DeKALB, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team completed the weekend sweep over Northern Illinois on Saturday (Nov. 9) picking up the 3-0 final. As a team, the Falcons hit a season-best .419 on the attack, the first time this season hitting over .400. Lauryn Hovey led the attack with a team-high 17 kills while maintaining a career-best .609 hitting percentage. With the win, Bowling Green improves to 14-2 in MAC play while being 19-8 on the season with wins in their last nine matches heading into the final weekend of the regular season. 

How It Happened 
Set 1: Bowling Green 25, Northern Illinois 23

• Northern Illinois began the match with a 3-0 run before the first BGSU point of the match. Bowling Green bounced back with two points with a touch challenge ending the BGSU burst with a 4-2 score.
• The Falcons continued to press the NIU lead, tying it up at 5-5, beginning a string of ties that included 6-6 and 7-7 before the Huskies pushed ahead 9-7.
• The two teams traded points back-and-forth, but the Falcons rattled off a 4-0 run to move in front with a 12-10 score, resulting in a Huskies timeout.
• Coming out of the timeout, Northern Illinois worked away at the Bowling Green lead, tying the set again, this time at 14-14.
• The tie carried to 15-15, but a 3-0 run for the Huskies granted NIU a 17-15 lead to prompt a Bowling Green timeout.
• The two teams traded points after the timeout with the score moving to 20-17 NIU with the second BGSU timeout of the set. 
• The Falcons answered out of the timeout with a 3-1 burst, including an ace from Alexis Mettille, to trim the lead to 21-20 with a Huskies timeout following.
• The run continued through the timeout for Bowling Green with a Lauryn Hovey kill tying the set at 21-21 before moving ahead 22-21 with a 5-1 stretch.
• NIU tied the match at 22-22 with the tie carrying to 23-23, but a 3-0 run sealed the set for the Falcons with the final point being a Hovey dig turned kill that carried into the NIU back row.  

Set 2: Bowling Green 25, Northern Illinois 19

• In the second set, the Falcons landed the first point, but a 3-0 NIU burst put the Huskies in front. Bowling Green quickly answered with a 3-0 run of their own, moving in front 4-3. 
• Northern Illinois tied it up at 4-4 and again at 5-5 before a two-point BGSU burst gave the Falcons a 7-5 advantage. The lead for Bowling Green stretched to 10-7 with NIU taking a timeout.
• The Huskies registered a 5-1 stretch, including a 4-0 run, out of the timeout to reclaim the lead at 12-11 with BGSU taking a timeout.
• Bowling Green responded with two points out of the timeout to move back in front, 13-12, followed by a 13-13 tie.
• From 13-13, the ties continued in the set at 14-14 and 15-15, but a 3-0 run for the Falcons created a 17-15 BGSU advantage with the second NIU timeout of the set. Hovey added her second straight ace after the timeout for a 4-0 run and 18-15 lead. 
• The trading of points resumed to a 21-19 score, but the Falcons tallied a 4-0 run to close out the set.

Set 3: Bowling Green 25, Northern Illinois 17

• The third set began back-and-forth, but a 3-0 run by the Huskies gave them a 5-3 lead in the early going. 
• The Falcons answered with a 3-0 run of their own, moving in front with a 6-5 score, resulting in an NIU timeout.
• Northern Illinois tied the set at 6-6 with ties following at 7-7 and 9-9, but a 3-1 stretch pushed BGSU to a 12-10 lead.
• Bowling Green put together a 4-1 stretch to increase their lead to 17-13, forcing the second NIU timeout of the set.
• The run continued after the timeout for BGSU, reaching 6-1, including a 4-0 run, for a 19-13 advantage. 
• Northern Illinois stuck with the Falcons until a 3-0 BGSU run increased their lead to 23-15, trading points from there to a 25-17 score.

Falcon Stat Leaders 
Kills: Lauryn Hovey (17)
Assists: Amanda Otten (38)
Digs: Lindsey LaPinta (9)
Aces: Lauryn Hovey, Alexis Mettille (2)
Blocks: Alexis Mettille (3)

Falcon Stat Facts

• With the win, the Falcons have now won nine-straight, the longest winning streak since winning 12-straight in 2021 from Sept. 19-Oct. 23. Additionally, going back to the 2022 season, Bowling Green is now 19-1 in the month of November.
• As a team, the Falcons hit .419 in the match, a new season-best and the best mark for the program since hitting .434 against Buffalo on Nov. 19, 2023. 
• Lauryn Hovey led the attack for Bowling Green, landing a team-high 17 kills while maintaining a career-best .609 hitting percentage. Hovey's 17 kills give her 1,144 as a Falcon, tying her for ninth on the Rally Scoring List for career kills. 
• Hovey added two aces in the match, tying with Alexis Mettille for the team lead. Hovey now has 48 aces this season, moving up to sixth on the all-time single-season aces list. Last year, Hovey's 59 aces were the second-most in a single season by a Falcon. 
• Mia Tyler and Jordan Newblatt both hit .304 for the Falcons, each tallying 23 attacks. Tyler finished with 10 kills while Newblatt ended with eight. 
• Jessica Andrews hit an impressive .545 for the Falcons, landing seven kills on 11 attacks with just one error. This season, Andrews has hit .500 or better in nine five different matches. 
• Amanda Otten set the attack for the Falcons, narrowly missing another double-double with 38 assists and eight digs. She added four kills on seven attacks with one error for a .429 hitting percentage.
• As for digs, Lindsey LaPinta led the Falcons with nine while Otten added eight and Hovey had seven. Avery Anders followed with six and Sydnie Hernandez had five for a team effort in the stat. 

Up Next
The Falcons will return home to wrap up the regular season, hosting the Ohio Bobcats next weekend at the Stroh. The matches are scheduled for Nov. 15 and 16 with both beginning at 6 p.m. and Saturday marking Senior Night for Bowling Green.  

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