KALAMAZOO, Mich.  –  It was a historic day on Friday for the Western Michigan volleyball team as the Broncos defeated Montana State and Loyola-Maryland to open the Rambler Challenge while also securing the program's 1,000th victory.

WMU defeated Montana State in four sets (23-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-17) in the opening match of the non-conference tournament to secure the program's 1,000th victory. Western Michigan becomes the first Mid-American Conference school to eclipse 1,000 and just the 26th program in NCAA Division I history to do so.

The Broncos ended the night with a five set victory (25-18, 25-16, 21-25, 22-25, 15-13) over Loyola-Maryland to improve their overall record to 5-0. It's the first time since 2008 WMU has begun a season 5-0.

In the two victories the Brown & Gold recorded a .263 attack percentage with junior Rachel Bontrager and freshman Maggie King each having over 30 kills. Bontrager led the team with 37 kills, averaging 4.11 kills per set while King ranked second with 32 kills.

The setting duo of freshman Rose Duffy and junior Mary Marzo eclipsed over 40 assists in the two matches. Duffy led the way with 56 assists while Marzo had 44 assists, averaging 4.89 per set.

WMU will look to secure its second straight non-conference tournament title on Saturday, Sept. 7 against host school Loyola-Chicago at 3:00 p.m. With a win, the Broncos can start the season 6-0 for the first time since 1993.

Match #1 vs. Montana State (W, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-17)
In the first match of the Rambler Challenge, Western Michigan volleyball earned its 1,000^th victory in four sets over Montana State (23-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-17).

Three Broncos earned double-doubles against the Bobcats. Junior Rachel Bontrager earned her second double-double of the season with 17 kills and 13 digs while having a .368 attack percentage. Fellow junior Mary Marzo earned her third double-double with 26 assists and 10 digs while freshman Rose Duffy had 25 assists and 15 digs.

As a team the Broncos hit .262 and held Montana State to just a .127 attack percentage. At the net, WMU recorded nine blocks to Montana State's eight while each team had two service aces. Leading the way for the Brown & Gold offensively was freshman Maggie King with 18 kills.

It was not a fast start for the Broncos in set one, going down 11-3 early thanks to a 6-1 run by the Bobcats. The Broncos rallied midway through the set and cut their deficit down to five at 15-10. WMU reduced its deficit to two before a block and a kill by Montana State gave the Bobcats a 25-23 set one victory.

In the second set, WMU and Montana State were deadlocked at 10-10 before a kill by King gave the Broncos a one-point advantage. Later in the second set, WMU used a 3-0 run to take a 20-16 and ultimately tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-19 set two win.

WMU dominated the third set, hitting a staggering .516 en route to a 25-16 set victory. The Broncos jumped out to an early lead at 10-7, thanks in large part to a 7-2 run. WMU extended its lead midway through the set, embarking on a 5-1 run with three of the five points coming from senior Kate Carey to give the Broncos a 15-9 lead. Down the stretch, WMU scored four of the final six points to grab the third set.

The two teams traded points to begin the fourth set before a 6-1 run by the Brown & Gold extended its lead to 9-7. After a King service ace, the Broncos held a 14-10 lead and as part of a 5-0 run had a 16-10 advantage before a Bobcats timeout. To end the match, WMU went on a 6-1 run with two kills coming from senior Willow Martin to clinch its 1,000th and fourth straight victory.

Match #2 vs. Loyola-Maryland (25-18, 25-16, 21-25, 22-25, 15-13)
Despite winning the first two sets, Loyola-Maryland battled back and took Western Michigan to a fifth set before the Broncos got past the Greyhounds in the second game of the day for WMU at the Rambler Challenge.

For the second straight game, Rachel Bontrager registered a double-double with 20 kills and 11 digs along with a staggering .421 attack percentage. It's the second time this season Bontrager had eclipsed the 20-kill mark.

Overall WMU had four Broncos with double digit kills behind Bontrager with Maggie King collecting 14, followed by sophomore Meredith Phillips with 12 and redshirt sophomore Janell Williams with 10.

Freshman Rose Duffy nearly had another double-double on the day, leading the Broncos with 31 assists along with eight digs. Senior Kathleen Reilly led the Brown & Gold in digs with 35 to go along with seven assists and one service ace.

The Broncos dominated the opening set of the match, registering a staggering .455 attack percentage en route to a 25-18 set one victory. WMU jumped out to a quick 12-5 lead before the Greyhounds rallied back. Loyola-Maryland cut the lead down to 20-17 before WMU went on a 5-1 run to end the first set.

WMU and Loyola-Maryland battle back and forth in the second set with it tied at 11-11 before the Broncos went on a 3-0 run to propel back in front. Down the stretch, WMU took control of the Greyhounds, embarking on an 8-1 run to end the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third set the Broncos grabbed a 16-14 lead late thanks to a 3-0 run before Loyola-Maryland countered with a 5-0 run of their own to regain the lead. WMU cut the lead down to three late in the third before the Greyhounds captured the 25-21 set victory.

It was once again a back and forth set in the fourth as the match was all tied up at 19-19 before Loyola-Maryland scored six of the final nine points to win the set 25-22 and force a fifth and final set. Early on this season, three of WMU's five matches have went five sets.

In the fifth set neither team led by more than two as Loyola-Maryland held a 10-8 lead before three straight kills, two coming from Meredith Phillips put the Broncos back on top at 11-10. After a Loyola-Maryland timeout, the Greyhounds combated with a 3-0 run of their own to regain the lead and force WMU to call its final timeout.

Trailing 13-11 in the fifth set, WMU ended the set and the match on a 4-0 run to secure its fifth win of the season. A service ace by Kathleen Reilly tied the match up at 13 before a kill by Phillips followed by an attack error by Loyola-Maryland secured the Bronco victory.