BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will be back at the Stroh Center this weekend, hosting the Kent State Golden Flashes for a pair of matches. Bowling Green and Kent State are scheduled for a 6 p.m. start on Friday (Oct. 25) while Saturday (Oct. 26) is set for a 5 p.m. first serve. Friday night is Trick or Treat at the Stroh Center while Saturday is Alumnae Day. 

Weekend Schedule
Bowling Green vs. Kent State | Friday, Oct. 25 | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Bowling Green vs. Kent State | Saturday, Oct. 26 | 5 p.m. | ESPN+

At The Matches
Friday night will be Trick or Treat at the Stroh Center. Candy and games will be available for kids to enjoy on the concourse before the match from 5-6 p.m. Kids wearing a costume will receive free admission, but accompanying guardians will need to purchase a ticket. A ticket won't be required for Trick or Treat, but will be for the match. 

Saturday night will be Alumnae Day for BGVB, including a 1989 MAC Championship team recognition. Any tickets with the original match time will still be accepted. Digital tickets will now reflect the new start time.There will also be autographs on the concourse following the match. 

First Serve 

• The Falcons enter the weekend tied for second in the Mid-American Conference standings with Central Michigan, both with 7-2 records. Buffalo holds a half-match advantage in the standings with an 8-2 MAC record. Buffalo and Central Michigan face each other this weekend for a pair of matches. 
• Bowling Green and Kent State have met 91 times previously in program history with the Falcons holding the all-time advantage at 67-24. 
• Entering the weekend, BGSU has hosted Kent State for 45 matches, holding a record of 36-9 when playing in Bowling Green. 
• Over the course of the all-time series, Bowling Green has won eight straight over the Golden Flashes, including 16 of the last 17 meetings. 
• Alexis Mettille enters the weekend second in the MAC and 20th in the nation for hitting percentage with a mark of .410. Mettille has landed 144 kills on 288 attacks with just 26 errors this season. 
• Lauryn Hovey leads the MAC in total aces this season with 36 and is second in aces per set with an average of 0.48. As for the nation, Hovey is tied for 21st in total aces and is 34th in aces per set. 
• Both Hovey and Sydnie Hernandez are in the top 10 in the MAC for aces per set. Hovey is currently second while Hernandez is tied for seventh (0.33). Only Bowling Green and Buffalo have multiple players inside the top 10 for the stat.
• Jessica Andrews is currently third in the MAC for blocks per set, averaging 1.25 for the Falcons with 94 total on the season. Andrews' block total is tied for 28th in the nation.
• Both Andrews and Mettille are inside the top five in the MAC for blocks per set with Andrews third (1.25) and Mettille fifth (1.15), making BGSU the only team in the conference with multiple players inside the top five for the stat. 
• As a team, Bowling Green currently leads the MAC in blocks per set (2.64) during the season and during conference play (2.86). 
• During conference competition, the Falcons are first in the MAC in both hitting percentage (.267) and opponent hitting percentage (.173). The Falcons are also second in points per set (17.51), third in aces per set (1.59) and fourth in kills per set (13.05) during the MAC season.  

Focusing On The Flashes
The Golden Flashes head into the weekend with a 1-18 standing on the season while being 0-9 in the MAC with losses in their last 15 contests.  Last weekend, Kent State went five sets with Miami (OH), but fell short to the RedHawks, marking the second five-set loss in MAC play for the Golden Flashes, also falling to Eastern Michigan on Sept. 26. Six of the other seven MAC losses for Kent State have been three-set sweeps with their first four-set match being on Tuesday against Eastern Michigan. The win this year for KSU came on Sept. 6 against NJIT at the Seton Hall Classic, claiming a 3-0 sweep. 

BGSU v. Kent State, All-Time
The Falcons hold the all-time advantage against Kent State with a record of 67-24, including a 36-9 standing when hosting the Golden Flashes. BGSU has won the last eight meetings with the last Kent State win in the series coming on Nov. 1, 2019 in Bowling Green. In addition to the eight-straight, the Falcons have been victorious in 16 of the last 17 matches against the Golden Flashes. During the current streak, five of the last six matches have been 3-0 sweeps for the Falcons with the outlier being a 3-1 win for the Falcons on Sept. 23, 2022. The other two wins in the eight-win streak were five setters.

Hovey Enters New Record Book Stat
Earlier this season, Lauryn Hovey broke the program's Rally Scoring Era career aces record, currently with 121 that rank ninth all-time. On top of the aces, Hovey has now entered the record book for career kills during the Rally Scoring Era. Hovey has landed 1,049 kills for the Falcons, ranking 10th during the Rally Scoring Era. This season, Hovey has tallied a team-leading 223 kills. Hovey registered 500 kills last season for BGSU and 326 as a freshman in 2022. 

Hernandez's Serving Impact
Sydnie Hernandez has made a strong impact for the Falcons behind the service line. Hernandez has landed 24 aces for the Orange and Brown this year, second on the team. Additionally, she has paced BGSU in aces in a match four times this season with Bowling Green holding a 4-0 record in those matches. The totals have pushed Hernandez's aces per set for the season to 0.33, putting her inside the Top 10 for the conference, tied for seventh. As for Freshman in the MAC, Hernandez is tied for second behind only NIU's Ava Grevengoed (0.39). 

BGSU's Dominant Defense
During MAC play, the Falcons have posted one of the best defenses in the conference, ranking first in multiple categories. As a team, the Falcons are averaging 2.86 blocks per set, ranking first in the MAC during conference play with Ball State second with a mark of 2.59. BGSU's strong block has resulted in the best opponent hitting percentage in the conference with the Falcons holding MAC opponents to a .173 clip with Eastern Michigan second at .177. As for the season overall, BGSU leads the MAC in blocks per set (2.64) and ranks fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.192). 

Falcons On The Attack
Bowling Green has been efficient on the attack during MAC play, leading the conference in the stat. So far, BGSU is hitting .267 against MAC opponents this season, ranking first with Central Michigan in second (.253). During the season as a whole, BGSU is hitting .225, ranking third in the conference. An efficient attack has been a telling stat for the Falcons this season as well. When BGSU hits above .200 the team is 12-3 on the year, but when they fall short of the .200-mark the Falcons are 0-5. Similarly, the Falcons are 10-2 this season when posting a higher hitting percentage than their opponent. 

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'