KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Dueling for five sets the Western Michigan volleyball team was edged by Mid-American Conference west division foe Northern Illinois (25-17, 25-22, 20-25, 25-20, 8-15) on Thursday night inside University Arena.
It's the sixth time this season the Broncos have battled in a five-set match, dropping their first five-set match of the year. WMU recorded a .195 attack percentage compared to NIU's .206, but out blocked the Huskies, 9-3.
The Brown & Gold saw two earn double digit kills on the night with junior
Rachel Bontrager leading the way with 16 kills to go along with nine digs and four blocks. Bontrager has now reached double digit kills in eight straight matches.
Joining Bontrager was freshman
Maggie King with 12 kills while registering a .321 attack percentage. King also had five digs against the Huskies and one service ace. In her freshman campaign, King has recorded double digit kills in 11 of the 17 matches.
Fellow freshman
Rose Duffy posted a career-high 43 assists on Thursday along with six digs, one block, two kills and two service aces to lead the team. WMU had two players also record double digit digs with senior
Kathleen Reilly notching 26 and junior
Kaley Smith earning 17.
At the net the Broncos registered nine blocks with redshirt sophomore
Janell Williams leading the way with seven. In the past two matches WMU has recorded 22 blocks with Williams having 15.
Both teams hit the ball well from behind the line with WMU recording six service aces while NIU had eight.
Western Michigan now has an overall record of 11-6 and 2-3 in conference play. The Broncos are back at home on Saturday, Oct. 12 to square off with Bowling Green at 5:00 p.m. inside University Arena.
Set One (WMU – 17, NIU – 25)
Northern Illinois jumped out to an early lead in the first set thanks to a 4-0 to begin the match to gain an 8-5 advantage. The Broncos battled back and tied the set at 11-11 after back-to-back kills from Bontrager and Williams.
The two teams traded points midway through the first set before the Huskies pulled away late with an 8-2 run to grab a 25-17 set victory.
Set Two (WMU – 25, NIU – 22)
In the second set, the Broncos never trailed en route to a 25-22 set victory and tying the match at 1-1. Early on, WMU held a 11-7 lead after two straight attack errors from the Huskies. Midway through the set, the Broncos embarked on a 4-1 run to gain a 16-11 advantage and ultimately held a 23-16 lead after a service ace from
Kaley Smith.
NIU battled back late in the set and went on a 6-1 run to cut the WMU lead down to two before a Bontrager kill ended the NIU comeback and tied the match at 1-1.
Set Three (WMU – 20, NIU – 25)
It was role reversal in the third set as NIU never trailed to gain a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-20 set victory. The Huskies gained a 15-11 lead midway through the set before the Broncos rallied back to cut its deficit down to three at 17-14.
WMU got to within three late in the third thanks to an NIU attack error before the Huskies closed out the third set with a kill from Amanda Krahl followed by a WMU attack error.
Set Four (WMU – 25, NIU – 20)
The Broncos dominated the third set, holding NIU to a .091 attack percentage for the 25-20 set victory. WMU and NIU traded points to begin the set before the Brown & Gold embarked on an impressive 10-1 run to gain a 15-4 lead.
WMU was the first team to 20 in the fourth, holding on to a staggering 20-9 lead and had a 24-13 lead before NIU scored the next seven points to cut the Bronco lead down to four. Freshman
Maggie King ended the NIU comeback attempt with her fourth kill of the set to force a fifth and final set.
Set Five (WMU – 8, NIU – 15)
Northern Illinois raced out of the gate in the fifth set en route to an 8-1 lead, scoring four straight points before a Bronco timeout. Out of the timeout the Broncos rallied scoring six of the next 10 points and embarking on a 5-0 run to cut the NIU lead down to 12-8.
After a Northern Illinois timeout, the Huskies rattled off three straight points to win the fifth set 15-8 and the match in five sets.
