MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Western Michigan volleyball earned its fifth sweep of the season on Friday night defeating conference rival Central Michigan in three sets (25-19, 31-29, 25-22).

The Broncos have now won six straight sets against the Chippewas and improve their overall record to 9-3 against CMU since 2013. WMU won its second straight match and now has an overall record of 12-7 and 2-3 in Mid-American Conference play.

WMU's defense led the way recording a season-high 15 blocks while holding CMU to a .083 attack percentage. Offensively, the Broncos had a .237 attack percentage and were led by sophomore Rachel Bontrager with 16 kills. The sophomore outside hitter also registered a season-high .433 attack percentage.

Freshman Meredith Phillips ranked second on the team with eight kills followed by junior Kate Carey with seven. From behind the line sophomore Kaley Smith was dominant, matching her career-high with three service aces.

Climbing up the WMU record books, senior Mary Murphy is now just 17 assists away from becoming the program's all-time career assists leader after registering 35 assists against the Chippewas. Murphy neared her fourth double-double of the season as well with nine digs to go along with two blocks and one kill.

Defensively, redshirt freshman Janell Williams led the way with a career-high 11 blocks, registering 19 blocks in the past two matches. Junior Kathleen Reilly led all Broncos with 16 digs on the night.

WMU continues MAC play on Saturday, Oct. 6 at in-state rival Eastern Michigan. First serve is set for 5:00 p.m.

First Set (WMU – 25, CMU – 19)
Both teams traded points through the first 10 points of the first set before a 6-0 run propelled the Broncos to a 15-8 lead. The run was highlighted by three CMU attack errors and a service ace by sophomore Kaley Smith. CMU cut into the Bronco lead with a 4-0 run late before a kill by redshirt freshman Janell Williams ended the set and gave the Brown & Gold a 25-19 set victory.

Second Set (WMU – 31, CMU – 29)
Neither team was able to gain the advantage in the second set as the Broncos and Chippewas were tied at 22-22 after a 3-0 run by CMU after a timeout. The Broncos trailed by one before a kill by Bontrager knotted the set at 24-24. The two teams traded points before a kill by Bontrager and an attack error by CMU gave WMU a 31-29 set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Third set (WMU – 25, CMU – 22)
The Broncos came roaring out of the gate to begin the third jumping out to a 7-0 lead early. The Chippewas battled their way back thanks to a 6-0 run to cut the Bronco lead to 9-7. WMU responded with a 5-1 run with three kills from Bontrager and an ace by Smith to earn a 12-8 lead. CMU used a 3-0 run down the stretch to cut the Bronco lead to two before a kill from Phillips along with a Chippewa service error ended the match.