Women's Volleyball | September 06, 2017

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan hosts Oakland and Southern Illinois for the 2017 Holiday Inn West Invitational. The Broncos open the tournament with their regular season home-opener on Thursday at 7 p.m. against the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland and SIU play Friday at 5 p.m. and WMU closes out the tournament hosting the Salukis on Saturday at 7 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Both of WMU's games will be streamed live on ESPN3.com and live stats are available at wmustats.com.

BRONCOS AT A GLANCE
WMU is off to a much better start this season. Last season it took until the ninth match of the season for the Broncos to pick up their third win. Through six matches Western Michigan is 3-3. WMU heads into this weekend's tournament with a bit of momentum after going 2-1 and winning Xavier's tournament last weekend. 

In Cincinnati, Ohio, the Broncos opened the weekend with a 3-1 win over Texas State. WMU lost a close one to the host Musketeers, 3-2, and rebounded with a 3-1 win over Cincinnati. Sophomore libero Kathleen Reilly averaged 5.0 digs per set in the three matches and was named the tournament most valuable player. Reilly, Olivia Kofie and Mary Murphy were all named to the All-Tournament team. Kofie had double-digit kills in both of Western Michigan's wins, while Murphy had 47 assists in the win over Texas State and 37 in the win over the Bearcats.

As usual, senior middle blocker Sydney LeMay has been the top attacker for the Broncos and leads the team with 2.88 digs per set. Sophomore Quiana Ware is off to a great start, averaging 2.73 kills per set and 2.54 digs per set. Ware has two double-doubles this season, the first two of her career. Kofie has averaged 2.35 kills per set and leads the team with 0.96 blocks per set. After her MVP performance on the weekend, Reilly has upped her season average to 4.27 digs per set, while Murphy is averaging 9.96 assists per set and helping the team to a .190 attack percentage. 

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland went 3-1 at Butler's tournament to open the season with wins over Robert Morris, Stony Brook and Eastern Michigan. Last weekend the team went 0-3 with losses to Lipscomb, No. 20 Ohio State and Missouri State at OSU's Sports Imports D.C. Koehl Classic. OU is 0-2 in away games this season and 3-2 at neutral sites. WMU leads the all-time series at 8-2 but have dropped the last two matches to OU, 3-0 last season and 3-1 in 2015. 

Senior outside hitter Darien Bandel leads the team in attacking with 4.11 kills per set so far this season. Freshman middle blocker Jamie Walling is the only other player on the team to average more than 2.0 kills per set at 2.36. Sophomore setter Jordan Lentz leads the team with 10.11 assists per set and has helped the Golden Grizzlies to a .196 attack percentage through the first seven matches. Senior libero Darrin Rice leads team in digs per set with 4.39, while Lentz is behind her at 3.04. Junior middle blocker Krysteena Davis ranks eighth in the nation in blocks per set at 1.75. 

SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
Southern Illinois is off to a rough start, going 0-5 in its first two weeks of action. SIU went 0-3 at Miami's tournament to open the season, losing to Western Kentucky, Northern Arizona and the RedHawks. Last weekend the team dropped matches against Arkansas State and at Murray State. WMU leads the all-time series 3-2 but dropped last season's match 3-0 at Southern Illinois' tournament. This is the first trip to Kalamazoo for the Salukis. 

Senior outside hitter Andrea Estrada leads the team with 2.96 kills per set and is one of four players to play in all 20 sets this season. Freshman opposite hitter Maggie Nedoma has seen her career get off to a good start, averaging 2.0 kills per set. Sophomore Alayna Martin has been the team's top setter so far this year, averaging 6.68 assists per set, while freshman Rachel Maguire has seen some action and averaged 3.33. Senior libero Ashley Edelen, one of the four to play in all 20 sets, leads the team with 4.15 digs per set. Alysa Sutton sits behind her with 2.42, while Estrada has averaged 2.30 digs per set as well. 

BONTRAGER'S BREAKOUT WEEKEND
Freshman outside hitter Rachel Bontrager has been a fixture in the lineup so far this season, playing in every match and all 26 sets. At the Xavier Tournament this past weekend she had a breakout performance in the team's 3-1 win over Texas State. The Valparaiso, Ind., native had a career-high 17 kills to lead the team in the win and also chipped in with 11 digs for her first collegiate double-double. She followed it up with 13 kills in WMU's loss to the host Musketeers for the first back-to-back double-digit kill performance of her career. She finished off the weekend with nine kills in the win over Cincinnati. So far through the first six matches she has had no fewer than eight kills. 

ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan has one more road trip before the start of Mid-American Conference play. WMU heads to Wilmington, N.C., for the UNC-Wilmington tournament. The Broncos take on Morgan State on Friday and then Liberty and the host Seahawks on Saturday. Western Michigan opens up MAC play hosting Northern Illinois on Thursday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.