KALAMAZOO, Mich. – For the second straight match, Western Michigan volleyball rallied from a set down to claim a four set victory over Ohio (14-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19) on Saturday night inside University Arena.
Freshman Rachel Bontrager led the Broncos with 20 kills with a .255 attack percentage. Bontrager has now recorded back to back matches with at least 20 kills. Senior Sydney LeMay also recorded double digit kills with 12 and led WMU with an incredible .647 attack percentage. LeMay also led the Broncos defensively with five blocks.
As a team, WMU hit .234 compared to Ohio's .162. while each team recorded seven blocks on the night. With the victory the Broncos move to 7-0 at home and improve their overall record to 14-7 and 7-3 in Mid-American Conference play.
Over the weekend against Kent State and Ohio, the brown and gold hit. 263 with Bontrager leading the way with 45 kills. The Valparaiso, Ind., native averaged 5.62 kills per set. Defensively, WMU had 16 blocks in the two contests this weekend with LeMay totaling 11 blocks.
The Broncos will hit the road for their next match as they take on defending MAC Tournament champion Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 8:00 p.m. WMU returns home on Saturday, Oct. 28 against Bowling Green.
Ohio cruised to an opening set victory as the Bobcats led from start to finish to take the first set, 25-14. It was a different story in the second set as the Broncos dominated to a 25-16 victory to tie the match. The defense shined for WMU in the second set, registering three blocks and holding Ohio to a negative attack percentage.
It was a tightly contested third set as neither team led by more than three through the first 23 points. However, Western Michigan late in the set scored eight of nine points highlighted by back to back kills by Bontrager to take a 20-15 lead. Sophomore Quiana Ware ended the set with a massive kill down the line to give WMU a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Both teams went back and forth to begin the fourth set before senior Olivia Kofie earned one of her five kills on the night to give WMU their first lead of the set. WMU pulled away late scoring six of the final eight points to earn the four set victory.
