Women's Volleyball | November 10, 2016
THIS WEEK
Western Michigan (10-17, 5-9) heads on the road to wrap up the 2016 regular season, traveling to Ball State on Friday at 7 p.m. and to Toledo on Saturday at 5 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Both games will be streamed live on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN App .
LAST WEEK
The Broncos earned a pair of wins over Mid-American Conference rivals Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Last Friday WMU made quick work of CMU in a 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-12) sweep. Western Michigan posted a hitting percentage of .419, while holding the Chippewas to .152. Olivia Kofie and Bailey Schnell each tallied nine kills, while Sydney LeMay and Alysia Baznik recorded eight. LeMay reached the 1,000 kill milestone in the second set of the match.
Eastern Michigan proved a tough out for the Broncos, but WMU prevailed 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 30-28, 25-22) the following night. Schnell led the way for WMU with 15 kills, backed up by LeMay at 14 and Baznik with 12. Baznik also recorded 11 digs for a double-double, while freshman Kathleen Reilly recorded a team-high 25. Mary Murphy also had 49 assists in the win.
BALL STATE AT A GLANCE // 12-16, 8-6 MAC
The Cardinals and the Broncos met back in Kalamazoo on Oct. 8, with BSU taking the match 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23). Since then, Ball State has gone 4-4 in MAC play. Last weekend the Cardinals split, losing 3-2 at Toledo and beating Akron 3-0 at home.
Brooklyn Goodsel leads the attack for Ball State, averaging 3.04 kills per set. Sabrina Mangapora, 2.88, and Ellie Dunn, 2.39, are the only two others on the team that average at least 2.0 kills per set. Amber Seaman leads the team with 9.48 assists per set and 2,150 total on the season. McCallen Kennedy has also spent time at setter, averaging 7.19 assists per set in 27 sets played this season.
Defensive specialist Kate Avila leads the team with 4.05 digs per set, while Seaman sits behind her at 2.66. Goodsell also averages 2.11 digs per set and 0.46 blocks per set. Avery Devoe leads the team in blocks per set at 0.80 with 70 total blocks on eight solo and 62 assists.
TOLEDO AT A GLANCE // 15-11, 8-6 MAC
The Broncos got the best of the Rockets when the two teams met up back on Oct. 7 in Kalamazoo. Western Michigan swept Toledo 3-0 (25-16, 25-7, 25-17). UT has gone 5-4 since the match, and split at home last weekend with the win against the Cardinals and a 3-2 loss to Buffalo.
Saige Thomas is the top attacker for Toledo, averaging 2.92 kills per set. Gracey Tuifua averages 2.31 and Rachel Vidourek averages 2.24 for the only other two above 2.0. Junior Carly Townsend is the team's primary setter and her 10.27 assists per set ranks her fourth in the MAC.
Toledo holds opponents to just a .192 hitting percentage on average, ranking third in the conference. A big reason for that is the 2.07 blocks per set the team averages, also third-best in the MAC. Freshman Zoe Birnbrich leads the team with 0.97 per set and has 72 total blocks on 11 solo and 61 assists. Vidourek has the most total blocks on the team at 76 on 14 solos and 62 assists. Sophomore libero Maurissa Leonard leads the team and ranks third in the conference with 4.82 digs per set.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE
In WMU's 3-0 win over Central Michigan the Broncos had a hitting percentage of .419. The last time the Broncos had a hitting percentage close to that mark was in a 3-0 win over Maine on Sept. 10, 2004. Olivia Kofie (9), Bailey Schnell (9), Alysia Baznik (8), Sydney LeMay (8), Quiana Ware (5) and Mary Murphy (2) combined for 41 kills and only recorded five attacking errors on 86 total attacks to reach the marker.
THE BEST AROUND
Sophomore Mary Murphy has been WMU's primary setter all season long, recording 1,097 total assists heading into the final weekend of the regular season. Her average of 10.86 per set ranks first in the MAC by a margin of .07 over Ohio's Stephanie Olman. The average also puts her at 28th in the nation.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
A bit of volleyball history happened in WMU's 3-0 win over Central Michigan last Friday. Junior middle blocker Sydney LeMay joined the 1,000 kill club with her first kill of the second set. LeMay became the 22nd Bronco to reach 1,000 and only the sixth player to reach it their junior season.
