BGSU volleyball set to play Weber State in NCAA tournament first round
Apr. 14—BOWLING GREEN — The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will make its return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in nine years, as the Falcons look to continue playing "BGVB" Wednesday night.
The Falcons (22-1) earned a spot in the NCAA tournament field for the first time since 2012 and will play Weber State (18-1) in the first round of the tournament in Omaha, Neb. at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 online.
The entire 48-team national tournament is being held at the Omaha Convention Center and Arena in Omaha, Neb. April 14 to 24.
Bowling Green secured a berth in the national tournament by winning the Mid-American Conference tournament title, earning the conference's automatic bid in the NCAAs.
The Falcons also won the MAC regular-season title under coach Danijela Tomic.
"When we play BGVB, we are a very, very hard team to beat," Tomic said, referring to Bowling Green volleyball. "We are a united team, a team that plays for each other. Our practices are so competitive and so hard. We go hard against each other."
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The Falcons posted the best start to a season in the history of BG's entire athletic program by winning their first 18 matches.
The volleyball program last reached the NCAA tournament in Tomic's first season with the Falcons.
"This the most talented team I've ever had," she said. "We are not happy just to be there. We have a quality team. If we play at our level, I don't how far we go can."
The BGSU athletic department held a virtual sendoff for the volleyball team Sunday. Members of the Falcons' other teams sent Tweets, videos, and photos of encouragement to the volleyball players and coaches. The BGSU cheerleaders, gymnastics team, men's basketball, women's tennis, and athletic director Bob Moosbrugger were among the well-wishers.
In 2012, the Falcons chalked up the program's first NCAA tournament win when they defeated Yale in the first round. Bowling Green then lost to No. 1 seed Penn State in the second round.
Wednesday, BG will face a Weber State program that won both the Big Sky Conference regular-season and tournament titles. The Wildcats earned the second NCAA tournament appearance in program history and their first tournament bid since 1988.
College volleyball, which is traditionally a fall sport, was moved to the spring this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The MAC moved the sport from last fall to the spring along with men's and women's soccer and field hockey.
Both BG and Weber State played conference-only schedules and earned the top seed in their conference tournaments. The Falcons defeated Miami in the MAC semifinals and Western Michigan in the tournament title match.
The Wildcats, who posted a 15-1 record in the regular season, defeated Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona, and Northern Colorado to take the tournament title.
Bowling Green has won four matches in a row and suffered its only loss to rival Toledo on March 23.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, are on an eight-match winning streak with their only loss coming against Northern Arizona back on March 7.
Eastwood graduate Katelyn Meyer, a junior outside hitter, earned All-MAC first-team honors during the regular season. Sophomore outside hitter Petra Indrova also earned all-conference first-team honors.
Bowling Green is just one of three teams in the nation with multiple 300-kill players with both Meyer and Indrova surpassing that plateau. Meyer has 327 kills, which is tied for 16th in the nation and third in the MAC. Indrova has 312, which ranks 26th in the nation and fifth in the MAC.
Junior setter Hanna Laube earned All-MAC second-team honors and was the conference co-setter of the year.
Senior middle blocker Katie Kidwell is closing in on the all-time record for career block assists and is currently in second place with 435. Kidwell needs just nine more to pass Kendra Halm and become the program's all-time leader in career block assists.
The winner of the opening round game advances to play the tournament's No. 1 overall seed, Wisconsin (13-0), on Thursday.
"We have written an amazing story so far," Tomic said. "But this is a new chapter that we finished by winning the [MAC] championship. We are going to write another chapter going to Omaha."
First Published April 13, 2021, 9:00am
