KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan volleyball team tried to hold off a scrappy Central Michigan team on Saturday night, but the Chippewas eked out a 3-2 (27-25, 23-25, 25-20, 17-25, 9-15) win over the Broncos at Anderson Athletic Center. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 5-12, 1-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
Alysia Baznik finished just one dig shy of her fifth double-double of the season, notching 14 kills and nine digs while hitting a team-best .333 against the Chippewas. Sydney LeMay recorded a match-high 17 kills on 40 swings, committing just five errors for a .300 hitting percentage of her own. Hailey Knecht was far and away the match leader in digs, recording 30, and Mary Murhpy had 50 assists.
The Broncos came back from a 10-3 deficit in the first set to win a close win over the Chips, taking a 1-0 advantage in the match. A 5-0 run cut CMU's lead to just 10-8, with LeMay forcing the Chippewas into a timeout with a kill to cap the rally. Murphy tied the set at 17 when she ripped a kill over the net off a free ball, and Baznik gave the Broncos their first lead of the set with a kill to make it 18-17. LeMay and Murphy blocked Jessica Meichtry to make it 20-17, and LeMay pushed one past Meichtry a few points later to make it 23-20. The Chippewas took a 25-24 lead on a kill by Jordan Bueter but she gave it right back with an error on the next point. Mikaela Ryshytylo and Olivia Kofie blocked Bueter on the next point to force set point, and Bueter committed another error to give WMU the 27-25 decision.
CMU took the second set by a 25-23 score but the Broncos retaliated in the third, dominating for a 25-20 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match. WMU opened on a 10-3 run, with Ryshytylo forcing the Chips into a timeout with a kill to make it 7-3. Baznik made it a 10-3 edge with a kill, LeMay pushed the lead to 16-10 with a kill. Central Michigan cut it to three points after a Bronco service error, and again cut it to 21-18 with a kill. However, the Broncos caught a break when the Chippewas faded down the stretch, with CMU committing two errors to wrap the set and give WMU the win.
The Chippewas fought back and controlled the fourth set, though, taking a 25-17 decision to tie the match at 2-2. The beginning of the fifth set was neck-and-neck, with Baznik glancing an ace off Courtney Hiltibran to tie it at 6-6, but the Chippewas scored nine of the next 12 points to take the 15-9 win.
