DeKalb, Ill. – The Western Michigan University volleyball team fell 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 25-19) at Northern Illinois on Wednesday evening in the final match of the regular season for both teams.
Julia Marr registered double-digit kills for the fifth straight match and led the Western Michigan attack with 18 kills, one shy of her career high, on a .333 hitting percentage.
Maggie King added 13 kills for the Broncos (18-11, 11-7).
Logan Case handed out 42 assists and collected 13 digs to notch her team-leading 15th double-double of the season.
Maddie Arundel posted a team-high 20 digs for the Broncos, while
Andelyn Simkins registered 19.
Northern Illinois (16-12, 10-8) began the evening with five of the first six points on its way to a 15-8 advantage in the first frame. A 4-0 run by the Broncos brought them to within three, 18-15, but the Huskies countered with the next five in a row to put the set beyond reach.
After an early 3-0 NIU advantage, neither team led by more than two points until the very end of a tight second set. The frame featured 10 ties, the last of which came at 18-18. Back-to-back kills by King broke the deadlock and sparked a 4-0 Western Michigan run which helped the visitors pull ahead, 22-18, and eventually even the contest at one set apiece.
NIU tallied five of the first seven points of the third set, but WMU quickly responded to get back to within one, 8-7. With the Huskies holding an 11-9 edge, the hosts ripped off a 6-1 run to extend their lead out to 17-10. The Broncos trimmed the margin to four on multiple occasions, but drew no closer as Northern Illinois went back ahead in the match, 2-1.
With the fourth frame even at 6-6, Northern Illinois notched four straight points to grab a 10-6 edge. At 13-10, the Huskies used a 7-2 run to extend the margin to 20-12, and kept WMU at bay from there.
Next up for Western Michigan is the Mid-American Conference Championship, which begins on Sunday, Nov. 21, in Muncie, Ind. WMU's seeding and quarterfinal round opponent are to be announced following the conclusion of all regular season matches.
