MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Western Michigan volleyball team battled back from an early deficit to extend their road winning streak to five straight matches, defeating the Central Michigan Chippewas 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 15-11) in Mount Pleasant on Friday night. The win gives the Broncos an 11-15 overall record and a 7-4 mark in Mid-American Conference play.
Hailey Knecht was dominant in the back row, recording a match- and career-high 38 digs against the Chippewas and helping to hold them to a .200 team hitting percentage. Fellow freshman Bailey Schnell was a force at the outside hitter position, recording a team-high 18 kills, while Sydney LeMay ranked not far behind with 16 kills of her own. Alysia Baznik recorded a career-high 52 assists in her third-ever match at the setter position, and Caroline Rose recorded a highly impressive five service aces in the win.
WMU dropped a tight first set but rallied for a dominant second, pulling away after the Chippewas threatened early on. Olivia Kofie and Rose recorded kills on back-to-back points to make it 9-7 after CMU tied it two points earlier, and Izabella Porada won the race to 15 with an ace to make it a four-point match. A series of Chippewa errors put WMU ahead 19-12 and Rose tacked on with an ace off Jamison Wolffis. Nicole Kinser wrapped the runaway set win with a kill off a set from Schnell to make it 25-16.
The Broncos carried the momentum into the third set, coming back from an early deficit to claim another win over CMU. LeMay recorded a kill to make it 14-13 and Rose forced the Chippewas into their first timeout, recording a back row kill to make it 16-13. CMU came back and briefly held the lead in the set but LeMay broke the tie again, and Rose again aced Wolffis to put her team ahead 23-21. Baznik and LeMay did the rest, with Baznik recording a kill to make it 24-21 and the pair blocking Taylor Robertson on set point to take the win at 25-21.
The Chippewas countered with a 25-21 win in the fourth set but the Broncos outlasted them in the decisive fifth set, with Kinser recording the equalizer at 8-all. A CMU service error at 9-all gave the Broncos the opening they needed to finish the match, and WMU scored six of the final eight points of the set for the win. Baznik tipped over the winner to take the set 15-11.
