AKRON, Ohio – The Western Michigan volleyball team earned a tough 3-1 (25-16, 14-25, 25-23, 26-24) road win at Akron on Friday night.

The Broncos (12-5, 5-2) had three players in double figures, led by Quina Ware and her 16. Freshman outside hitter Rachel Bontrager had 11, along with 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Senior Sydney LeMay also finished with 11 kills and two blocks. Junior setter Mary Murphy had 37 assists, while freshman setter Emma Yarber had a career-high 11.

WMU jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the first set. The teams traded points but the Zips when on a 4-0 run to take an 11-10 lead. A service error on Akron sparked a 12-1 run to take over the set, 22-12, and close it out 25-16.

UA held WMU to just a .083 hitting percentage in the second set, winning it 25-14 to tie up the match at 1-1.

The third set opened up as a back-and-forth affair. Trailing 6-7, Western Michigan went on a 5-1 run to take an 11-8 lead. The Broncos maintained a small gap but a kill by Kayla Gwozdz tied it up at 15-15 for the Zips. The teams traded points until Akron moved ahead 21-19. Akron held a two-point lead at 23-21, but back-to-back attack errors by UA's Madi Baer tied it up at 23-23. Another attack error gave the Broncos a 24-23 lead and LeMay finished off the set for WMU with a kill.

Akron started off the fourth set with a 7-3 lead and extended it to 12-7 after a kill by Elya Karsner. A kill by Olivia Kofie started a 4-0 run that cut the deficit to 12-11. The Zips responded and pushed their lead to 17-13. A service error on Akron started a 7-2 run to take a 21-19 lead. The teams battled back and forth, tying at 21-21, 22-22, 23-23 and 24-24. An attack error by Gwozdz gave the Broncos a 25-24 lead and Ware followed it up with a kill to seal the match.

Western Michigan heads to Buffalo to take on the Bulls on Saturday night at 7 p.m.