ATHENS, Ohio – The Western Michigan volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Ohio in five sets (25-23, 13-25, 13-25, 25-23, 15-6) on Saturday afternoon inside the Convocation Center.

The Broncos picked up their first win at Ohio in the regular season since 2010 and clinched a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament hosted by MAC Regular Season Champion Bowling Green, April 2-3. With a record of 14-4 Western Michigan has already clinched the MAC West Title, its first since 2012.
On the road this season WMU has an 9-2 record, it's best road record since winning 10 games during the 2015 campaign.

The Broncos had three players with double-digit kills with two double-doubles against the Bobcats. Senior outside hitter Rachel Bontrager registered her fifth straight double-double and ninth this season with 21 kills and 11 digs. Bontrager has now recorded double digit kills in 15 straight matches and had a staggering .462 hitting percentage against Ohio.

Joining Bontrager with her second straight double-double was freshman Logan Case with 54 assists and 13 digs. It was the fifth double-double of the season for Case and the sixth straight match Case had over 40 assists and eighth match this season with at least 50 assists.

Behind Bontrager in kills was Meredith Phillips with 15 kills and a stellar .448 hitting percentage. Phillips also had two digs against the Cardinals. Rounding out the double digit trio of kills was sophomore Maggie King with 12 kills to go along with four digs and one block.

The freshman duo of Logan Case and Mairead Boyle led the Broncos with two service aces as Western Michigan had seven service ace's to Ohio's six. WMU hit .292 as a team compared to Ohio's .357. Ohio also had nine blocks compared to WMU's three blocks.

With the win Western Michigan now has an overall and Mid-American Conference record of 14-4. The Broncos are back in action on Tuesday, March 23 at home against Northern Illinois. WMU concludes the regular season at home, March 26-27 against Kent State.

First Set (WMU – 25, Ohio – 23)
It was a back and forth affair early in the first set before WMU embarked on a 6-0 run to gain a 12-6 lead. A service ace from WMU gave the Brown & Gold an 18-10 advantage before the Bobcats began the comeback trail.

Late in the first set Ohio went on a 3-0 run to cut the Bronco deficit down to five and trailed 24-23 late in the set. Senior outside hitter Rachel Bontrager ended the Ohio comeback attempt with a kill for the final point to give WMU a 1-0 lead in the match.

Second Set (WMU – 13, Ohio – 25)
Ohio stormed out of the gate to begin the second set as Ohio embarked on a 6-0 run early to take a 13-6 lead. After a blocking error by the Bobcats the Broncos trailed by five before a service error and back-to-back kills by Ohio extended its lead to 18-10.

Down the stretch the Bobcats won seven of the final nine points to tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-13 set two victory.

Third Set (WMU – 13, Ohio – 25)
The Bobcats continued its momentum from the second set into the third as Ohio opened the third on a 9-1 run to gain a 12-2 advantage. Late in the third Bontrager recorded a kill followed by Charley Andrews doing the same to cut into the Ohio lead. Ultimatley it was the same result as set two as Ohio won the third 25-13 and took a 2-1 lead in the match.

Fourth Set (WMU – 25, Ohio – 23)
Western Michigan gained all the momentum in the fourth set as the Broncos raced out to a 8-4 lead early The Broncos continued to control the fourth set as WMU used a 4-0 run after back to back kills from Bontrager to gain a 14-8 lead. Ohio made a run of its own midway through the fourth set thanks to a 3-0 run to cut the WMU lead down to 17-15.

The Broncos were at match point after an Ohio service error before the Bobcats rallied with a 3-0 run to trim its deficit down to one. However, after a WMU timeout the Broncos earned the final point on an Ohio attack error to earn a 25-23 set victory.

Fifth Set (WMU – 15, Ohio – 6)
It was all Western Michigan in the fifth set as the Broncos gained more and more momentum and jumped out to an 8-1 lead after a 5-0 run highlighted by a service ace. The
Bobcats looked to rally back late and cut the lead down to 12-6 after an Ohio kill. Freshman Logan Case ended the match with a service ace to give the Broncos a comeback five-set victory over Ohio.