TOLEDO, Ohio  – The Western Michigan volleyball team wrapped up a perfect weekend to begin the season with a sweep (25-16, 25-21, 25-22) over Toledo on Saturday night inside Savage Arena.

The Broncos were dialed in on offense registering a .282 attack percentage with senior Rachel Bontrager and sophomore Maggie King each recording double-digit kills for the second straight night. Bontrager led the Broncos once again with 20 kills, five shy of her career-high. The Valparaiso, Ind., native hit .431 against the Rockets with one service ace and three digs.

Following Bontrager was sophomore Maggie King with 12 kills on 20 attempts. King recorded a team and career-high .550 attack percentage. It was a dominant second set for King who earned six of her 12 kills in the second. King ranks second on the team this season with 27 kills.

Rounding out the scoring for WMU was senior Cassandra Smigiel and freshman Abi Wilcoxson with five kills along with redshirt junior Janell Williams with two and freshman Andelyn Simkins with one. Smigiel had a team-high four blocks, one shy of her
career-high.

For the second straight match freshman Logan Case led the Broncos with 38 assists. Case also had one service ace, five digs and two blocks against Toledo on Saturday. Defensively senior Kaley Smith led the way with 17 digs along with five assists.

For the weekend the Broncos had four players register over 10 kills with Bontrager leading the way at 36 kills, averaging 4.50 kills per set. Janell Williams led the team with a .364 attack percentage over the weekend followed by Bontrager (.333) and King (.250).

WMU also had four players with over 10 digs on the weekend as senior Kaley Smith led the Brown & Gold with 49 digs, averaging 6.12 per set. Freshman Logan Case led the Broncos against the Rockets with 85 assists, averaging a staggering 10.62 per set.

Western Michigan opens the season with an overall record of 2-0 and 2-0 in conference play. The Broncos return home next weekend, Jan. 28-29 for a match-up with Bowling Green before hitting the road once again Feb. 4-5 for a showdown with in-state foe Eastern Michigan.  

First Set (Western Michigan – 25, Toledo – 16)
It was a dominant first set for the Broncos as WMU registered a .270 hitting percentage en route to a 25-16 set one victory.  Toledo grabbed an early 7-6 lead before the Broncos embarked on a 4-0 run to regain the lead.
WMU extended its lead midway through the set as WMU went on a 14-4 run to take a 20-11 advantage. Toledo clawed back and got to within seven before a Toledo attack error followed by a kill from Smigiel gave the Broncos a 1-0 lead in the match.

Second Set (Western Michigan – 25, Toledo – 21)
Toledo raced out the gate in the second set and took a 9-5 lead after a kill from Abby Erickson followed by a service ace. However, WMU responded back once again with a 9-3 run to earn a 14-12 advantage. The two teams then traded points before a kill from Smigiel propelled the Broncos back in front 17-16.

Down the stretch Western Michigan pulled away scoring six of the final nine points to secure the second set and a 2-0 lead in the match. Sophomore Maggie King was dominant in the second set, registering six of her 12 kills in the second.

Third Set (Western Michigan – 25, Toledo – 22)
After trading points to begin the set the Broncos got ahead of the Rockets thanks in large part to a 7-0 run to give WMU an early 9-6 advantage. During the 7-0 run, freshman Abi Wilcoxson registered two kills. Later in the third senior Rachel Bontrager connected on back-to-back kills to give WMU a 17-11 lead before Toledo rattled off nine of the next 12 points to tie the match at 20.

Kills from Wilcoxson, King and Bontrager drove the Broncos back in front by two before Toledo called a timeout late in the third set. Out of the timeout, Toledo cut the WMU lead down to one  before kills from King and Bontrager secured the victory for the Brown & Gold.