BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will begin play within the Mid-American Conference this weekend, traveling to Muncie, Ind. to take on the Ball State Cardinals. The Falcons and Cardinals are set for a 6 p.m. start on Friday (Sept. 27) before a 4 p.m. first serve on Saturday (Sept. 28). The Falcons enter with a 5-6 record on the season, having played seven teams that ended the 2023 season inside the Top 100 in RPI. 

First Serve 

• The Falcons and Cardinals will be meeting for the 71st time in program history with Ball State holding the all-time advantage with a record of 47-22-1. Over the last 10 meetings, Ball State has a slight edge with a 6-4 record. 
• The pair of matches will mark BGSU's first trip to Muncie since the 2022 season, claiming a 3-2 win in the MAC Championship the last time in Worthen Arena. In the last six matches between the two teams in Muncie, the Falcons hold a record of 4-2 with three of the six matches going to five sets. 
• The Falcons and Cardinals have met in the MAC Tournament four times in the last five years with three of those meetings coming in the MAC Championship (2019, 2021, 2022) while meeting in the quarterfinals last year.
• Junior opposite Lauryn Hovey enters the weekend with 110 career aces, needing four to tie and five to break the program's Rally Scoring Era record (2001-Present), currently held by Paige Penrod. 
• Hovey's 25 aces this season lead the Mid-American Conference and are tied for 11th in the nation. Additionally, she's averaging 0.66 aces per set, which currently ranks ninth in the country.
• Fifth year middle blocker Alexis Mettille has maintained a .403 hitting percentage for the Falcons, leading the MAC and cracking the Top 50 in the nation, coming in at 39th. Mettille has landed 67 kills on 134 attacks with just 13 errors.
• Bowling Green is the only team in the MAC with multiple players inside the top eight in the conference for blocks per set. Junior middle blocker Jessica Andrews is third (1.18) while Mettille is eighth (1.00).
• During non-conference play, the Falcons had four different players (Hovey, Andrews, Mettille, Lindsey LaPinta) named to an All-Tournament Team with none being repeated. Andrews also earned MAC Defensive Player of the Week once. 
• Ball State's senior defensive specialist Kendall Seimet is the younger sister of BGSU alum Kallie Seimet who was a two-time MAC Player of the Year for the Falcons and holds the program record for career digs. 

Familiar Territory For Falcons
The Falcons will enter MAC play in a similar position to how they have in past seasons. BGSU is currently 5-6 following their non-conference schedule with similar standings the last three seasons. In 2023 the Falcons entered MAC play 6-5 while being 5-6 in 2022 and 4-6 in 2021. Bowling Green's non-conference schedule often poses various challenges, including top talent opposite BGSU. Going off finishing RPI from last season, seven of BGSU's 10 opponents finished above the Falcons on the list. Additionally, six of the 10 were inside the top 100 while UMBC was inside the Top 50 at 48 and Dayton was inside the Top 20 at 18.

Containing The Cardinals
Ball State is coming off their lone home match of the non-conference season, recording a 3-2 win over Wright State on Sept. 20. The Cardinals have won four of their last five matches with the only loss being in five sets to Indiana. For the year, Ball State is 7-4. The other three loses for the Cardinals have been to #7 Penn State, #9 Kentucky and FAU, all being in three sets. Ball State is led by senior setter Megan Wielonski. Wielonski currently leads the Cardinals in both assists (400) and aces (14) while being second in digs (103) and blocks (23.0).

BGSU vs. Ball State, A History
Bowling Green and Ball State have become common foes over the last five years, facing off in the MAC Tournament four times since 2019, including each of the last three seasons with all three going five sets. While the last meeting went to the Falcons, winning 3-2 in Kalamazoo last November, the all-time series leans to the Cardinals with a 47-22-1 all-time standing between the teams. This trip will mark the first to Muncie for Bowling Green since winning the 2022 MAC Tournament over the Cardinals in five sets. Going back to 2019, BGSU is 4-2 when playing in Muncie. 

Hovey Closing In On Rally Record
Lauryn Hovey is sitting just four aces away from tying and five away from breaking the program's Rally Scoring Era record for career aces. Hovey currently has 110 over her BGSU career, sitting in second for the Rally Scoring Era and 10th all-time. Paige Penrod currently holds the Rally Scoring record with 114 from 2010-13. As for the all-time mark, Linda Popovich holds the record with 190 career aces from 1986-89. So far, Hovey has 25 aces this season, which is tied for 11th in the nation, and is averaging 0.66 aces per set, which is ninth in the nation. 

Mettille Enters National Rankings
Alexis Mettille has been efficient on the attack for the Falcons, earning herself a spot inside the nation's Top 50 for attack percentage. Through the first 11 matches of the season, Mettille is hitting .403 for the Falcons, ranking 39th in the nation and is first in the Mid-American Conference. She's landed 67 kills on 134 attacks with just 13 errors on the season. Mettille has hit above .300 in each of the last two seasons for BGSU, finishing the 2022 season with a .313 mark and 2023 at .314. 

One-Two Punch Or One-Two Block?
Jessica Andrews and Alexis Mettille have been a force at the net for Bowling Green this season. Both are inside the top eight in the MAC for blocks per set, making BGSU the only team in the conference with two players inside the top eight. Andrews is third, averaging 1.18 blocks per set while Mettille is eighth with 1.00. As for career marks, Andrews and Mettille are side-by-side in the Rally Scoring Era records for solo blocks. Andrews is currently ninth with 34 while Mettille is one spot behind with 33. Mettille is also inside the top 10 in Rally Scoring for both career block assists and total blocks with Andrews knocking on the door of both.

Follow the Falcons
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