WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Western Michigan volleyball team saw its win streak come to an end after splitting with Liberty and UNC-Wilmington on the final day of the Courtyard by Marriott Tournament hosted by the Seahawks. WMU opened up Saturday morning with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-9, 25-12) win over the Flames but fell in the tournament's title match in the evening against UNCW 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 12-15).
Western Michigan opened up the day with a thumping of Liberty winning its fifth-straight match and its fourth-straight 3-0 sweep. The Bronco attack was in full force, finishing with a .519 attack percentage that tied for third in program history for attack percentage in a match. Sophomore right side hitter Quiana Ware led the match with 14 kills on 19 attempts for a career-high .737 attack percentage. Senior middle blocker Olivia Kofie was just behind her with 12 kills and a .688 attack percentage, just shy of a career high. Junior setter Mary Murphy had a season-high for a three-set match with 44 assists.
After a close first set the Broncos made quick work of the Flames. WMU dominated the final two 25-9 and 25-12.
The Broncos' consecutive set-win streak came to an end against the Seahawks after UNCW took the first set 25-23. Rachel Bontrager had a career-high 25 kills in the loss, while Ware and Sydney LeMay each had 16. Murphy had 56 assists, while Reilly had a career-high 31 digs.
WMU responded to the dropped set and battled the Seahawks to a tight 25-22 win. The team's traded points to a 13-13 tie and the Broncos took a 15-13 lead after kills by Ware and Murphy. UNC-Wilmington battled back to tie it at 19-19 but another kill by Ware gave WMU the lead for good.
The second set was another tight one, with the Seahawks creating separation after a 13-13 tie. WMU battled back to tie it up at 17-17 but UNCW responded with a 3-0 run to retake the lead for good. In the fourth set the Broncos took an early 4-1 lead and never looked back. The Seahawks made a late rally to pressure Western Michigan, but a kill by Ware finished it out 25-22.
After a 3-3 tie to start out the final set, UNC-Wilmington went on a run to take a 10-5 lead and WMU was unable to catch up, falling 15-12.
The Broncos return to University Arena on Thursday night at 7 p.m. to host Mid-American Conference West Division Champions Northern Illinois to open conference play. WMU then heads to Miami on Saturday to take on the reigning MAC Champion RedHawks at 5 p.m.
