BGVB Selected As MAC Regular Season And MAC Tournament Champions In MAC Preseason Poll
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced Monday morning (Aug. 25) the MAC Volleyball Preseason Poll and Preseason All-MAC Teams for the upcoming 2025 season. Bowling Green was selected to finish first in the MAC, receiving 10 first place votes and 119 total points. Ball State was the only other team with first place votes, receiving two while coming in second in the poll with 102 points. Additionally, BGSU was picked to win the MAC Tournament with 10 votes. Buffalo and Central Michigan each received one vote as well. As for the Preseason All-MAC Team, the Falcons had three players named to the list, tied with Central Michigan for the most in the conference. For the Orange and Brown, Jessica Andrews, Lauryn Hovey and Amanda Otten were all named to the Preseason All-MAC Team. In total, the MAC listed 14 student-athletes with representatives from eight different teams.
Jessica Andrews is coming off a 2024 campaign that resulted in being named All-MAC First Team. Over the course of the season, she totaled 160 total blocks, setting the program's Rally Scoring Era record while ranking seventh all-time. Of the 160 blocks, 137 came as block assists, ranking second during the Rally Scoring Era with being seventh all-time. Completing the blocking history, her 23 solo blocks tied for fourth in the Rally Scoring Era. As for the attack, Andrews hit .327 for the year, ranking sixth in the Rally Scoring Era.
Lauryn Hovey finished the 2024 season as the MAC Player of the Year as well as an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention. She added to her season resume with an All-MAC First Team selection, AVCA All-Midwest Region and NIVC All-Tournament Team. Each of the last two seasons, Hovey has landed 59 aces, setting the Rally Scoring Era single-season record the first time and tying the second. As for 2024, she averaged 0.44 aces per set, ranking ninth all-time and second in the Rally Scoring Era. As for the attack, Hovey totaled 449 kills over the course of the season ranking eighth during the Rally Scoring Era.
Amanda Otten concluded the 2024 season on the First Team All-MAC while receiving two MAC Setter of the Week honors. Otten landed 1,179 assists during the campaign, ranking seventh during the program's Rally Scoring Era. She added 38 aces to her season stat line, tied for eighth during BGSU's Rally Scoring Era, including 16 during the five matches of the NIVC alone to finish the season. Otten enters the 2025 season with 1,436 career assists in the Orange and Brown, currently 10th on the Rally Scoring Era career list.
The Falcons will open the 2025 season on the road at the NDSU/UND Tournament in North Dakota. The season will start with a doubleheader for BGSU, facing Temple at 2 p.m. EST and North Dakota State at 7 p.m. EST on Aug. 29. The Falcons will wrap up the weekend on Aug. 30 against St. Mary's with a 12 p.m. EST start. The first home match for BGSU will be on Sept. 17, hosting Oakland at 6 p.m. As for the first MAC match, the conference schedule will begin at home against Ohio on Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. followed by Kent State on Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. inside the Stroh Center.
2025 MAC Volleyball Coaches Poll
(First place votes)
1. Bowling Green – 119 (10) pts.
2. Ball State – 102 (2) pts.
3. Central Michigan – 101 pts.
4. Western Michigan – 93 pts.
5. Buffalo – 77 pts.
6. Toledo – 73 pts.
7. Ohio – 66 pts.
8. Eastern Michigan – 48 pts.
9. Miami – 38 pts.
10. Akron – 35 pts.
11. Northern Illinois – 26 pts.
12. Kent State – 14 pts.
Predicted Tournament Champion: Bowling Green (10), Buffalo (1), Central Michigan (1)
2025 Preseason All-MAC Team
Lauryn Hovey, Opposite, Bowling Green
Carson Tyler, Outside Hitter, Ball State
Amanda Otten, Setter, Bowling Green
Abby Olin, Middle Blocker, Central Michigan
Jessica Andrews, Middle Blocker, Bowling Green
Mary Clare Brusek, Middle Blocker, Western Michigan
Natalia Rejment, Outside Hitter, Central Michigan
Grace Thomas, Middle Blocker, Central Michigan
Grace Freiberger, Libero, Toledo
Sophie Ledbetter, Libero, Ball State
Manoela Forlin, RS/OH, Buffalo
Sierra Pertzborn, Middle Blocker, Toledo
Hatteras Welker, Middle Blocker, Eastern Michigan
Mackenzie McGuire, Outside Hitter, Kent State
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