BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Western Michigan University freshman trio of Kennedy Hogan, Madison Merz and Julia Marr each recorded double-digit kills to help the Broncos win 3-1 (19-25, 30-28, 25-15, 25-21) over Buffalo on Saturday at UB's Alumni Arena. With the win and the other results in the MAC on Saturday, the Broncos clinched a spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament.
 
Western Michigan (16-10, 9-6) hit a season-best .359 as a team, with Hogan leading the pack with a career-best 16 kills on a .667 hitting percentage. After setting a career high on Friday night, Merz established a new career-best on Saturday with 15 kills while hitting .556. Marr hammered down 12 kills on a .524 hitting percentage. WMU also tied its season high with 10 service aces, with Merz tallying a career-high tying four.
 
Logan Case handed out a match-high 55 assists for Western Michigan, while the defensive effort was led by Maddie Arundel and Mairead Boyle, who collected 20 and 10 digs, respectively.
 
A 6-1 run helped Buffalo (12-15, 5-10) get out to an 8-4 advantage in the early stages of the first set. The Bulls maintained a lead of no fewer than three until a 4-1 spurt brought the Broncos to within two, 19-17. WMU got no closer, and UB rattled off four in a row to take the first frame, 25-19.
 
With the Bulls holding a 10-8 edge in the second stanza, Western Michigan tallied five straight to move ahead, 13-10. Buffalo countered with the next four to wrestle the lead back, 14-13. The two teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the frame, and each team had several opportunities to win it before back-to-back kills by Hogan and a Meredith Phillips kill gave the set to WMU, 30-28.
 
Western Michigan continued the momentum into the third frame. Leading 5-4, the Broncos notched 10 consecutive points to jump out to a 15-4 advantage. WMU cruised from there to move ahead in the match, 2-1.
 
The Broncos were out of the gates quickly once again in the fourth frame, building an early 7-1 margin. A 5-1 response helped Buffalo get back within two, 9-7. Later in the set, a 6-3 spurt helped the Bulls tie it up, 19-19. Western Michigan answered with four of the next five to begin a 6-2 match-sealing run.
 
WMU returns to University Arena next Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12-13, for its final two home matches of the regular season against Akron. The series opener against the Zips is set for Friday at 6 pm. Fans can purchase tickets here, or by calling 1-888-4-WMU-TIX. Both contests will be broadcast on Bronco All-Access.