KANSAS CITY, Mo.  –  In a doubleheader on Friday at the UMKC Invitational, Western Michigan volleyball dropped both of its contests falling to Austin Peay in three sets (24-26, 17-25, 20-25) and UMKC in four sets (25-23, 14-25, 20-25, 24-26).

The Broncos conclude the UMKC Invitational on Saturday with a match-up against South Dakota State. First serve is set for 12:00 p.m. inside the Swinney Recreation Center.

Preseason All-MAC West selection Rachel Bontrager led the Broncos on the day with 28 kills, averaging four kills per set. Senior Mary Murphy collected 45 assists in two matches and is now 19 assists away from moving into the top five in program history in career assists.

Defensively, the Broncos totaled 18 blocks with six coming from freshman Sammi Labolle. Labolle ended the day with six blocks, 13 kills and two service aces. Junior Willow Martin ranked second on the team with 14 kills along with five blocks.  

Match One vs. Austin Peay
Starting off the UMKC Invitational, the Western Michigan volleyball team fell in three sets to Austin Peay (24-26, 17-25, 20-25) Friday morning. Austin Peay, an NCAA Tournament team a season ago registered a .211 attack percentage compared to WMU's .174. Defensively the Broncos had nine blocks compared to the Governors six.

Bontrager led the Broncos with 12 kills to go along with six digs and one block. Junior Kate Carey and freshman Sammi Labolle each had seven kills while junior Willow Martin added five. Senior Mary Murphy recorded 29 assists and junior Kathleen Reilly notched 18 digs.

Midway through the first set, the Broncos held a 15-12 lead after Bontrager collected her third kill of the set to stop the Austin Peay 2-0 run. Later in the first, the Brown & Gold rattled off four of six points to take a 22-19 lead. Austin Peay stormed back late however scoring seven of the final nine points to take the set. In the first, WMU had three blocks and hit .286.

The Broncos stormed out of the gate in the second set, grabbing an 8-3 lead. The Governors once again came back, embarking on a 5-0 run to tie the match. Austin Peay opened up its lead midway through the match after an 8-0 run gave the Governors a 22-13 advantage. WMU ultimately dropped the second set, 25-17.

In the third, WMU and Austin Peay were knotted up at 12 before a 6-0 run by the Govs. Trailing by five the Broncos looked to be on the comeback trail after scoring four of the next five points including back-to-back blocks by Labolle, Murphy and Martin. WMU cut the deficit to 21-19 before Austin Peay scored four of the next five to win the set, 25-20 and the match.

Match Two vs. UMKC
WMU dropped its second contest of the day at the UMKC Invitational, falling to host school UMKC in four sets (25-23, 14-25, 20-25, 24-26). Against the Roos', Bontrager once again led the Broncos with 16 kills to go along with three digs and one assist. As a team the Broncos registered eight blocks and five service aces.

It was a back and forth affair in the first set as neither team led by more than two as WMU pulled away late for a 25-23 victory. Tied at 19-19, sophomore Kaley Smith delivered with an ace to put the Brown & Gold up one. To end the match, junior Willow Martin connected on her third kill of the set to give WMU a 1-0 advantage.

UMKC trailed just once in the second set to earn the victory and tie the match at one game apiece. The 25-14 set victory for the Roos' was highlighted by a 4-0 run midway through with back-to-back kills to end the set.

The Roos' once again used a large run in the third, embarking on a 6-1 run to gain an 11-8 advantage early. Western Michigan cut the deficit to four after a kill by sophomore Emma Yarber before UMKC scored six of the final eight points to take the third set, 25-20.

WMU and UMKC went back and forth to begin the fourth set en route to a 14-14 tie. The Broncos gained the lead late in the set thanks to a 6-0 run highlighted by junior Kate Carey connecting on a cross court kill to give WMU a 20-14 lead. However, the Roos' rallied back scoring six of the final seven points to grab the fourth set and the match.