KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Senior Alysia Baznik became the 21st Western Michigan volleyball player to reach 1,000 kills as the team battled Fort Wayne to the end in a thrilling 3-2 (25-12, 25-16, 30-32, 19-25, 15-13) win at University Arena on Tuesday night.
 
Baznik needed 16 kills entering the night and she finished with exactly 16 to join the record books. She also finished with 11 digs for her second double-double of the season. Five Broncos, including Baznik, finished the night with double-digit kills, led by Sydney LeMay's season-high of 19. Bailey Schnell also recorded a double-double on the night with 11 kills and 11 digs. Junior middle blocker Olivia Kofie finished with 12 kills and a game-high .391 hitting percentage, while freshman Kate Carey recorded double-digit kills for the second time of her career after finishing with 11.
 
The Broncos opened up a big lead on Fort Wayne early in the set, going up 10-3 at one point. After a 19-10 lead the Mastodons battled back but the Broncos never trailed in the set. LeMay led the team with four five kills and Kofie just behind her with four. Kathleen Reilly finished the set with seven of her team-high 19 digs.
 
WMU made quick work of Fort Wayne in the second set, jumping out to a 9-1 lead. The Broncos once again never trailed in the set and the closest the Mastodons came was 15-11 after an attack error on the Broncos. A kill by Kofie ended the set at 25-16.
 
The third set featured 17 ties and nine lead changes. Each team had its chances to put the set away with the Broncos first battling back from a 24-22 deficit to take a 25-24 lead. A kill by Kofie later tied it up at 30-30 but a kill by Fort Wayne's Lauren Hoffman and an attack error on the Broncos ended it in the Mastodon's favor, 32-30.
 
Fort Wayne controlled the fourth set from the opening serve with the Broncos only able to tie the score once at 3-3. Sitting 11-8 in favor of the Mastodons, a kill by Hoffman sparked a 9-3 run that opened up the set for Fort Wayne and led to a 25-19 final score.
 
The final set started out in favor of the Mastodons, holding a two-point lead until a kill by Baznik made it 8-8. Baznik's 999th kill gave WMU a 10-9 lead and her 1,000th extended it to 11-9. Fort Wayne battled back to take a 12-11 lead but LeMay answered with a kill to tie it up at 12-12. After an attack error on Fort Wayne another kill by LeMay pushed the lead to 14-12 before her 19th kill of the game finished off the match after a 15-13 fifth-set win.
 
Western Michigan heads back on the road to Southern Illinois University and the Saluki Invitational. The Broncos take on Northern Arizona on Friday at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday WMU takes on hosts SIU at 1 p.m. and then Central Florida at 5:30 p.m. All games can be seen live on ESPN3.com.