KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan volleyball head coach
Colleen Munson earned her 300th victory as head coach of the Broncos on Thursday night in a four-set win (25-21, 25-18, 21-25, 25-22) over in-state rival Central Michigan.
Munson with her 300
th victory as Bronco head coach joins Rob Buck as the only coaches in program history to eclipse 300 wins. Munson's .609 winning percentage is the second highest in school history while her 153 conference wins is the most in program history.
In the four-set victory the Broncos had two players reach double digit kills in senior
Rachel Bontrager and junior
Meredith Phillips. Bontrager led the way with 22 kills, marking the second straight game Bontrager has recorded 20 or more kills. Bontrager nearly earned a triple-double with eight digs and a career-high seven blocks.
Behind Bontrager was Phillips with a season-high 14 kills. Phillips recorded a .364 attack percentage to go along with three digs and one block. Sophomore
Maggie King earned nine kills with five digs and three blocks. Redshirt sophomore Sammi Labolle had her best game as a Bronco this season with seven kills, five digs and seven blocks.
The Broncos had two players with double digit digs led by senior
Kaley Smith with 23. It's the sixth match this season Smith has recorded double-digit digs and is now just 76 digs away from becoming the 10
th player in school history with 1,000 digs. Rounding out the double-digit digs duo was freshman
Mairead Boyle with 12 digs, one shy of her career-high.
For the second time this season, freshman
Logan Case eclipsed the 50-assist mark with 52 against Central Michigan. The freshman setter also had seven digs to go along with a .500 attack percentage. The 52 assists were seven shy of her career-high.
As a team the Broncos hit .268 to CMU's .187 and posted a staggering 12 blocks to CMU's nine.
Western Michigan has now won three straight matches and has an overall and MAC record of 5-2. It will be a quick turnaround for the Broncos who square off with CMU once again on Friday, Feb. 12 at 2:00 p.m.
First Set (WMU – 25, CMU – 21)
The Chippewas busted out to an 8-5 lead early in the first set, embarking on a 5-1 run. The Broncos rallied back and tied the set at 11 before a Central Michigan service error along with a kill from Bontrager gave WMU a 13-11 advantage.
Western Michigan grabbed a 20-16 lead late in the set thanks to a block from Sammi Labolle and
Maggie King. Senior outside hitter
Rachel Bontrager amassed two of the final three kills in the first set to give WMU a 1-0 lead in the match.
Second Set (WMU – 25, CMU – 18)
In the second set the Broncos were dominant registering a .333 attack percentage and holding CMU to a .107 attack percentage in the 25-18 set win. CMU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the Broncos rallied back and tied the set at 6-6. The set turned quickly in the Broncos favor after
Andelyn Simkins recorded three straight service aces to give WMU a 9-6 advantage.
The service aces by Simkins started a 10-2 run as WMU gained a 15-8 lead midway through the second set. Western Michigan got kills from Labolle and Bontrager to take the second set and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Third Set (WMU – 21, CMU – 25)
Western Michigan dominated the beginning of the third set, earning an 8-3 lead thanks in large part to a 7-0 run. The Broncos had an 11-4 lead after a block from Bontrager and
Janell Williams capped off a 10-1 run for the Brown & Gold. Central Michigan clawed its way back midway through the set and with back-to-back service aces took a 20-18 lead.
Sophomore
Maggie King gave the Broncos a 21-20 lead late in the third set before the Chippewas rattled off five straight points to win the third set.
Fourth Set (WMU – 25, CMU – 22)
It was a tightly contested fourth set as neither team led by more than three with the score being tied nine times with two lead changes. The Chippewas embarked on a 5-0 run early on in the set to gain a 9-7 lead. A 3-0 run from WMU highlighted by two kills from Bontrager tied the fourth set at 13.
The two teams traded points midway through the set before a kill from
Meredith Phillips gave the Broncos a slim 22-21 lead. Bontrager followed up the Phillips kill with one of her own to give the Brown & Gold a late 23-21 advantage. After a WMU service error, the Broncos wrapped up the match with kills from Phillips and Smigiel to earn the four-set victory over the Chippewas.
