SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- The Western Michigan volleyball team tallied wins over Seton Hall, 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 19-25, 26-24), in the morning and UMBC, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-16), in the early afternoon to win the Seton Hall Invitational.
The Broncos (9-4) earned their second tournament championship of the season (IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational was the other) and the 11th tournament title in the last six seasons.
"We're excited we won the tournament and gained some momentum going into conference play next weekend," head coach Colleen Munson said. "It was nice to get a chance to play three quality teams that all brought different styles. We were able to make the adjustments in our system to be successful. We were challenged, but used a team effort to overcome all three teams this weekend."
Junior middle blocker Ashley Turnage was named tournament MVP after averaging 3.40 kills, 1.70 blocks, 1.60 digs per set and .347 attacking. She was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore middle blocker Jessica Brown and junior setter Sam Viox. Brown led the Broncos with 37 kills and hit .321, while Viox averaged 11.70 assists and 3.30 digs per set, including a pair of double-doubles.
In the morning, senior outside hitter Allyson Doyle became the 18th Bronco in school history to reach 1,000 career kills with nine against Seton Hall (4-9) and tied her season high with 20 digs. Doyle added seven kills against UMBC (4-7) to finish the weekend with 1,012 career kills.
Turnage set new career highs against Seton Hall with 14 kills and nine digs. She hit .367 and added three blocks and one ace, while Brown led all players with a season-high 18 kills on .352 attacking and two blocks.
Viox passed out a season-high 51 assists and tied her season high with three kills. She also had eight digs. Freshman libero Lena Oliver added 17 digs and freshman outside hitter Gillian Asque had nine kills, nine digs and career-high three blocks.
"We got tested by Seton Hall, but kept our composure and came from behind to win the match in set four," Munson said. "They play a system we're not used to seeing and we were able to make the adjustments."
WMU hit .234 with 62 kills, while holding Seton Hall to .192 hitting with 54 kills. The Broncos also had six blocks and five service aces.
Seton Hall was led by Alyssa Warren with 27 digs and Meghan Matusiak with 16 kills, 13 digs and two aces.
A kill by Brown and two errors by the Pirates broke an early tie to put the Broncos up three, 6-3, in the opening set. Another error by the Pirates, 12-7, put WMU up five and forced Seton Hall to call timeout. That maneuver didn't slow the Broncos as they went on an 8-2 run to push the lead to 10, 20-10, after three consecutive miscues by Seton Hall. Seton Hall saved four set points until Asque put the first set away, 25-19.
The Broncos hit .286 with 18 kills, including four each by Brown, Doyle and Turnage. The Pirates hit .151 with 14 kills.
Western Michigan fell behind by three, 8-5, but a kill and back-to-back aces by freshman outside hitter Ali Gossen started a 9-1 run that put WMU up five, 14-9, after a solo block by Asque. The Pirates scored after a timeout, but a kill by Brown and Doyle ace put WMU up six, 16-10, and Seton Hall never pulled closer than four the rest of the way, 25-18.
The Broncos hit .303 with 14 kills, including five kills in eight swings for Asque, while Seton Hall countered by hitting .207 with 11 kills.
The Broncos took a 2-1 lead, but allowed the next two points and were fighting from behind the rest of the way in the third set. A kill by Gossen and block by Gossen and Turnage briefly put WMU back in front, 14-13, however Seton Hall came back with a 9-1 run to go up seven, 22-15. The Pirates kept the match alive, 25-19, after an attack error by WMU.
Turnage and Brown each had four kills, but WMU hit just .139 with 13 kills and eight errors. The Pirates accumulated 14 kills and hit .265 in the third set.
Seton Hall kept the momentum to start the fourth set and went up by six, 11-5, after serving an ace immediately after a Western Michigan timeout. A kill by the Pirates kept them up five, 19-14, before Western Michigan mounted a serious rally to try and avoid a fifth set.
Kills by Turnage and Doyle pulled WMU within two, 19-17, and forced Seton Hall to call timeout. The Pirates scored a kill on the next point, but WMU responded with three in a row and tied the score, 20-20, on a block by Brown and Asque that forced SHU to use its last timeout. The Pirates regained the lead with a kill, but WMU took the lead on a Brown kill and SHU error. The teams traded points, 24-24, until Viox put WMU on top for good with a kill and then freshman outside hitter Taylor Richard ended the match with her only kill, 26-24, on an overpass that the Pirates couldn't control.
WMU hit .208 with 17 kills in the final set, led by eight kills and .636 attacking by Brown. The Broncos held SHU to .176 hitting with 15 kills.
In the afternoon, WMU was led by Richard against UMBC (4-7) with career highs of 10 kills, .286 attacking, 16 digs, two aces and two blocks. Viox added a season-high 13 digs and 33 assists, while Oliver had 13 digs and Doyle 10. Turnage led all players with six blocks and added seven kills. Doyle, Brown and Gossen all had seven kills, as well. Doyle finished the weekend with 1,012 career kills.
The Broncos hit .173 and held the Terriers to .083 hitting with eight blocks and 69 digs. UMBC was led by Hallie Carter with 21 digs and Sabrina Hoeks with 14 kills and 11 digs.
The Broncos jumped ahead early on the Terriers by building a six-point lead, 12-6, after Turnage blocks with Doyle and Richard and a kill by Doyle. UMBC came back and cut the lead to one, 20-19, before WMU closed the door. The Broncos didn't allow another point and took the lead, 25-19, after a kill by Gossen.
Brown had six of the Broncos' 14 kills as they hit .209. UMBC hit .190 with 14 kills.
The Terriers scored the first four points of the second set, but WMU tied the score, 10-10, after a kill by Turnage. UMBC rattled off the next two points, but kills by Gossen and Richard tied the score. UMBC regained the lead on the next point, but then WMU went on an 8-2 run to take control, 20-15. UMBC got back within three, 23-20, but Gossen and Richard put away kills to end the set, 25-20.
WMU hit .122 with 13 kills, while UMBC hit .044 with 10 kills. Richard accounted for eight points in the set with six kills and two aces.
Western Michigan quickly tried to clinch the tournament by scoring 11 of the first 15 points to start the third set and the Terriers never threatened. WMU won the tournament on UMBC's eighth service error of the match, 25-16. Sophomore defensive specialist Elizabeth Sweeney registered her first career kill on a back row attack off the block in the set.
WMU hit .195 with 13 kills, but relied on its defense to hold UMBC to .022 hitting with 10 kills and nine errors. Turnage had four kills and three blocks in the set to lead Western Michigan.
The Broncos return to University Arena next weekend to host Toledo (5-6) and Ball State (9-2) in the beginning of Mid-American Conference play. First serve is 7 p.m. for both matches.
