BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Western Michigan volleyball team rebounded from a first set loss to take three straight against Austin Peay, as the Broncos defeated the Lady Governors 3-1 (21-25, 25-11, 25-14, 25-15) in the first match of a tournament played at Western Kentucky. The Broncos improve to 5-2 on the season with the win, and will conclude their time at the tournament tomorrow with matches against #8 Purdue and the hosting Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
Mikaela Ryshytylo and Ave Stout tied for the team high with 10 kills apiece, and both hit for exceptional averages as well; Ryshytylo hit .292 for the match with just three errors, while Stout hit .333 with only two errors. Ryshytylo played well defensively, recording her first double-double of the season by also adding 12 digs to the cause. Caroline Rose had a match-high 23 digs in the win, and was followed closely by Alysia Baznik, who recorded 17 digs.
The difference in the match came at the net, with the Broncos leading the Lady Governors in team blocks 9.0-4.0; WMU held Austin Peay to just a .104 hitting percentage for the overall match, and kept them under .077 in each of the final three sets.
After dropping a tight first set by a 25-21 score, the Broncos responded with a vengeance in the second set to tie the overall match. WMU jumped out to an 8-2 lead with a run that was capped by a service ace from Lexie Pawlik. The lead ballooned to 10 points midway through the set when Ryshytylo recorded a kill; the sophomore made sure the Broncos were the first to 15 points with another kill later in the set. Ali Gossen and Sydney LeMay blocked an attack by Christina White to make it 20-8, Stout recorded kills on consecutive points to force set point, and Baznik ripped the final kill of the set to give WMU a 25-11 win.
The script remained much the same in the third set; after a nip-and-tuck portion to open the game, the Broncos turned a slim 7-6 advantage into a 14-6 rout after Ryshytylo contributed to an 8-0 run with a kill. Again the Broncos held a 20-9 lead, this time on another kill from Ryshytylo, and Baznik helped WMU match the largest lead of the set when her solo block of Sammie Ebright made it 23-12. Ryshytylo and Stout combined for a block of Aubrey Marsellis to end the set, rejecting Marsellis's attack to win the set 25-14.
LeMay capped a 7-2 run to open the fourth set with a kill from the middle, but the Lady Governors clawed their way back in and took a 9-8 lead after a ball-handling error by WMU. The Broncos recovered quickly, though, going up 15-11 on a service ace from Sierra Hubbard-Neil. The lead reached eight points after LeMay ripped another kill, making it 20-12, and Ryshytylo made it a nine-point advantage with a kill at 24-15. Baznik closed out the match with one more kill, giving WMU the 25-15 win.
