OXFORD, Ohio – The Western Michigan volleyball team's run came to an end on Sunday at Miami University, falling to the host RedHawks 3-0 (21-25, 20-25, 25-18) in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship game.
WMU was held to a .074 hitting percentage on the afternoon. Freshman outside hitter Rachel Bontrager led the way for the Broncos with nine kills. Senior Sydney LeMay had eight kills, while fellow senior Oliva Kofie had six kills the final match of their careers. Sophomore libero Kathleen Reilly had a match high 24 digs and was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team along with Bontrager.
"Miami was great. They made it very very difficult for us," said head coach Colleen Munson. "We won't let one match define our weekend that we had. We played, we had a great time and enjoyed the moment. Today was started thinking about winning a championship instead of the process that it took to get us here in the first place. It's a great lesson."
"We can't thank our seniors enough for bringing our culture back to where the expectation is to win a championship and showing us the way to do that. It was something very special this weekend and it came together for us."
After dropping the first point, Miami jumped out to an 8-3 lead to open the first set and never trailed. The Broncos used a 5-0 run to pull within one at 18-17 but didn't get any closer with the RedHawks closing out the set 25-21 after a kill by Katie Tomasic.
Miami opened the second set with a 7-5 lead but Western Michigan responded with a 3-0 run to take an 8-7 lead. WMU also led 9-8 but the RedHawks went on a 5-0 run to break the set open and retake the lead, 13-9. MU extended its lead to 18-11. The Broncos chipped away at the lead but only got as close as 22-18 before Miami closed out the set 25-20.
Miami jumped out to an early 10-6 lead in the third set but the Broncos responded with a 4-0 run to tie it up at 10-10 after a kill by Bontrager, two by Kofie and another by LeMay. The RedHawks retook the lead and pushed it to 18-12. Western Michigan once again responded with a 6-0 run to tie it up at 18-18 buy Miami responded with a 7-0 run to close out the set and the match.
