Women's Volleyball | October 13, 2016

THIS WEEK
The Western Michigan volleyball team begins to wind down Mid-American Conference play, hosting Akron on Friday and Buffalo on Saturday. Both matches are slated to start at 7 p.m. Both games can be watched live on ESPN3.com

LAST WEEK
WMU hosted Toledo and Ball State, splitting the matches with the Rockets and the Cardinals. 

Last Friday the Broncos swept UT, 3-0 (25-16, 25-7, 25-17). Mikaela Ryshytylo had six service aces and Sydney LeMay tallied 10 kills to lead the Broncos. Nicole Kinser had eight kills and three blocks, while Mary Murphy had 32 assists. 

Western Michigan fell to the Cardinals, 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 23-25), on Saturday. Sophomore Bailey Schnell had a season-high 15 kills as the Broncos kept the score close in each set, but ultimately didn't break past BSU. Kinser had 12 kills, reaching double-digits for the third time in the last four matches. Freshman libero Kathleen Reilly posted a career-high 26 digs and averaged 6.0 per set on the weekend. 

AKRON AT A GLANCE // 5-13, 0-6 MAC
The Zips come into Friday's match winless in conference play. Akron has been a tough out for its MAC counterparts this season, winning at least one set in every match except a 3-0 sweep at Ohio. 

UA's attack boasts four players that average at least 2.0 kills per set this season, led by senior Amanda Bedell at 2.69. Sophomore Kayla Gwozdz is second on the team at 2.48, but has averaged a team-best 2.83 in conference play. Sophomore Patience Brown averages 2.42, while Madi Baer averages 2.16. Senior Karley Kusan is the team's primary setter and has averaged 9.71 assists per set overall and 9.96 in MAC play. 

Junior middle blocker Jessica Kloehn is the team's top blocker, averaging 0.82 per set. Brown is just behind her with 41 total (five solo, 36 assists) and averages 0.64 per set. Senior defensive specialist Brenna Mack averages a team-best 3.80 digs per set, while Karley averages 2.64.

BUFFALO AT A GLANCE // 2-17, 1-5 MAC
The Bulls struggled out of the gate, dropping their first 12 matches. UB does have wins over Bucknell and Akron, both coming in five sets on the road. The team travels to MAC West leaders Northern Illinois on Friday. 

Sophomore Valisha Watkins leads the attack for a Buffalo team that features seven freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and one senior. Watkins averages 2.28 kills per set, with junior Cassie Shado just behind her at 2.17. Freshman Scout McLerran has been the team's primary setter, averaging 8.38 assists per set. 

The Bulls rank fourth in the MAC in blocks per set at 2.04, led by 6-foot-3 middle blocker Megan Wernette. The sophomore has averaged 1.05 per set on the season, ranking fifth in the MAC. Of Wernette's 63 total blocks, 14 are solos. Shado sits just behind her, averaging 0.95 per set for 56 total on the season. Freshman libero Hanna Watson leads the team with 4.01 digs per set. 

RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE
In last Friday's 3-0 win over Toledo, a little bit of WMU volleyball history nearly happened. Senior Mikaela Ryshytylo recorded six services aces, the second-most in a three-set match in program history. Ryshytylo finished just one ace shy of tying the record set by Katie Eberling on Oct. 12, 2007 at Buffalo.

1,000 KILL WATCH
Junior middle blocker Sydney LeMay sits just 69 kills away from reaching the 1,000-kill milestone. LeMay leads the team at 3.27 kills per set and has racked up 239 this season. Back on Aug. 30 senior Alysia Baznik reached 1,000 against Fort Wayne. The Broncos have not had two players reach 1,000 since Michelle Moore and Katie Eberling crossed that threshold back in 2008. LeMay is fighting to become the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000.  

ON THE HORIZON
Only three home matches remain after this weekend for the Broncos. WMU hosts Northern Illinois on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m., Central Michigan on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. and Eastern Michigan on Nov. 5 at 8  p.m. The Match against EMU is "Senior Night" and the team will celebrate the careers of Alysia Baznik, Nicole Kinser and Mikaela Ryshytylo.