KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team fell in a close match to Ball State, 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 23-25) at University Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore Bailey Schnell led the Broncos with a season-high 15 kills but the team was held to a .162 hitting percentage. Nicole Kinser also reached double-digit kills for the third time in the past four matches with 12. Freshman libero Kathleen Reilly set a new career-high after notching 26 digs, while Alysia Baznik nearly matched her season high with 23.

The Broncos (6-13, 1-5 MAC) opened the first set with an early lead but the Cardinals erased it after a 4-0 run to take a 9-8 lead. WMU retook the lead at 12-11 but a series of small runs gave BSU the lead back and kept WMU with in three until Western Michigan pulled within one on a kill by Kinser to 22-21. The Broncos once again cut the lead to one at 24-23 but a kill by Brooklyn Goodsel finished off the set for Ball State.

The Cardinals carried a slim lead early on in the second set but Western Michigan used a 10-4 run to take and build a 19-15 lead. BSU responded with a 4-0 lead to tie it at 19-19 and the teams traded leads until WMU took it for the final time at 21-20. Ball State stayed within one until a kill by Baznik ended the set.

Ball State used a 9-2 run to create separation in the third set, extending the lead to 16-7. The Broncos chipped away at some of it, including a late 4—0 run with BSU sitting on set point, but another kill by Goodsel ended the set for Cardinals.

BSU built another early lead in the fourth set and the Broncos fought hard to try to catch up. WMU was able to slowly chip away at the Cardinal lead and used a desperate 4-0 run to try to recover from a 24-19 deficit. With the score at 24-23, Ellie Dunn finished off the set and the match for Ball State with a kill.

The Broncos remain at University Arena next week, hosting Akron on Friday and Buffalo on Saturday. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. starts and can be seen live on ESPN3.com.