BOX SCORE
MIAMI-IPFW BOX SCORE
KALAMAZOO -- In a match that lasted just 65 minutes, 13 of which was breaks between sets, the Western Michigan volleyball team defeated Marquette 25-17, 25-17, 25-9 in the second match of the Holiday Inn West Bronco Thanksgiving Challenge.
The Broncos (26-5) were led by junior Katie Eberling with 11 kills hitting .526 and six digs, while junior Michelle Moore had 10 kills hitting .375 with six digs and four blocks against the Golden Eagles (11-17) of the Big East. Kate Corbett keyed a Bronco block that rejected Marquette 11 times. Corbett had a match-high five, while freshman Ashley Turnage added four.
Allyson Doyle continued to stuff the stat sheet with five kills hitting .308, six assists, six digs and three blocks. MAC Setter of the Year Jillian Mitchell had a match-high 30 assists, nine digs, three kills, two aces and two blocks, while MAC Defensive Player of the Year Caitlin Strimel tied for match high honors with 10 digs.
The Broncos hit .341 with 39 kills and just nine errors, while holding the Golden Eagles to .030 hitting with 26 kills and 23 errors.
WMU was in control for much of the first set as back-to-back kills by Moore and one from Doyle put WMU up eight, 17-9. The Broncos continued to apply pressure when back-to-back kills by Doyle and an attack error made the lead 11, 22-11. Mitchell ended the set with a dump off an assist from Doyle, 25-17.
WMU hit .457 with 17 kills and only one error, while Marquette managed 12 kills and six errors to hit .154.
The Golden Eagles notched a kill and block to open set two, but a 10-2 run put the Broncos in control, 10-4. After aces by Strimel and Mitchell, Marquette burned its last timeout trailing by 10, 20-10. The Golden Eagles responded with a 4-0 run, 20-14, but Doyle ended it with a kill and Moore added an ace before Corbett and Eberling ended the set with a block.
The Broncos hit .303 with 14 kills and four errors, but also added five aces and three blocks. Marquette hit .200, but had only 10 kills.
A kill by Moore and ace from Eberling started set three, but Marquette came back to tie the score at five. It didn't get better from there as the Broncos cranked up the defense and used a 20-4 run to finish the match.
The Golden Eagles hit -.281 in the third set with four kills and 13 errors, five of which were Bronco stuffs. WMU added eight kills and two aces.
Leslie Bielski led Marquette with eight kills, while Amy Deelo and Hailey Viola each added 10 digs.
The Holiday Inn West Bronco Thanksgiving Challenge continues on Saturday with Miami-Ohio (20-11) against Marquette (11-17) at 5:30 p.m. and Valparaiso (24-7) challenging the Broncos at 7:30 p.m.
