KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan volleyball went a perfect 2-0 on the final day of the Delta Hotel by Marriott Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament on Saturday, defeating Canisius College in three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-14) and Utah State in five sets (25-12, 18-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-8).

On the weekend, the Broncos went 3-1 with two sweeps and improved their overall record to 8-3. WMU is tied atop the Mid-American Conference West Division standings and has won seven of its last eight contests.

As a team at the Delta Hotel by Marriott Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament the Broncos hit .275 with four different players registering over 20 kills. Junior Kate Carey registered an outstanding weekend with 41 kills and a .352 attack percentage.
Sophomore Rachel Bontrager led the Broncos with 65 kills, averaging 4.64 per set.

The freshman duo of Sammi Labolle and Meredith Phillips played well at the home tournament as Labolle and Phillips combined for 57 kills. Labolle earned 29 kills and led the team with eight blocks while Phillips had 28 kills, averaging 2.15 per set.

Senior Mary Murphy set up the Bronco offense, registering 134 kills to go along with two service aces, 22 digs and six blocks. Murphy averaged 11.17 assists per set in the four matches at the Delta Hotel by Marriott Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament. Murphy with 3,778 career assists needs just 305 more to become WMU's career assists leader.

Junior libero Kathleen Reilly earned All-Tournament team honors for the Broncos over the weekend with 71 digs, averaging 5.07 per set. The Overland Park, Kan., native also registered a team-high six service aces.

WMU will head to East Lansing to take part in the Auto Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational, hosted by Michigan State next weekend, Sept. 14-15. The tournament field includes UAB, Albany and Michigan State.

Match One vs. Canisius College
Just like day one Western Michigan volleyball started off day two of the Delta Hotel by Marriott Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament with a sweep, defeating Canisius College (25-20, 25-19, 25-14).

The Bronco offense was stellar in the morning contest recording a .346 attack percentage compared to Canisius' .216. WMU was led by sophomore Rachel Bontrager with 15 kills to go along with seven digs and three blocks.

Junior Kate Carey and freshman Meredith Phillips neared double digit kills with both players earning eight kills. Senior Mary Murphy neared another double-double against the Golden Griffins with 31 assists and five digs.

Canisius won the first point of the first set before the Broncos rattled off six straight points to grab a 6-1 lead. From that point on WMU never trailed, going on two 3-0 runs and a 4-0 run to win the first set, 25-20. In the first the Broncos as a team hit a staggering .452 with six different Broncos earning a kill.

The second set was controlled by the Golden Griffins early before WMU embarked on a 4-0 run highlighted by a kill and a block from sophomore Jordan White to regain the lead for the Broncos. Canisius cut its deficit to four late in the second before the Brown & Gold scored five of the final seven points to take the second set, 25-19.

It was all WMU in the third set, registering a .394 attack percentage en route to a 25-14 set and match victory. The Broncos led 16-12 midway through the set before embarking on a 5-0 run to extend its lead. Down the stretch, WMU went on a dominating 8-1 run to end the set and the match.

Match Two vs. Utah State
The final match of the day took all five sets as Western Michigan volleyball defeated Utah State in five sets (25-12, 18-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-8) in the final game of the Delta Hotel by Marriott Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament.
Four different Broncos recorded double digit kills against the Aggies as Rachel Bontrager earned her fourth double-double of the season with 22 kills while tying her career-high with 17 digs.

Freshman Sammi Labolle entered the double digit kill club with a career-high 14 kills to go along with three blocks. Fellow freshman Meredith Phillips tied her career-high in kills with 13 against Utah State. Phillips previously had 13 kills last weekend against SIU-Edwardsville.

For the fourth time this season junior Kate Carey earned double digit kills with 10 to go along with two digs and one block. As a team the Broncos hit .237 and recorded a staggering seven service aces in the five-set victory.

The first set was dominated by Western Michigan as the Brown & Gold had a stellar .424 attack percentage en route to a 25-12 set victory. To end the first WMU scored the final four points with back to back kills by Bontrager and Labolle to end the set.

Utah State clawed its way back to tie the match at 1-1 in the second after defeating the Broncos, 25-18. Midway through the second, Utah State used a 5-0 run to extend its lead to 16-8. WMU rallied back however, scoring six of the next seven points to cut the deficit to three at 17-14. That was as close as the Broncos got as the Aggies scored seven of the last 11 points for the set victory.

Neither team got it going offensively in the third as WMU hit .175 compared to Utah State's, .028. The Broncos pulled way late thanks to a 6-0 run to give the Brown & Gold and 18-10 advantage. A kill by Meredith Phillips ended the set and gave WMU a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set came down to the wire as neither team led by more than three, resulting in a 22-22 tie late. After Carey earned her second kill of the set to tie the match, Utah State rattled off the final three points for the 25-22 fourth set victory.

In the fifth the Broncos dropped the first point of the set before embarking on a 6-2 run to force the Aggies to call a timeout with WMU leading 6-3. As the two teams switched sides, the Broncos held an 8-3 lead highlighted by a 5-0 run.
Leading 13-8, WMU got two of the final three kills from Bontrager to give the Broncos the set and match victory. The five-set victory moves WMU to 2-0 in five-set matches this season.