DEKALB, Ill. – The Western Michigan volleyball team pulled the upset, defeating fifth-seeded Ball State after a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-17) performance at Northern Illinois' Victor E. Court on Thursday evening and advancing to the Mid-American Conference Tournament Quarterfinals against Bowling Green on Friday at 6 p.m.
The Broncos hit .370 on the night, thanks to a career-high 15 kills by freshman middle blocker Quiana Ware. Ware's kills came on 30 total attacks for an individual hitting percentage of .500. That wasn't even the highest on the night, with junior Olivia Kofie hitting .533 on nine kills in 15 attempts. Bailey Schnell recorded a double-double after 10 kills and 15 digs. Sophomore setter Mary Murphy recorded 36 assists on the night to go with five digs. Senior Alysia Baznik finished with 12 digs and five kills, while freshman libero Kathleen Reilly led the way with a match-high 16 digs.
The two teams traded two-point runs to open the first set until the Cardinals took an 8-6 leads. Western Michigan responded with 5-1 run to take an 11-9 lead. The Cardinals responded with a kill by Sabrina Mangapora to cut the lead to 11-10, but that was as closes as BSU got for the rest of the set. WMU went on a 6-2 run, featuring three kills by Ware, to break the set open and push the lead to 17-12. Ball State did cut the lead to 19-17, but Western Michigan closed out the set with another 6-2 run to take the first set 25-19.
The Broncos jumped out to a huge 13-3 lead to open the second set and the Cardinals never recovered. Ware had another five kills in the set for WMU. The closest BSU came 19-16 after a 7-2 run, but Western Michigan responded with a 6-3 run to take the set 25-19 and a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
The Cardinals took a 3-0 lead to open the third set, but it didn't last long. WMU rattled off a 6-0 run to take a 6-3 lead. Western Michigan maintained the lead until a 3-0 BSU run made it 11-11. The Broncos then went on a 7-1 run to break the set open, taking an 18-12 lead. Ball State never got any closer than five points the rest of the set, and a kill by Schnell finished off the set and the match for the Broncos.
WMU's next opponent, the fourth-seeded Falcons, earned a bye to the quarterfinals. The two teams met just once this season, with Bowling Green sweeping the Broncos, 3-0, in Bowling Green. The match will be streamed live on MAC-Sports.com.
