BUFFALO, N.Y.  – The Western Michigan volleyball team nearly completed a tremendous comeback on Friday night, trailing 2-0 in the match the Broncos battled their way to a fifth and final set before falling to Buffalo in five sets (19-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-19, 8-15) inside Alumni Arena.

It was a tightly contested match between the Broncos and the Bulls as each team hit over .200 with WMU recording a .216 attack percentage while Buffalo had a .270 attack percentage. From behind the line, WMU had six service aces to Buffalo's seven while the Bulls had 11 blocks to WMU's six.

Leading the way for the Brown & Gold offensively was sophomore Meredith Phillips with 14 kills. Phillips ranks third on the team in kills this season and notched her fifth double-digit kill match. It was Phillips first double-digit kill match since having 10 at Toledo on Oct. 4.

Behind Phillips was junior Rachel Bontrager who posted her team leading seventh double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs. Bontrager has now recorded 10 straight matches with double-digit kills, the second longest streak of her career.

Freshman Rose Duffy registered her sixth double-double during her freshman campaign with a career-high 44 assists to go along with 10 digs. Duffy has posted 40 or more assists in two of the past four matches and has double-digit assists in each of the last five matches.

The Broncos had four players earn double-digit digs with senior Kathleen Reilly leading the way with 26. It's the third time in the last four matches Reilly has had over 20 digs in a match. Junior Kaley Smith had 11 digs followed by Bontrager with 11 and Duffy with 10.

At the net, redshirt sophomore Janell Williams earned three blocks to go along with seven kills and a staggering .417 attack percentage. Senior Willow Martin also added seven kills with a .429 attack percentage.

Western Michigan is back in action on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Mid-American Conference east division leader Akron at 7:00 p.m. WMU now has an overall record of 11-8 and 2-5 in conference play.

First Set (WMU – 19, Buffalo – 25)
In the first set the Bulls got off to a fast start highlighted by a 3-1 run to gain a 10-6 advantage early and forcing WMU to call  a timeout.  Midway through the set, the Broncos rebounded scoring four straight points to cut the Buffalo lead down to two at 16-14.

WMU cuts its deficit down to two late in the set after a service ace before Buffalo ended the set on a 5-1 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Second Set (WMU – 17, Buffalo – 25)
Buffalo continued its momentum in the second set, never trailing en route to a 25-17 set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. The Bulls raced out to an 11-3 lead early on before the Broncos responded with a 3-0 run to trail 11-6.

The Broncos looked to rally late in the set as senior Kate Carey earned a block and a kill to spark a 5-0 run for the Brown & Gold to trail 20-16 and force Buffalo to use a timeout. Out of the timeout, Buffalo scored five of the final six points to gain a 2-0 lead in the match.

Third Set (WMU – 25, Buffalo – 20)
Western Michigan began its comeback in the third set as the Bulls got off to another fast start before a 3-0 run by the Broncos highlighted by back-to-back blocks from Williams and Bontrager gave WMU an 11-8 advantage.

Midway through the set WMU embarked on a 3-0 run with kills from Bontrager and senior Willow Martin followed by a Buffalo attack error to take a 19-15 lead. Down the stretch, Meredith Phillips dominated the Bulls recording four of five kills in the set to give WMU the 25-20 set victory.

Fourth Set (WMU – 25, Buffalo – 19)
The Broncos continued its momentum from the third set into the fourth, trailing for just one point en route to the 25-19 set victory. WMU widened its lead to 12-6 midway through the fourth thanks to a service ace from senior Kennedy Potts.

WMU pulled away late in the fourth thanks to two kills from Bontrager along with a service ace from Meredith Phillips to battle back and force and fifth and final set.

Fifth Set (WMU – 8, Buffalo – 15)
WMU's comeback attempt was halted in the fifth set as the Bulls recorded a staggering .500 attack percentage to earn the fifth-set victory. Buffalo quickly gained a 7-3 lead as all seven of the Bulls points came on kills early on.

The Broncos looked to battle back late in the set after a kill from Janell Williams cut the Buffalo lead down to 12-7 before Buffalo ended the match on a 3-1 run to earn their second MAC victory of the season.