KALAMAZOO, Mich. – In its first Mid-American Conference home match the Western Michigan volleyball team battled in a three-set loss to Bowling Green on Thursday night inside University Arena.

The Broncos had seven players record at least two kills against the Falcons with redshirt junior Janell Williams leading the way with a season-high eight kills. Williams recorded eight kills on 15 attempts for a staggering .533 attack percentage. The redshirt junior also had a team-high five blocks.

Behind Williams was sophomore Maggie King with seven kills followed by redshirt sophomore Sammi Labolle with five and freshman Andelyn Simkins with four. Reigning MAC West Offensive Player of the Week Rachel Bontrager was held to just four kills to go along with four digs against BGSU.

Freshman Logan Case led WMU with 19 assists with sophomore Rose Duffy close behind with 12 assists and seven digs. Senior Kaley Smith, the reigning MAC West Defensive Player of the Week had just nine digs while registering a team-high two service aces.

As a team the Broncos hit .172 compared to BGSU's .298 with both teams recording six blocks. Western Michigan had four service aces on Thursday night to BGSU's six while the Falcons had 40 digs to the Broncos' 38.

Western Michigan and Bowling Green will conclude its series on Friday, Jan. 29 at 6:00 p.m. inside University Arena. With the loss the Broncos have an overall and MAC record of 2-1.

First Set (WMU – 22, BGSU – 25)
The Falcons stormed out of the gate in the first set as BGSU held a 6-3 lead early on. The Falcons extended their lead midway through the first set after embarking on a 6-1 run to gian a 14-8 advantage. Western Michigan clawed its way back later in the set with a 3-0 run highlighted by a solo block from redshirt junior Janell Williams to trail 16-15.

A Williams kill coupled with a service ace from senior Kaley Smith tied the set at 17 late before BGSU rattled off five of the next six points force the Broncos to call a timeout. Late in the set, WMU embarked on a 3-0 run to cut its deficit down to two before a WMU service error gave BGSU the 25-22 set one win.

Second Set (WMU – 18, BGSU – 25)
Western Michigan and Bowling Green went back and forth to begin the second set as neither led by more than two through the first 20 points. BGSU held a 10-8 lead early before WMU embarked on a 6-0 run to take a 14-10 lead. The Bronco run was highlighted by blocks from Janell Williams and Meredith Phillips along with a kill from Bontrager.

The Falcons responded once again and took control of the set midway through as BGSU went on a 11-0 run to gain a 21-14 advantage. A kill from Phillips followed by a setting error from the Falcons trimmed the Bronco deficit but a kill from BGSU's Katrin Trebichavska earned the 25-18 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. In the second set, WMU hit just .074 compared to BGSU's .310.

Third Set (WMU – 22, BGSU – 25)
It was a back and forth battle in the third set as WMU recorded a .225 attack percentage while BGSU registered a .244 attack percentage. The Brown & Gold got off to a fast start, earning a 7-3 lead after an early 4-0 run. WMU led 11-6 after a kill from sophomore Maggie King before BGSU scored 12 of the next 19 points to tie the set at 18.  

A BGSU 3-0 run late forced WMU to call a timeout with the Broncos trailing 22-21 late in the third. Back-to-back kills from BGSU's Katelyn Meyer propelled the Falcons lead to 24-21 and after a BGSU serving error, the Falcons secured the set and the matched with a third straight kill from Katelyn Meyer.