ATHENS, Ohio –  On Friday night inside the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio, Western Michigan volleyball fell in a close three-set match to Mid-American Conference East foe Ohio (20-25, 20-25, 13-25).

The Broncos as a team recorded an attack percentage of .194 compared to Ohio's, .340 while at the net WMU had five blocks compared to Ohio's six. The Brown & Gold had seven players recorded at least one kill against the Bobcats while OU had two players with double-digit kills.

Leading the way for the Broncos was sophomore Rachel Bontrager with nine kills. The reigning MAC West Offensive Player of the Week nearly recorded her 10^th double-double of the season registering 10 digs to go with the nine kills.

Freshman Sammi Labolle ranked second on the team with seven kills while earning a team-high .211 attack percentage. Behind Labolle was redshirt freshman Janell Williams with four kills, freshman Meredith Phillips with three kills and juniors Kate Carey, Cassandra Smigiel with two kills.

Senior Mary Murphy also earned two kills on the night while pouring in a team-high 26 assists and two digs. Bontrager led the Broncos with 10 digs followed by junior Kathleen Reilly with eight and sophomore Kaley Smith with seven. At the net, Williams recorded a team-high three blocks.

The Broncos now have an overall record of 13-10 and 3-6 in conference play. WMU will look to bounce back on the road on Saturday, Oct. 20 against Kent State inside the M.A.C Center with first serve set for 7:00 p.m.

First Set (WMU – 20, Ohio – 25)
Ohio jumped out to an early lead in the first set before a 3-0 run with two kills from Carey along with a service ace by Smith gave WMU the 11-10 advantage. The two teams traded points midway through the set before the Bobcats went on a 3-0 scoring run of their own to take a 23-19 lead. WMU was unable to rally back as OU scored five of the final six points to earn the 25-20 first set victory.

Second Set (WMU – 20, Ohio – 25)
It was the same score and same result in the second set as WMU once again jumped out to an early lead in the second thanks to two Ohio attack errors. However, the Bobcats rallied back midway through the set, embarking on a 6-1 run to take a 16-13 lead. WMU got to within two after a kill from Murphy before Ohio scored three straight to extend their lead to 21-16. Down the stretch, Ohio went on a 4-2 run to gain a 2-0 lead in the match.

Third Set (WMU – 13, Ohio – 25)
Western Michigan and Ohio battled back and forth to begin the third set as neither team led by more than three early. Kills from Labolle and Murphy followed by an OU attack error guided WMU to a 3-0 run and tied the match at 8-8. Ohio regained the lead after embarking on a 5-0 run to force a WMU timeout leading 14-9. Ultimately the Bobcats ended the third on a 16-4 run to grab the three-set victory over the Broncos.