KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Behind a stellar .389 hitting percentage the Western Michigan volleyball team won its seventh straight home match with a sweep of Kent State (25-19, 25-14, 25-16) on Friday night inside University Arena.

The Broncos .389 hitting percentage was guided by two Broncos with double digit kills along with 39 assists on 45 kills with 33 digs, two service aces and nine blocks. WMU's nine blocks are the most in a three-set match this season.

For the 17th straight match senior outside hitter Rachel Bontrager recorded double-digit kills. Bontrager paced the Broncos with 15 kills and registered a career-high .560 hitting percentage. The senior outside hitter also tallied eight digs, two blocks and
one service ace. Bontrager now has 1,596 career kills and ranks second all-time in program history.

Behind Bontrager was sophomore Maggie King with 13 kills and a .480 hitting percentage. King has now recorded double digit kills in 10 straight matches. The sophomore outside hitter also earned three blocks and one dig against the Golden Flashes.

Ranking third on the team for the second straight match was junior Meredith Phillips with six kills Phillips also registered three blocks to go along with one dig. Behind Phillips was Charley Andrews with five kills, Cassandra Smigiel with four and Logan Case with two.

Defensively WMU had 33 digs on the night with seven different players earning a dig. Senior Kaley Smith led the Broncos with 10 digs, marking the fourth straight match with double-digit digs. Freshman Logan Case directed the Brown & Gold with 35 assists and had two kills, three digs and one service ace.

With the victory Western Michigan has now won 10 of its last 11 matches and has an overall and Mid-American Conference record of 16-4. The Broncos' 16 MAC wins is tied for the third most in a single-season in school history and the most since having 17 back in 2000.

The Broncos will conclude the regular season at home against Kent State on Saturday, March 27 with first serve set for 2:00 p.m. Saturday's match is also Senior Day as the Western Michigan volleyball program will honor Rachel Bontrager, Kaley Smith, Cassandra Smigiel, Janell Williams and Charley Andrews after the match.

Set One (WMU – 25, Kent State – 19)
Both team were battling back and forth to begin the first set as the Broncos and Golden Flashes were knotted at 14 midway through the first. Western Michigan gained momentum later in the first embarking on a 3-0 run to gain a 17-14 lead.

Sophomore Maggie King helped guide the Broncos offense late in the first set registering back-to-back-to-back kills to give WMU a 21-15 lead. A Kent State service error gave WMU the first set victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set Two (WMU – 25, Kent State – 14)
It was a dominant performance by Western Michigan in the second set as the Brown & Gold hit .370 en route to the 25-14 set win. The Broncos got off to a fast start, embarking on a 5-0 run early to gain a 7-3 advantage. Kent State cut the WMU lead down to six before back-to-back kills from Bontrager extend the Bronco lead.

Western Michigan used a 4-1 run late in the second to gain a 20-11 lead and capped off the second set with a kill form Charley Andrews followed by a block to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set Three (WMU – 25, Kent State – 16)
Much like the first set it was a back and forth affair early on in the third as WMU held on to a 12-10 lead after a Golden Flashes kill. Midway through the set the Bronco offense came to life embarking on a 6-0 run with three kills from Bontrager to push WMU ahead 18-10.

WMU held a 24-13 lead late in the third prior to Kent State scoring three straight points to cut into the Brown & Gold lead. A block by Maggie King and Charley Andrews ended the third set and gave WMU its ninth three-set win of the year.