KALAMAZOO, Mich. – On Friday night inside University Arena, each set was decided by less than three points as Western Michigan volleyball fell to Mid-American Conference East foe Buffalo in four sets (25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 22-25).

It was a tightly contested match between the Broncos and the Bulls as WMU had a .286 attack percentage compared to UB's, .314. Buffalo edged the Brown & Gold in assists, 53-52 while the Broncos had 55 digs compared to Buffalo's, 46. At the net, UB had six blocks compared to WMU's, three.

Sophomore Rachel Bontrager led WMU with her ninth double-double of the season with 23 kills and 13 digs. The sophomore outside hitter was two shy of matching her career-high. Bontrager also had three blocks and registered a .340 attack percentage.

Ranking second on the team was junior Kate Carey with 10 kills, marking the sixth time this season the Bloomfield Township, Mich., native has earned double digit kills. Carey led the team with a staggering .400 attack percentage.
After becoming WMU's career assists leader last weekend, senior Mary Murphy had another stellar performance with 47 assists, earning her eighth match this season with at least 40 assists. Murphy also had two kills and five digs.

Sophomore Kaley Smith collected her 10^th double-digit dig performance of the season with a team-high 17 digs against the Bulls. From behind the line, freshman Meredith Phillips led the Broncos with two service aces to go along with eight kills and seven digs. Fellow freshman Sammi Labolle joined Phillips with eight kills and had a .333 attack percentage.

The loss drops WMU's overall record to 12-9 and 2-5 in MAC play. It's a quick turnaround as the Broncos will square-off against Akron on Saturday, Oct. 13 with first serve set for 7:00 p.m. It's Alumni Night inside University Arena as the 10-year anniversary of the 2008 MAC Champion and NCAA Sweet 16 team will be honored.

First Set (WMU – 25, Buffalo – 22)
In the first set the Bulls raced out to an early 8-5 lead before the Broncos climbed their way back to tie the match at 14-14 after a kill by redshirt freshman Janell Williams. The two teams traded points from that point on before the Broncos embarked on a 6-0 run to take a 22-17 lead. Buffalo closed the Bronco lead down to two before a kill by Williams gave WMU the 25-22 set victory.

Second Set (WMU – 22, Buffalo – 25)
It was once again a back and forth set in the second as neither team was able to gain an advantage early en route to an 13-13 tie. After trading points, the Bulls went on a 3-0 run to grab a 16-14 lead before a UB service error and an ace by junior Kathleen Reilly knotted the score back up at 16-16.

Later in the set, the Bulls used a 5-1 run to extend their lead to 21-17 before a monster kill by Bontrager brought WMU to within two. With WMU trailing 22-20, Buffalo scored three of the next four points to tie the match and earn the second set victory.

Third Set (WMU – 23, Buffalo – 25)
Trailing early, the Broncos battled back to take a 19-15 lead after an incredible 8-0 run midway through the match. The 8-0 run was highlighted by two blocks from Bontrager and Labolle followed by a solo block from Bontrager. Buffalo rallied back with a 3-0 run of its own to tie the match at 20-20 late. Down the stretch, the Bulls used a 5-1 run to gain the lead and win the third set, 25-23.

Fourth Set (WMU – 22, Buffalo – 25)
Western Michigan got out to an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set before the Bulls battled back with a 6-1 run to regain the lead. From that point on Buffalo never relinquished the lead as the Broncos got to within three later in the set thanks to back-to-back kills from Labolle and Bontrager.

WMU forced Buffalo to call a timeout trailing 24-22 before the UB's Megan Wernette connected on her 13^th kill of the night to give UB the 25-22 set victory and the match.