KALAMAZOO, Mich. –  Despite winning the first two sets of the match the Western Michigan volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking five-set match to Northern Illinois (25-18, 25-19, 23-25, 21-25, 15-11) on Wednesday night inside University Arena.

Both junior Kate Carey and sophomore Rachel Bontrager each recorded 16 kills to lead the Broncos against the Huskies. The 16 kills for Carey was a career-high while having a .222 attack percentage. The junior right side hitter also collected four blocks.

Bontrager earned her 11^th double-double of the season with 16 kills and 14 digs and matched Carey with a .222 attack percentage. The Valparaiso, Ind., native has had double digit kills in 24 of the 27 matches this season.

The Broncos had four players registered double digit digs on the night with junior Kathleen Reilly leading the way with 21. It's the eighth time this season Reilly has recorded over 20 digs and second time in the last three matches. Following Reilly was Bontrager with 14, freshman Meredith Phillips with a career-high 13 and sophomore Kaley Smith with 10.

Senior Mary Murphy collected her third match of the season with over 50 assists, recording 53 against the Huskies. Murphy is just 22 assists away from having 1,000 assists in a season for the third year in a row.

At the net, redshirt freshman Janell Williams had a match-high six blocks coupled with nine kills and one dig. As a team the Broncos registered 11 blocks, the most in a five-set match this season.

Western Michigan will return to action at home on Saturday, Nov. 3 against Mid-American Conference east division leader Miami. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3. The Broncos currently have an overall record of 13-14 and 3-10 in MAC play.

First Set (WMU 25, NIU 18)
Western Michigan dominated the first set en route to a 25-18 victory as the Brown & Gold held NIU to a .032 attack percentage. WMU jumped out to an early 11-9 lead after a Bontrager killed capped a 4-1 run. Ultimately it was a 12-3 for WMU that extended its lead to 19-11 late in the set. A handling error by NIU ended the set and gave WMU a 1-0 lead in the match.

Second Set (WMU 25, NIU 19)
Defense led the way in the second set as WMU recorded four blocks to NIU's one in a 25-19 set victory. The Broncos once again raced out to an early lead, forcing NIU to call a timeout after leading 13-7 and embarking on a 5-2 run. Western Michigan extended its lead to 20-13 later in the second thanks to three massive kills by Bontrager. NIU embarked on a 5-1 run late to cut the Bronco lead down to three before an NIU serve and attack error ended the set.

Third Set (WMU 23, NIU 25)
It was a tight third set between the Broncos and the Huskies as the two teams were knotted up at 22-22 late. A kill by freshman Sammi Labolle highlighted a 4-0 run by the Broncos to give WMU a 23-22 lead. However, NIU rallied back with a 3-0 run of its own thanks to two WMU attack errors to earn the 25-23 set victory.

Fourth Set (WMU 21, NIU 25)
Early in the fourth the Broncos embarked on a 3-0 run to gain an early lead before the Huskies combated with a 4-1 run to tie the match at 8-8. The two teams went back and forth once again en route to a 20-20 tie late. The Huskies prevailed down the stretch scoring four of the final five points to tie the match at 2-2. In the fourth, NIU had a .270 attack percentage compared to WMU's, .100.

Fifth Set (WMU 11, NIU 15)
Northern Illinois charged out of the gate in the fifth set to take an early 8-4 lead as the two teams switched sides. After switching side, the freshman duo of Labolle and Phillips earned back-to-back kills to cut the deficit to two. Later in the set, back-to-back NIU attack errors highlighted a 3-0 run for the Broncos that tied the set at 11-11. The Huskies responded with back-to-back kills followed by a WMU attack error and a service ace to win the fifth set, 15-11 and complete the five-set comeback victory.