BOX SCORE
TOLEDO, Ohio -- After No. 4 Central Michigan was upset by No. 5 Bowling Green and No. 3 Miami had to come back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat No. 6 Northern Illinois in the first two matches of the day, the top-seeded Western Michigan volleyball team was on upset alert against No. 8 Toledo in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio.
The Broncos (24-4), however, didn't need to be worried as they beat Toledo (14-17) in convincing fashion 25-17, 25-22, 25-15 for their third victory over the Rockets this season and sixth win in a row in the series.
WMU advances to the semifinals to play No. 5 Bowling Green (25-8) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Live video streaming of the match will be available to Bronco Insider subscribers and can be seen in Ohio on the Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN).
First Team All-MAC outside hitter Michelle Moore led all players with 15 kills, while Kate Corbett and Katie Eberling each added eight kills as the team hit .300. MAC Setter of the Year Jillian Mitchell had a match-high 36 assists and eight digs, while two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year Caitlin Strimel led all players with 16 digs, while Eberling added 14, Allyson Doyle had 13 and Second Team All-MAC middle blocker Jaime Gotham collected a match-high three blocks to help hold Toledo to a .115 attack percentage.
Toledo held the early lead in set one, 5-4, but WMU went on a 4-0 run with four kills from four different players to take the lead, 8-5, for good. Toledo did cut the lead to one, 17-16, but WMU closed the set on a 8-1 run with Strimel at the service line and Moore delivering three kills, 25-17.
WMU held Toledo to a .024 attack percentage with eight kills and seven errors. The Broncos hit only .189, but did have 14 kills.
The first of Strimel's season-high-tying three aces gave WMU a two-point edge, 3-1, but Toledo came back to a take a 7-5 lead. The Broncos quickly rattled off three straight points to regain the lead, 8-7. The Rockets tied the score four times, but couldn't regain their advantage. The Broncos finally built a cushion with a 5-0 run, 16-11, behind kills from Moore, Corbett and Gotham and another ace from Strimel. The Rockets made one final push to pull within two, 22-20, but a service error ended the run and Doyle ended the set with a kill, 25-22.
Toledo was held to .159 hitting with 13 kills and six errors, while WMU hit .244 with 15 kills and five errors. The Broncos also added a pair of aces and a pair of blocks.
The Broncos dropped set three to Toledo in the regular season finale, but didn't lose focus in the MAC Tournament by exploding for a 9-2 run to open the third set. Eberling had a pair of kills and Moore and Strimel each served up an ace during the run. The Broncos continued to build on their lead and went up by 11, 20-9, after an error by the Rockets top player, Amber DeWeerdt. Eberling ended the match with a kill, 25-15, to send WMU to the semis.
The Broncos were unstoppable in set three with 17 kills and just one error in 32 attempts for a .500 attack percentage, while Toledo hit .162 with 10 kills.
Western Michigan bottled up Toledo's top two attackers as DeWeerdt hit -.111 with three kills and six errors in 27 attempts and Shannon Strachan hit .042 with six kills and five errors in 24 attempts. Those two players were fifth and seventh in the MAC in kills and Strachan was fifth in attack percentage (.321).
The Broncos also didn't allow an ace for Toledo, the second-best team in the MAC in accumulating service aces during the regular season.
Western Michigan faces Bowling Green on Saturday. The two teams met only once in the regular season and the Falcons overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Broncos at Anderson Arena on Nov. 1. Eberling led the Broncos with 16 kills, while Corey Domek had a career-high 25 kills and Kendra Halm added 20 for Bowling Green.
