DEKALB, Ill.  – The Western Michigan volleyball team won its seventh-straight match on Tuesday night in three sets over Northern Illinois (25-23, 25-20, 25-14) for its seventh sweep of the season for the Broncos.

Western Michigan defeated the Huskies in straight sets and notched its fourth three-set sweep in the last five matches. With the win the Broncos have now won seven straight and are off to its best start (13-3) since the 2011 season. It's the eighth road victory for WMU, the most since having 10 back in 2015.

The Broncos hit a stellar .443 against the Huskies on Tuesday night with three Broncos registering double-digit kills with one double-double. Leading the way for WMU was the duo of junior Meredith Phillips and sophomore Maggie King with 14 kills. Phillips had a .379 hitting percentage while notching her third double-digit kill performance of the season.

Along with Phillips, Maggie King had 14 kills to go along with a .370 hitting percentage and three digs. It's the sixth straight match in which King has registered double-digit kills and the tenth match this season.

Senior outside hitter Rachel Bontrager earner her third straight double-double and seventh this season with 13 kills and 13 digs. Bontrager posted a staggering .524 hitting percentage with two assists and one block. The Valparaiso, Ind., is now just 12 digs away from 1,000 career digs and can become the first player in school history with 1,500 career kills and 1,000 career digs.

Two-time reigning MAC West Setter of the Week Logan Case paced the Broncos with 54 assists, marking the sixth match this season Case has recorded at least 50 assists. The freshman setter also had seven digs and two kills in the win over the Huskies.

Rounding out the kills for the Broncos was redshirt junior Charley Andrews with nine followed by senior Cassandra Smigiel with eight. Over the past two matches Smigiel has earned 18 kills, averaging 3.00 kills per set.

Winning its seventh straight match the Broncos now have an overall and Mid-American Conference record of 13-3. Western Michigan hits the road for the final time this weekend for a pair of matches against Ohio, March 19-20.

Set One (WMU – 25, NIU – 23)
In Tuesday night volleyball action the Broncos got out of the gate quickly in the first set using a 6-1 run to earn a 6-2 lead early in the first set. After a block from Andrews and
Bontrager WMU held a 13-7 lead and ultimately went on a 6-1 run midway through the first set to gain a 16-8 advantage.

Northern Illinois rallied back late in the set one, taking an 18-17 lead after a 6-0 run for the Huskies. Three straight kills from Cassandra Smigiel tied the set at 21 prior to a Maggie King kill and a block error from NIU gave Western Michigan a 25-23 set one victory.

Set Two (WMU – 25, NIU – 20)
It was a close second set as the Broncos and Huskies were all knotted up at seven after the first 14 points of the second. Western Michigan gained a 12-9 lead midway through the second as WMU went on a 4-1 run with two kills from Rachel Bontrager. The Huskies rallied back once again and tied the set at 13.

During the final points of the second set the Broncos used a 6-2 run with back-to-back kills from Smigiel and Bontrager to end the set and give WMU a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set Three (WMU – 25, NIU – 14)
Western Michigan recorded a stellar .485 hitting percentage in the third set en route to a dominant 25-14 set victory. It was a back and forth affair early before WMU embarked on a 5-0 run to gain a 11-5 lead. Overall the Broncos went on a 9-2 run to earn a 15-7 advantage at the midway point of the set.

WMU opened its lead up to 20-10 late after kills from Charley Andrews and Meredith Phillips. To end the set sophomore Maggie King recorded back-to-back kills to give the Brown & Gold a 25-14 third set victory and its seventh sweep of the season.