2015 MAC Tournament / Nov. 19-22, 2015
Convocation Center / Athens, Ohio

#5 Western Michigan Broncos
2015 Record: 14-17, 10-6 MAC
Head Coach: Colleen Munson
Record at WMU: 234-129
MAC Tournament Record: 11-9
Last Season: Won championship

First opponent: #8 Eastern Michigan Eagles
2015 Record: 14-15, 6-10 MAC
Head Coach: Kimi Olson
Series History: WMU leads 62-21
Last Meeting: Oct. 31, 2015 / WMU 3, Eastern Michigan 1

QUICK NOTES

• The Western Michigan volleyball team will look to repeat as champions when they compete in the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament in Athens, Ohio
• WMU opens the Tournament with the Eastern Michigan Eagles; the Broncos lead the all-time series with EMU 62-21
• The Broncos defeated the Eagles in each of the previous meetings this season, a 3-1 decision in Kalamazoo on Sept. 25 and a 3-1 win in Ypsilanti on Oct. 31
• Hailey Knecht leads all freshmen in Division I with an average of 5.17 digs per set in 2015
• Knecht is just the third different player in program history to top 600 digs in a season, and her total of 631 digs is sixth-best in program history
• Knecht recorded a career-high 37 digs against Miami on Nov. 14
• Bailey Schnell recorded her second career double-double against Miami and has two in her last four matches
• Alysia Baznik has stepped into the setter's role due to injury over the last half of the season and is averaging 10.39 assists per set in eight matches with three Assist-Dig double-doubles
• Sydney LeMay is averaging team-bests in kills (3.08), hitting percentage (.302) and blocks (0.97) in MAC matches this year
• The Broncos recorded a season-high 107 team digs against Miami in the season finale, the first time this season they topped 100 digs in a match

SEASON STORYLINES

• The Broncos claimed their fifth Mid-American Conference Tournament championship in 2015, earning the program's 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament and third under head coach Colleen Munson
• Western Michigan welcomes six new players to the fold in 2015, including five freshmen - Hailey Knecht, Izabella Porada, Bailey Schnell, Mary Murphy and Hannah Landis - as well as junior Nicole Kinser, a transfer from Hutchinson Community College.
• Sydney LeMay is the Broncos' lone returning All-MAC selection, with the middle blocker earning MAC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-MAC and MAC All-Tournament team honors at the conclusion of the 2014 season
• The Broncos open the season with 14 straight matches on the road, and will not play a home match before their MAC opener against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 25
• WMU has won 20 or more matches in nine of the last 10 seasons, an unprecedented run in program history
• Reigning MAC Coach of the Year Colleen Munson enters her 11th season at the helm of the Broncos and ranks second in all-time wins at WMU
• Fans can follow the Broncos on social media via Twitter (@WMUVolleyball) and Instagram (@wmuvolleyball) over the course of the 2015 season

THIS WEEK
The Western Michigan volleyball team will attempt to repeat as Mid-American Conference Tournament champions when they compete at the 2015 MAC Tournament hosted by Ohio. The weekend starts with the eighth-seeded Eastern Michigan Eagles on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. The winner of that match will square off with the Miami RedHawks on Friday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos closed out the regular season with a pair of road losses, dropping a 3-0 decision to Northern Illinois and a 3-2 decision to Miami. WMU set a season-high with 107 digs against the RedHawks on Saturday, with freshman libero Hailey Knecht notching 37 of those herself. Bailey Schnell added her second double-double of the season against Miami.

SERIES HISTORIES
The Broncos have been in the MAC Tournament in each of the 10 previous seasons under head coach Colleen Munson and have had great success there, going 11-9 overall. Included in that stretch was a Tournament championship last season and championship match appearances in 2008-09.

The opening match against the Eagles will be the 84th between the two teams, with WMU owning a 62-21 advantage in the all-time series. The Broncos claimed both meetings between the two teams earlier this year, identical 3-1 decisions in Kalamazoo and Ypsilanti.

LAST SEASON IN REVIEW
Western Michigan claimed its first MAC Tournament championship since 2000 with its victory over Miami on Nov. 24, 2014, marking the first time they have claimed the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament under Colleen Munson and the fifth time overall. The Broncos had previously been selected to two NCAA Tournaments as an at-large team under Munson, in 2008 and 2011.

The Broncos went 22-14 overall last season, winning four matches in as many days to claim the MAC Tournament championship as the fifth seed in the field. WMU had two First Team All-MAC selections in Lexie Pawlik and Sydney LeMay, with both players also earning All-Tournament team selections. Pawlik was named the MAC Tournament MVP, while LeMay finished the season as the MAC Freshman of the Year.

NCAA HISTORY
The Broncos have been to 12 NCAA Tournaments in their history and last year went to its third NCAA Tournament under head coach Colleen Munson. Those appearances include a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2008. The Broncos are 7-12 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches.

ABOUT THE COACH
Colleen Munson is in her 11th season as the head coach of the Western Michigan volleyball team, and in her time can lay claim to achievements that no other coach in program history can match. The 2014 MAC Coach of the year, her tenure at WMU includes a program record eight consecutive 20-win seasons from 2005-12, as well as another in 2014.

Munson has coached each of the last four MAC Freshmen of the Year (Terin Norris, Stephenee Yancy, Ave Stout, and Sydney LeMay), three MAC Setters of the Year (Norris, Sam Viox, and Jillian Mitchell), and two MAC Defensive Players of the Year (Caitlin Strimel and Lena Oliver) in her tenure at WMU. Last year, she became the second coach in program history to eclipse 200 career wins, joining Rob Buck.

READY FOR AN ENCORE
Sydney LeMay had a standout freshman season, earning MAC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-MAC and MAC All-Tournament Team honors at the end of the 2014 campaign. She ranked second on the team with a 2.56 kills per set average and paced the Broncos with a .317 attack percentage. LeMay was at her best down the stretch, averaging 3.18 kills per set and hitting .362 in four MAC Tournament matches.

> Sydney LeMay has heated up since the start of conference play and is hitting .302 while averaging 3.08 kills per set since Sept. 25.

MOVIN' ON UP
With 30 digs in the final weekend of the regular season, Caroline Rose climbed into sixth place on the career digs list at WMU. Rose now has 1,239 digs and surpassed both Jillian Mitchell (1,222) and Schea Fissel (1,226) during last week's matches.

DIGGING THE COLLEGE GAME
Freshman libero Hailey Knecht has made a quick transition to the speed of college volleyball and is among the top players at her position in the Mid-American Conference. Knecht's 631 total digs this year ranks sixth in a single season at WMU, and she is the just the third different player in program history to record more than 600 digs in a season. She ranks 18th in Division I and first among all college freshmen in digs per set with a 5.17 average.

SETTING THE STANDARD
Alysia Baznik has stepped into the setter's role due to injury over the last two weeks and has filled in admirably. She is averaging 10.39 assists per set in six matches and has recorded three Assist-Dig double-doubles in the last four weeks.

BIG BREAKTHROUGH
Bailey Schnell recorded her second career Kill-Dig double-double in the Broncos' match against Miami, adding 14 kills to go with 11 digs. It is the second Kill-Dig double-double by a Bronco not named Alysia Baznik since Sierra Hubbard-Neil recorded one against IPFW on Sept. 1.