a .030 hitting percentage for the match and didn't allow them to reach 20 points in the set on their way to the sweep. Bowling Green is now 11-8 overall while being 6-2 in the Mid-American Conference.

How It Happened 
Set 1: Bowling Green 25, Buffalo 19

• The Falcons fell behind, 4-1, before a kill by Alexis Mettille. But, the Bulls responded with the next two points to take a 6-2 advantage.
• The UB lead was 8-3 when Amanda Otten took advantage of a UB overpass for a kill. The teams traded points, with a swing by Jessica Andrews cutting BG's deficit to 9-5.
• Mettille and Otten teamed up for a block, and Mettille ended a lengthy point with a smash that got the Falcons within two points, at 9-7.
• A kill by Mia Tyler and a UB attack error tied the match at 10-10, and moments later, another Tyler kill gave the Falcons a 12-11 lead. A quick 3-0 run gave the hosts the lead once again, before a Lauryn Hovey kill ended that run. A UB kill, however, gave the Bulls a 15-13 advantage heading into the media timeout.
• Out of the break, UB picked up two quick points to go ahead by four, but the Falcons responded. Jordan Newblatt's kill was followed by back-to-back service aces from Hovey. The Falcons' 4-0 run tied the score at 17-17.
• After a UB point, kills by Newblatt and Hovey were followed by back-to-back blocks from Otten. The Falcons had an 8-1 run and a 21-18 lead as the Bulls used a timeout.
• The timeout did not slow the Falcons' roll, however, as a Sydnie Hernandez ace gave BG a four-point lead. A service error ended the 9-1 run, but a UB service error followed.
• A bad set by the Bulls gave BGSU a 24-19 lead, and a kill by Tyler clinched the opening set for the Falcons. 

Set 2: Bowling Green 25, Buffalo 18

• Trailing by a 3-1 score, the Falcons got a kill from Mettille. A Hovey swing was ruled out after a review, but she came back with a kill on the very next play. But, moments later, an attack error gave the Bulls a 7-3 lead.
• UB took an 8-3 lead for the second consecutive set, and the Falcons used a timeout. Kills by Hovey and Otten were followed by a Buffalo attack error, and a kill by Andrews off of an overpass cut the Bulls' lead to one point. Then, a Newblatt kill knotted the score at 8-8.
• It became a 9-8 lead off of another Andrews kill followed by a Hovey serve that landed just inside the line for an ace to give the Falcons a 7-0 run.
• After the teams traded service errors, Andrews' third kill off of an overpass in set two made it a 12-9 game.
• A UB attack attempt sailed long, and Mettille and Tyler teamed up for a block to give the Falcons a 15-11 lead as the Bulls took time.
• Tyler's kill put the Falcons up, 17-12, and when Tyler found a hole in the UB defense, BG had a 19-14 advantage.
• The Bulls crept within three points, but a Mettille kill ended UB's brief run, and Newblatt's kill gave the Orange and Brown a 21-16 lead. An ace by Mettille prompted a UB timeout.
• A cross-court kill by Hovey was followed by a block from Andrews. A service error slowed the Falcons momentarily, but only momentarily, as Newblatt's kill gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead in the match..

Set 3: Bowling Green 25, Buffalo 16

• An early 3-0 run gave the Bulls a 4-2 lead in the third set. With BGSU trailing by two, a Hovey kill and back-to-back Buffalo attack errors gave BG a 3-0 run and a 6-5 lead.
• Andrews found an opening in the UB defense for a kill and an 8-6 lead, but a quick 4-0 run put the hosts back in front by two.
• The Falcons used a timeout, and an Otten set resulted in a Tyler kill. The hosts responded with the next two points, but BG responded with a surge that included a Hovey, Mettille block and a kill by Hovey. Mettille's kill gave the Falcons a 6-0 run and a 15-12 lead, and Buffalo used a timeout.
• But, a UB attack sailed long, and Mettille and Hovey teamed up for another block. Finally, the Bulls snapped the Falcons' run at 8-0 as a BG attack landed just inches outside the line.
• The hosts got back within four, but Mettille's kill gave BGSU a 19-14 lead. Andrews and Otten teamed up for a block that gave the Falcons a 21-15 advantage, and Newblatt's swing hit the head of a UB back-row player and gave the visitors a 22-15 lead.
• UB used a timeout, but there was no slowing the Falcons. A Newblatt, Andrews block gave BGSU match point, and although a UB service error briefly slowed the Falcons' momentum, an Otten swing clinched the set and the match.

Falcon Stat Leaders 
Kills: Lauryn Hovey, Alexis Mettille, Mia Tyler (7)
Assists: Amanda Otten (26)
Digs: Lauryn Hovey, Lindsey LaPinta (10)
Aces: Lauryn Hovey (3)
Blocks: Alexis Mettille (5)

Falcon Stat Facts

• With the win, the Falcons have now won 12-straight against Buffalo, including 11 sweeps over the last 14 meetings. BGSU advances to 43-10 all-time against UB and 18-6 when playing in Buffalo.
• As a team, the Falcons held Buffalo to a .030 hitting percentage, the second sub-.100 hitting percentage for a BGSU opponent in MAC play. BGSU previously held Ball State to an .021 mark, which also came on the road.  
• Jessica Andrews tallied two solo blocks for the Falcons, giving her 42 over her BGSU career. The mark ties Andrews for fifth during the program's Rally Scoring Era (2001-Present).
• Alexis Mettille logged a team-high five blocks for Bowling Green, consisting of one solo and four assists.  
• Mettille added an impressive .700 hitting percentage for the Falcons, leading the team while landing seven kills on 10-error free attacks. The seven kills tied for the team lead with Mia Tyler and Lauryn Hovey.
• Hovey finished with 10 digs, tying for the team-lead in the match with Lindsey LaPinta. Hovey now has 183 digs this season, setting a new single-season high for her BGSU career. 
• Amanda Otten set the BGSU attack that hit .270, registering 26 assists. Otten filled the stat sheet with six digs, three kills and three blocks. 

Up Next
Bowling Green will remain on their road for their next match, finishing out the road trip with Akron on Friday (Oct. 18). The Falcons and Zips are scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.  

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