ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team lost a hard-fought 3-0 (20-25, 18-25, 21-25) match at Oakland University on Tuesday night.
Junior Sydney LeMay led the Bronco attack with nine kills, while senior Mikaela Ryshytylo finished with eight on the night. Western Michigan was held to just a .059 hitting percentage and committed 28 attack errors.
WMU battled back from an early deficit in the first set to take a 9-7 lead on an ace by Kathleen Reilly. The Grizzlies countered with a 9-3 run to take a 15-11 lead and held on for the rest of the set.
OU opened the second set with a 4-0 run to build a solid lead. WMU battled back after a service error and back-to-back kills by LeMay to cut the lead to 15-12, but Oakland countered with a 5-1 run to pull away to an eventual 25-18 win.
The Grizzles built another early lead in the third set, extending it to six at 14-8 after kills by Krysteena Davis and Sammy Condon. WMU responded with three-straight points to cut the lead to 14-11 and got within two at 17-15. After trading points a kill by LeMay and block by LeMay and Mary Murphy cut the lead to 23-21 but Oakland sealed the set and the match with two-straight points.
The Broncos are back in action on Saturday as they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to battle Bradley at 11 a.m. and Indiana State at 4 p.m. Both games can be streamed live on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN App.
