Women's Volleyball | November 02, 2016

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan wraps up its regular season home schedule hosting Mid-American Conference West Division rivals Central Michigan on Friday at 7 p.m. and Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 8 p.m.

LAST WEEK
Western Michigan hosted MAC West leaders Northern Illinois and the went on the road to Bowling Green. The Broncos battled the Huskies, winning the first set, but ultimately fell 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 19-25, 19-25, 20-25). Nicole Kinser, Bailey Schnell and Quiana Ware each had 12 kills in the match, with the mark being a career-best for Ware. Alysia Baznik and Kathleen Reilly each had 12 digs, while Mary Murphy totalled 48 assists.

Against the Falcons, the Broncos dropped a tough 3-0 (20-25, 25-27, 19-25) decision. The team was held to a .134 hitting percentage, with junior Sydney LeMay leading the team with 11 kills. Baznik led the team with 15 digs. 

CMU AT A GLANCE // 9-15, 3-9 MAC
WMU and CMU met in Mount Pleasant back on Oct. 2 and the Chippewas came away with a 3-2 (18-25, 25-19, 25-11, 9-25, 15-13) win. Since then, Central Michigan has won two more matches with victories over Eastern Michigan and Buffalo. The Chippewas are currently on a three game slide with losses at Akron and at home against Toledo and Ball State. 

Junior Jordan Bueter leads Central Michigan's attack with 3.42 kills per set, fourth-best in the MAC. The outside hitter has taken nearly double the amount of attack attempts than any of her teammates at 879. Junior outside hitter Taylor Robertson is second on the team at 2.46 kills per set, while Sophomore Laura Wilson is just behind her at 2.43. Senior Kathia Sanchez is the team's top setter, averaging 8.26 assists per set for 735 on the season.

Defensively, opponents have been hitting .236 against the Chippewas. Junior defensive specialist Courtney Hiltibran leads the team with 3.73 digs per set. Bueter is also a big contributor on defense, coming in at second on the team in digs per set at 2.79. Junior middle blocker Paige Carey leads the team in blocks per set at 0.92, with 82 total blocks on 15 solos and 67 assists. 

EMU AT A GLANCE // 8-17, 3-9 MAC
The Eagles also bested the Broncos earlier in the season, winning 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23) in Ypsilanti on Sept. 30. Since then, EMU has claimed one other victory, a 3-0 win at Akron. Eastern Michigan is just 2-9 on the road this season. 

Offensively, EMU is led by Jordan Smith, who boasts 2.90 kills per set. Devon Murray (2.01) and Alyssa Sutton (2.0) are the only two other Eagles that average 2.0 or higher. Sophomore Mallory Rajewski and freshman Riley Taylor split the setting duties. Riley leads the team with 6.21 assists per set and Rajewski averages 4.84. 

Sophomore libero Alyssa LaFace leads the team in digs per set at 3.94, while freshman defensive specialist Camille Schomer sits just behind her at 2.51. 

THANK YOU SENIORS
After Saturday's match the Broncos will take time to recognize the works of a great senior class by honoring Alysia Baznik, Nicole Kinser and Mikaela Ryshytylo. Combined they have 1,008 sets and 271 matches worth of experience. Baznik and Ryshytylo helped the Broncos win the MAC Tournament Championship in 2014 and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. 

aznik is a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree and was also twice named a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete. She has recorded 1,100 kills in her four-year career, becoming the 21st Bronco in program history to reach 1,000 in a career when she did so against Fort Wayne back on Aug. 30. Baznik has been very versatile through her career, racking up 41 double-doubles in kills and digs. She also served as a setting during part of the 2015 season and has 601 career assists. Through her four seasons she has averaged 2.24 kills per set and 2.83 digs per set. 

Kinser transferred to WMU and debuted during the 2015 season. That year she averaged 1.81 kills per set and 0.96 blocks per set and was later named Academic All-MAC. This season she has upped her output to 2.17 kills per set and has double-digit kills in seven matches.
 
Ryshytylo transferred in prior to the 2014 season and made an immediate impact, playing in 35 matches. She had a career-high 25 digs in the MAC Championship win over Miami. She has seven total double-doubles in kills and digs in her career, including a personal-best four this season. She was named Academic All-MAC during the 2014 season and is primed to earn the honors again at the conclusion of this season. For her career she's averaged 1.13 kills per set and 1.88 digs per set. This season she's averaging a career-best 2.48 digs per set.