EAST LANSING, Mich. –  Western Michigan Volleyball registered 12 blocks and had nine service aces en route to a four set victory (25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21) over UAB on Friday evening at the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational.

With the win, WMU extended its winning streak to three and improved their overall record to 9-3. The Broncos have been one of the hottest teams in the Mid-American Conference, winning eight of their last nine matches.  

Against UAB, the Broncos were led offensively by sophomore Jordan White who registered a career-high 16 kills while having a staggering .556 attack percentage. The Atlanta native was also tied for the team lead with six blocks.  
Sophomore Rachel Bontrager notched her fifth double-double of the season against the Blazers with 10 kills and 11 digs along with two blocks. Bontrager matched her career-high with four service aces.

For the fourth time this season senior Mary Murphy registered at least 40 assists, collecting 43 on Friday evening. Murphy also had five digs and tied her career-high with three service aces. Over the past four matches, Murphy has totaled 140 assists.

Defensively, the Broncos matched their season-high in a four set match with 12 blocks compared to UAB's six. WMU had four different players earn double digit digs with junior Kathleen Reilly leading the way with 21. It's the fifth time this season Reilly has registered over 20 digs.

WMU will play a doubleheader on Saturday to close out non-conference play. The Broncos face Albany at 1:00 p.m. before squaring off with in-state foe Michigan State at 7:30 p.m. Both games can be stream on BTN Plus and on the BTN2Go app.

First Set:
Both teams traded points early in the first set before an attack error by the Blazers gave the Broncos a 13-12 advantage. After a UAB timeout with WMU leading 16-14, the Blazers embarked on a 3-0 run to regain the lead. With the set tied at 17-17 the Broncos rallied, scoring eight of the final nine points to earn a 25-18 first-set victory.

In the first set the Broncos hit a staggering. 444 with White and freshman Meredith Phillips leading the way with three kills each.

Second Set:
The Broncos jumped out of the gate in the second set, embarking on a 9-2 run to take an early 13-6 lead. UAB clawed its way back into the set thanks to a 4-0 run that force the Brown & Gold to call a timeout leading 20-17. Down the stretch, the Broncos capitalized on two UAB attack errors to capture the 25-20 set victory.

WMU's defense dominated the second set registering four blocks while holding UAB to a .109 attack percentage.

Third Set:
Western Michigan looked to be on its way to a sweep of the Blazers in the third set as the Broncos led 21-19 late thanks to a 4-1 run that forced UAB to call a timeout. The Blazers stormed back after their timeout, scoring six of the final seven points to extend the match and win the third set, 25-22.

Fourth Set:
The fourth set came down to the wire as the Broncos called a timeout leading 21-20 after a 4-0 run by the Blazers. Out of the timeout, WMU quickly went on a 2-0 run thanks to a serve and attack error by the Blazers to give the Brown & Gold a 23-20 lead. After a kill by UAB cut into the lead, a serve error and a kill by sophomore Janell Williams gave WMU a 25-21 set victory and the match. Williams had two kills in the fourth set and was one shy of her career-high with eight kills in the match.