FORT WAYNE, Ind.  –  The Western Michigan volleyball team opened its 2019 campaign with a doubleheader sweep at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational on Friday, defeating South Alabama in three sets (25-11, 25-14, 25-16) before taking down host school Purdue Fort Wayne in five (25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 23-25, 15-12).

With the victories over the Jaguars and Mastodons, the Broncos begin the season 2-0 for the first time since 2014. Western Michigan will conclude the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 31 against Northern Kentucky at 1:30 p.m.

On Friday, WMU had three players with over 20 kills with junior Rachel Bontrager leading the way with 31 in two games. The Valparaiso, Ind., native also had 24 digs and five service aces. Sophomore Meredith Phillips ranked second on the team with 25 kills highlighted by a career-high 19 against Purdue Fort Wayne.

Freshman Rose Duffy and junior Mary Marzo each tallied over 30 assists with Duffy registering 56 while Marzo had 32 on the day. Senior Kathleen Reilly led the Broncos with 35 digs while Duffy, Marzo, Bontrager and freshman Maggie King each recorded double digit digs.

Game One vs. South Alabama (25-11, 25-14, 25-16)
It was a fast start to the 2019 campaign for the Broncos who defeated South Alabama in three sets (25-11, 25-14, 25-16) in the opening match of the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational.

As a team the Broncos hit .394 while holding the Jaguars to a .141 hitting percentage. Leading the way for the Brown & Gold offensively was junior Rachel Bontrager with 14 kills and a .357 attack percentage. Bontrager also poured in six digs, two assists and two service aces.

Senior Kathleen Reilly led the Broncos with 21 digs against the Jaguars while freshman Rose Duffy and junior Mary Marzo each had 16 assists. Marzo also notched four service aces in her Bronco debut as WMU totaled eight service aces.

Making her Bronco debut, freshman Maggie King ranked second on the team with nine kills while sophomore Meredith Phillips ranked third with six. Senior Willow Martin and redshirt sophomore Janell Williams each had four in the morning match.

The Broncos got off to a fast start in the first set, racing out to a 10-5 lead. South Alabama cut its deficit down to five before WMU went on a 5-1 run to grab a 16-8 lead, forcing the Jaguars to take a timeout. Down the stretch, Bontrager registered back-to-back kills in a 25-11 set one victory.

WMU and South Alabama battled back and forth to begin the second set before a Bronco run midway through helped preserve the 25-14 set two win. After a South Alabama timeout and WMU leading 13-8, the Brown & Gold went on a set-clinching 12-6 run to earn a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third set WMU held on to a slim 12-10 lead before embarking on an 8-2 run to propel the Broncos ahead. The run was highlighted by three service aces including back-to-back from Rachel Bontrager. To end the match, WMU got kills from King and Bontrager to secure the first victory of the 2019 campaign.

Game Two at Purdue Fort Wayne (25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 23-25, 15-12)
In the night cap the Broncos defeated host school Purdue Fort Wayne in a thrilling five-set match to close out day one of the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational with a 2-0 record.

The Broncos had four players with double digit kills with sophomore Meredith Phillips leading the way with a career-high 19 along with a staggering .406 attack percentage. Bontrager earned her first double-double of the season with 17 kills to go along with 18 digs.

Freshman Rose Duffy led the way with a career-high 40 assists while Mary Marzo had 16 to go along with five digs and one kill. Senior Kathleen Reilly led the way for the second game in a row with 23 digs.

In the first set, Western Michigan and Purdue Fort Wayne battled back and forth en route to a 7-7 tie before the Broncos went on a run resulting in two kills and a service ace to take a 12-8 advantage. WMU extended its lead to 18-11 later in the first after four straight kills led to the Mastodons calling a timeout. Out of the timeout, PFW cut its deficit down to five before a late charge by the Brown & Gold secured the first set victory.

Western Michigan got off to a strong start in the second set, scoring seven of the first eight points to hold a 7-2 lead. However, Purdue Fort Wayne rallied back with a 9-1 run to regain the lead before a Bronco timeout. Later in the set tied at 23-23, Rachel Bontrager delivered with back-to-back kills to give WMU a 2-0 lead in the match.

Purdue Fort Wayne rallied back in the third as WMU held the lead for just one point at 18-17 prior to a Mastodon timeout. Out of the timeout, PFW rallied with four straight points to take back the lead and ultimately went on an 8-2 run to clinch the third set win.

The fourth set was tightly contested as neither team led by more than two. Late in the fourth, the Broncos went on a 3-0 run to secure a 23-22 lead before the Mastodons responded with three straight points to force and fifth and final set.

The Broncos got off to a fast start in the fifth, registering three straight kills to begin the set and raced out to a 6-3 lead. Purdue Fort Wayne cut its deficit down to one midway through the set before a block by Bontrager and redshirt sophomore Charley Andrews propelled the Bronco lead back to 8-6. To end the set, Andrews delivered with a kill down the left line to give WMU the five set win.