KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team won in dramatic fashion on Thursday night inside University Arena, erasing a 2-0 deficit to defeat Buffalo (24-26, 25-27, 25-16, 25-11, 15-6) for its eighth Mid-American Conference win of the season.

The Broncos had three players reach double digit kills and two earn double-doubles in the five-set victory. WMU was led by senior outside hitter Rachel Bontrager with a career-high 30 kills and a .473 attack percentage. Bontrager also registered her team-high fourth double-double of the season.

Bontrager's 30 kills marks the fifth most in a five-set match in school history. The senior outside hitter becomes the first Bronco to reach the 30-kill mark since Shaylen Jackson did so back in 2005. The Valparaiso, Ind., native is now just 46 kills away from becoming the third Bronco in school history to eclipse 1,500 career kills.

Fellow senior Kaley Smith reached a career milestone on Thursday night, becoming the 10^th player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career digs. Smith ended the night with a career-high 36 digs and four assists.

The senior libero/defensive specialist has recorded double-digit digs in nine of the 11 matches this season. Smith's 36 digs are tied for the fourth most in a five-set match in school history.

Notching her third double-double of the season was freshman Andelyn Simkins with 10 kills and 11 digs. Simkins' 10 kills matched her career-high as the freshman outside hitter registered a .346 attack percentage to go along with four service aces and three blocks.

Sophomore Maggie King ranked second on the team with 18 kills, the fifth match this season King has registered double-digit kills. King had a .432 attack percentage against the Bulls to go along with two digs and two blocks.

Freshman Logan Case paced the Broncos with 57 assists and nearly recorded a double-double with seven digs. Case's 57 assists were two shy of her career-high. Case has had over 40 assists in each of the past six matches with four 50-assist performances.

As a team the Broncos recorded a .342 attack percentage while holding Buffalo to a .229 attack percentage. Defensively the Broncos had 86 digs and had 10 blocks with redshirt junior Janell Williams leading the way with six. From behind the line WMU had nine service aces with Simkins lead the Brown & Gold with four.

With the win Western Michigan now owns an overall and conference record of 8-3. The Broncos are back in action on Friday, March 5 against Buffalo. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m.

First Set (WMU – 24, Buffalo – 26)
It was a back and forth battle between both teams early in the first set before Buffalo gained a 14-9 advantage after a 6-1 run to force the Broncos to call a timeout. Out of the timeout the Broncos responded with a kill from Bontrager followed by a Buffalo attack error and a block from Williams to trim its deficit down to two.

Late in the first set the Broncos rattled off a 4-1 run to tie the set at 17 after back-to-back kills from Maggie King. The two teams once again went back and forth prior to another King kill to give WMU a 24-23 lead. However, Buffalo scored the final three points of the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Second Set (WMU – 25, Buffalo – 27)
The Broncos got off to a fast start in the second set and had a 12-6 lead thanks to a Buffalo service error. Midway through the set the Bulls rallied and embarked on a 7-1 run to gain its first lead of the set at 17-16. Late in the second WMU trailed 24-22 prior to a block from Andrews and Bontrager followed by a Simkins kills tie the set at 24.

After trading points, the Broncos and Bulls were tied at 25 before Buffalo rallied with a kill followed by a block to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Third Set (WMU – 25, Buffalo – 16)
Momentum started to shift in the Broncos favor in the third set as the Brown & Gold recorded a .538 attack percentage to win the set. Western Michigan used a 3-0 run to jump out to a 14-10 lead midway through. The 3-0 run was highlighted by a key block down the line from Williams and Bontrager.

Buffalo cut the deficit down to five late in the third but WMU rattled off the final four points of the match to win the third 25-16.

Fourth Set (WMU – 25, Buffalo – 11)
Western Michigan carried its momentum from the third into the fourth as WMU recorded a .382 attack percentage while Buffalo hit just .119. The Broncos got off to a fast start, using a 4-1 run to gain a 10-5 lead early.  At the midway point of the fourth the Broncos pulled away, embarking on a 7-0 run to gain an 18-8 advantage. During the run, WMU was guided by Bontrager who had three kills.

To end the set Maggie King delivered back-to-back kills followed by a service ace from Andelyn Simkins to push the match to a fifth set.  

Fifth Set (WMU – 15, Buffalo – 6)
Once again it was a quick start for the Broncos who used an 7-0 run to gain an 11-3 lead. The 7-0 run was highlighted by two kills from Simkins along with two kills from Logan Case. Ending the set, the Broncos got kills from Simkins and Charley Andrews to complete the comeback victory.