YPSILANTI, Mich. – Senior middle blocker Nicole Kinser recorded a career-high 15 kills but it was not enough as the Western Michigan volleyball team fell at Eastern Michigan, 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 19-25, 23-25) on Friday night.

All four sets were strongly contested by the Broncos (5-11, 0-3 MAC). In the first set the two teams went back and forth until the Broncos built a three-point lead, 6-5. WMU extended the lead to 12-8 and then 17-13 but the Eagles responded with a 5-0 run to take an 18-17 lead. WMU regained the lead and held set point at 24-22, but EMU went on a 4-0 run to close out the set.

Western Michigan jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set and maintained a slight lead until Eastern Michigan squared the set up at 10-10. The teams traded points but the Broncos took an 18-15 lead after an attack error on EMU and an ace by Mikaela Ryshytylo. The Eagles once again attempted to rally but WMU held on and a service error on Jordan Smith ended the set in Western Michigan's favor, 25-21.

Eastern Michigan started the third set off building up a 5-2 lead. WMU tried to keep pace but never got within less than three points before a kill by Samantha Falco finished off the set, 25-19 EMU.

WMU came charging out of the gates to open the fourth set, building an early 5-1 lead. The Eagles slowly chipped away at the lead until tying the set a 12-12 on a kill by Mallory Rajewski. The Broncos responded with a 4-0 run to take a 16-10 lead. After an attack error put WMU up 22-17, Eastern Michigan once again rallied with an 8-1 run to finish off the set, 25-23, and the match.

Western Michigan was held to a .163 hitting percentage on the day, committing 21 attack errors on 153 total attacks. Sydney LeMay recorded 10 kills on the night, while freshman Kathleen Reilly led the team with 18 digs.

The team has a quick turnaround as WMU stays on the road and travels to Central Michigan for a  3 p.m. match start on Sunday.