AKRON, Ohio – Senior outside hitter Rachel Bontrager with 20 kills on Saturday night eclipsed 1,500 career kills as the Western Michigan volleyball team won its sixth straight match with a three-set victory (25-22, 25-16, 30-28) over Akron on Saturday afternoon.

Bontrager led the Broncos with 20 kills to go along with 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Bontrager with 20 kills became just the third player in school history to reach 1,500 career kills, joining Michelle Moore and Jessica Brown as the only other Broncos to do so.

The senior outside is now just 25 digs away from earning 1,000 career digs and becoming the only player in school history with 1,500 career kills and 1,000 digs. With 20 kills against Akron Bontrager registered her 12^th straight match with double-digit kills and second straight double-double.

Joining Bontrager with a double-double was sophomore Maggie King with 13 kills and 12 digs. It's King's first double-double of the season as King's 12 digs matched her career-high. Earning double-digit kills for the first time this season was senior Cassandra Smigiel with 10, matching her career-high. Smigiel hit a team-high .471 to go along with four blocks in the sweep of the Zips.

Freshman Logan Case led the Broncos with 46 assists and nearly earned a double-double with nine digs. Leading the way defensively for WMU was senior libero/defensive specialist Kaley Smith with 18 digs. Smith also tallied two service aces and three assists.

As a team Western Michigan recorded a .241 hitting percentage with 50 assists, two service aces, nine blocks and 70 digs. WMU had three players with double digit kills to go along with four players with double digit digs.

With the win Western Michigan has now won six straight matches and improved its overall and Mid-American Conference record to 12-3. The Broncos will have a quick turnaround as the Brown & Gold square off with Northern Illinois on the road on Tuesday, March 16.

Set One (WMU – 25, Akron – 22)
It was a back and forth battle to begin the first set before Western Michigan  embarked on a 3-0 run to gain a 13-8 advantage early. WMU jumped out to a 17-9 lead midway through the first set before the Zips rallied with five straight points to trim the Bronco lead down to three. Ultimately Akron stormed back and tied the set at 19 late in the first

The first set was tied at 22 before kills from Charley Andrews and Maggie King along with an attack error from Akron propelled the Broncos to a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set Two (WMU – 25, Akron – 16)
Western Michigan was guided by a strong start early in the second set using a 5-0 run and an 8-1 run to gain a 11-4 lead. Kills from Abi Wilcoxson, Rachel Bontrager and
Cassandra Smigiel extended the Bronco lead to 18-11 late in the second.

The Broncos continued to cruise late in the second set scoring six of the final seven points to win 25-16 and earn a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set Three (WMU – 30, Akron 28)
The third set provided a long back and forth rally ending in a 30-28 set victory for the Brown & Gold. Western Michigan looked to run away with the third set midway through as WMU embarked on a 6-1 run after an Akron attack error to take a 17-12 lead.

A kill from Charley Andrews gave WMU a 24-19 lead and one point away from the set and match victory. However, Akron responded with an impressive 8-0 run to gain a one-point lead at 25-24 late in the second. The two teams went back and forth late in the third set before a Bontrager kill followed by a WMU block gave WMU the third set victory to sweep the Zips. Senior outside hitter Rachel Bontrager recorded the final four kills for the Broncos in the three-set victory.