KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan volleyball capped off the weekend with its sixth sweep of the season, defeating Akron in three sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-21) on Saturday night inside University Arena.

As a team the Broncos were balanced offensively, registering a .317 attack percentage with two Broncos reaching double digit kills. Defensively, WMU had 47 digs compared to Akron's 35 and recorded six blocks to Akron's four.

Sophomore Rachel Bontrager and junior Kate Carey each had double digit kill performances against the Zips. Bontrager led the team with 15 kills to go along with seven digs and two service aces.

Carey collected 12 kills on the night and hit a staggering .600 for her second straight double-digit kill performance. On the weekend the junior right side hitter was dominant for the Broncos earning 22 kills while having an outstanding .500 attack percentage.

The freshman duo of Meredith Phillips and Sammi Labolle each had eight kills against the Zips while redshirt freshman Janell Williams was two shy of her career-high with seven kills. 

The Broncos had seven different players earn a dig on Saturday night with sophomore Kaley Smith leading the way with a career-high 24. It's the 11^th time this season Smith has had double digit digs and over the weekend totaled 41.

Senior Mary Murphy led the Broncos once again with 40 assists and also recorded two blocks, three digs and one kill. Murphy with 87 assists over the weekend now has 4,179 assists for her career.

At the net redshirt freshman Janell Williams stifled the Akron offense with five blocks while also recording eight kills and having a .438 attack percentage. Williams has been dominant at the net over the past five games for the Brown & Gold with 28 blocks.

With the win the Broncos improve their overall record to 13-9 and 3-5 in Mid-American Conference play. WMU will play its next four matches on the road beginning on Friday, Oct. 19 at Ohio. WMU then squares off with Kent State (Oct. 20), Toledo (Oct. 26) and Ball State (Oct. 27).

First Set (WMU – 25, Akron – 21)
It was a slow start for the Broncs in the first set as Akron used a 4-0 run to take an early 8-2 lead. WMU continued to battle its way back and used a 3-0 run with a service ace and a kill from junior Kate Carey to cut the Akron lead to two. Akron responded with a 3-0 run to extend its lead to 19-14 before the Broncos rallied back to tie the match at 21-21 after a Bontrager kill.

Overall down the stretch the Broncos embarked on a 5-0 run to win the first set in comeback fashion, 25-21.

Second Set (WMU – 25, Akron 19)
The Broncos kept the momentum going in the second set as both teams went back and forth midway through the set en route to a 17-17 tie. Ultimately it was an 8-0 run for Western Michigan with four different players earning kills during the run as the brown & Gold took a 21-17 lead. A kill by freshman Sammi Labolle capped off the second set and gave WMU a 2-0 lead in the match as the Broncos scored 12 of the final 14 points.

Third Set (WMU – 25, Akron – 22)
Both teams traded points early in the third set before the Broncos went on a 5-0 run which was highlighted by two kills from Carey and a service ace by Bontrager to gain an 18-12 advantage. After an Akron timeout late in the set, WMU rattled off three of the final four points to take the set 25-22 and earn its sixth sweep of the season.