TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Western Michigan volleyball team ended its non-conference season in spectacular fashion, beating both Bradley and Indiana State at ISU's tournament on Saturday.
The Broncos (5-8) opened the morning with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-13) win and then defeated the host Sycamores 3-2 (20-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-17, 15-13) after rallying from a 2-0 deficit.
"It was a great team effort today in both matches," said head coach Colleen Munson. "We were challenged by Bradley and Indiana State and pulled together as a team to get the wins. I'm very proud of our effort and competitive spirit."
Freshman Kate Carey had a standout performance in the win against Bradley, recording a career-high 14 kills. She also boasted a career-high and game-high .619 hitting percentage after converting her 14 kills on 21 attacks and just one attacking error. Senior outside hitter Mikaela Ryshytylo notched her third double-double of the season after recording a team-best 15 kills to go with her game-high 12 digs. Sydney LeMay also reached double-digit kills, recording 10. LeMay also led the team with two solo blocks and three block assists. As a whole the Bronco attack was stellar with a .355 hitting percentage, with the help of Mary Murphy and her 44 assists.
After dropping a close first set to the Braves the Broncos were up against it in the second set, falling behind 8-2 early. From there, WMU flipped the script and went on a 6-0 run to take a 9-8 lead. The teams traded leads until a 16-16 deadlock. A kill by LeMay, an attack error on Erica Haslag and kill by Ryshytylo gave the Broncos a 19-16 lead that the team didn't relinquish. WMU dominated the final two sets.
Carey shined again with 14 kills in the come-back win against Indiana State, but it was LeMay that took center stage with her season-high 23 kills to lead the Broncos. Ryshytylo notched another double-double with 12 kills and 17 digs. Olivia Kofie also finished with double-digit kills, adding 10. Murphy matched her career-high with 61 assists to help WMU's attack finish with a .265 hitting percentage. Freshman Kathleen Reilly finished the night with a game-high 25 digs.
Western Michigan dropped two very close sets, 25-20 and 25-23, to open the match but rebounded in the third set to begin the comeback. WMU jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back to close out the third set 25-18. In the fourth set the Broncos fell slightly behind early but an attack error on ISU sparked a 7-2 run to open up the set 11-7. After an attack error on the Broncos cut their lead to 12-10, they responded well and went on a 5-0 run to push the lead to 16-10. ISU never got closer than four points the rest of the set. The fifth and final set started out as a back and forth affair but the Broncos went on a 5-1 run to take a 12-9 lead. WMU was sitting on match point at 14-10 but the Sycamores responded with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to one at 14-13. LeMay's 23rd and final kill sealed the match for Western Michigan.
The Broncos open up Mid-American Conference play on Thursday, traveling to MAC West rivals Northern Illinois for an 8 p.m. match on ESPN3.com. Western Michigan returns home on Saturday when it hosts MAC East favorites Miami at 2 p.m.
