OXFORD, Ohio – Taking the court for the final time during the 2019 regular season the Western Michigan volleyball team fell to Miami in three sets (18-25, 22-25, 13-25) on Saturday afternoon.

Against the RedHawks junior Rachel Bontrager led the Brown & Gold with nine kills to go along with 10 digs and one block. Bontrager concludes the 2019 season with 414 kills, averaging a staggering 3.69 kills per set.

Redshirt sophomore Janell Williams ranked second on the team with six kills to go along with a .235 attack percentage and three blocks. Williams finishes 2019 with 112 total blocks (30 solo, 82 assists).

Sophomore Charley Andrews and senior Willow Martin each had five kills on the night followed by sophomore Meredith Phillips with four and freshman Maggie King with three. The Broncos got double digit assists from both junior Mary Marzo and Freshman Rose Duffy with Marzo collecting 14 and Duffy earning 12.

Senior Kathleen Reilly ended her Bronco career on Saturday night with a 15 dig performance against the RedHawks. During her senior campaign, Reilly recorded 601 kills, the eighth most in a single-season in program history while her 5.36 digs per set ranks fourth in school history.

For her career Reilly amassed 2,326 digs, the third most by a Bronco in school history. Reilly also averaged 5.00 digs per set, earning the third best mark in program history.

With the loss, the Broncos miss out on the MAC Tournament for the second consecutive season. WMU concludes the 2019 season with an overall record of 14-14 and 5-11 in conference play.  

Set One (WMU – 18, Miami – 25)
In the first set, both program traded points early on before the RedHawks extended their lead to 21-15, forcing WMU to call a timeout.  Out of the timeout, the Broncos got a kill from Williams to cut their deficit down to five prior to Miami scoring four of the next six points to earn the set one victory.

Set Two (WMU – 22, Miami – 25)
The second set was tightly contest throughout as neither team led by more than three. WMU gained a one points advantage after a Bontrager kill before Miami went on a 3-0 run to gain a 9-7 advantage.

However, the Broncos rallied back and ultimately regained the lead at 17-16 after a kill from senior Willow Martin. Miami countered with a 4-0 run to grab a 20-17 lead and force WMU to call its first timeout. Out of the timeout, WMU rallied back and after a kill from freshman Maggie King tied the set at 21-21.

Down the stretch the RedHawks pulled away using a 4-1 run to win the second set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set Three (WMU – 13, Miami – 25)
Miami recorded a staggering .367 attack percentage in the third set en route to the sweep of the Broncos. Miami got off to a stellar start in the third thanks in large part to a 6-1 run to take a 5-14 lead.
WMU looked to climb its way back into the match after a kill from Phillips followed by a service ace from Marzo to trim its deficit down to eight. That was the closest the Broncos got as Miami ended the set on a 7-3 run to secure the three-set victory.