KALAMAZOO, Mich. – After dropping the first set, the Western Michigan volleyball team rallied back to remain perfect at home with a four set victory over Kent State (23-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-22) on Friday night inside University Arena.
WMU had three players register double-digit kills with freshman Rachel Bontrager leading the way with a career-high 25 kills. Bontrager was one dig away from notching her fourth straight double-double while recording a .386 attack percentage.
Behind Bontrager was senior Sydney LeMay with 15 kills and a staggering .433 attack percentage. Fellow senior Olivia Kofie had 11 kills with a .261 hitting percentage. As a team, the Broncos hit .286 compared to Kent State's, .166.
Defensively, the Broncos tallied nine blocks with LeMay leading the way with six while sophomore Kathleen Reilly led the team with 22 digs.
The Broncos move to 6-0 at home this season and remain a top the MAC West, improving their overall record to 13-7 and 6-3 in conference play. WMU will return on Saturday at 7 p.m. to square off with Ohio for "Blackout Night" in which fans are encouraged to show up wearing black to support the Broncos.
Western Michigan raced out to an early lead in the first set and began to pull away midway through, scoring five of seven points to take a 17-13 lead. However, Kent State was able to rally back and tie the match at 20-20 before scoring three straight to take a 23-20 lead. The Golden Flashes earned the final two points to win the first set, 25-23.
The Broncos dominated the second set, registering a .359 attack percentage to win the second set, 25-17. Both teams went back and forth to begin the set before WMU embarked on a 5-0 run to take a commanding 18-12 lead. To end the set, WMU recorded back to back blocks to tie the match at 1-1.
With a .412 attack percentage in the third, WMU cruised to a 25-22 victory with Bontrager collecting six of her 25 kills. The Broncos scored six of the final nine points including three straight to end the set.
Kent State jumped out to their largest lead of the match at 17-12 in the fourth but WMU rallied with a 6-1 run to tie the set at 18-18. WMU regained the lead late after a kill by Bontrager and never looked back scoring four of the final five points for earn the fourth set victory, 25-22.
