ATHENS, Ohio – The Western Michigan volleyball team got off to a fast start and held on for the victory, fending off a hard charge from Ball State as the Broncos defeated the Cardinals 3-1 (25-12, 25-20, 21-25, 26-24) in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 MAC Tournament. With the win, the Broncos improve to 20-13 on the season, marking the ninth time in 10 years they have won at least 20 matches. They will face the top-seeded Ohio Bobcats tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
Sydney LeMay was the offensive star of the match, tying the match-high with 14 kills and hitting a match-best .440 by committing just three errors on 25 swings. Ali Gossen contributed 13 kills and seven digs, and setter Lexie Pawlik added a double-double of 45 assists and 18 digs. Caroline Rose had the match-high with 19 digs.
The key point in the match came in the fourth set, when the Broncos bounced back from a slow start to keep the Cardinals from extending the match to five sets. Ball State led 16-13, but Olivia Kofie started the rally with a kill and Alysia Baznik tied the set at 17-all a few points later to force a Cardinal timeout. Kofie and Mikaela Ryshytylo combined to block Mackenzie Kitchel two points later to give the Broncos a 19-17 lead. Ball State tied the score at 23 with a kill from Kelly Hopkins and took a 24-23 lead on a WMU attack error, but Gossen launched two straight kills to force set point. Pawlik closed out the set with a service ace to give the Broncos the 26-24 decision in the set and a 3-1 win in the match.
WMU pounced quickly in the first set, immediately taking the lead on the Cardinals and never surrendering it throughout the set. Gossen snapped an early 4-4 tie with a kill and sparked a 9-2 run for the Broncos that was capped by a Baznik service ace. Gossen helped the Broncos win the race to 15 points with a kill at 15-7, and an attack error by Amanda Raker give WMU a 20-12 lead. Kofie made it 23-12 with a kill, and a pair of errors by the Cardinals made it a 25-12 decision for the Broncos.
The second set was much closer, with the teams tied late at 18-all. The Cardinals took a 20-18 advantage thanks to an attack error by the Broncos, but LeMay cut the lead to one with a kill and Pawlik tipped one over herself to make it 20-all. The run continued thanks to another LeMay kill that made it 22-20, and the 7-0 rally was wrapped by one final kill by the MAC Freshman of the Year to make it 25-20.
