MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team held a 2-0 advantage heading into the break, but Central Michigan rallied for a five-set victory (16-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-11) in the opener of a critical Mid-American Conference series on Friday night.
FINAL SCORE: Central Michigan 3, Western Michigan 2
LOCATION: McGuirk Arena (Mount Pleasant, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (16-12, 8-8 MAC) | Central Michigan (17-10, 10-6 MAC)
A pair of Broncos posted double-doubles, as
Maggie King tied career highs in both kills (25) and digs (24) for her team-leading 13th double-double of the campaign, and
Logan Case handed out 56 assists and picked up 10 digs for her 12th double-double. It was King's 11th straight match with double-digit kills and second 20-20 performance of the campaign. Case reached the 50-assist mark for the ninth time in 2022.
Joining King in double-figures were
Julia Marr, who tallied 17 kills, and
Abi Wilcoxson, who notched 11.
Andelyn Simkins racked up 30 digs to lead WMU's defensive efforts, a new career high for the junior. It was the first 30+ dig performance by a Bronco since Kaley Smith registered 36 digs in a five-set victory over Buffalo on March 4, 2021.
Western Michigan came out of the gates quickly, tallying eight of the first nine points of the contest, five of which came on King kills. A 7-2 response brought Central Michigan to within two, 10-8. At 11-9, the Broncos used a 6-1 surge to stretch the margin back out to seven, 17-10. CMU got no closer than five for the remainder of the frame, with King tallying the final point on her 11th kill of the first set.
WMU again grabbed an early edge in the second set, picking up five of the first seven points. A 7-1 run, which included five straight at one point, moved the Chippewas into the lead, 11-8. With Central Michigan still on top, 20-17, the Broncos put together an 8-1 surge, and tallied the final six points to grab the second set and take a 2-0 edge into the intermission.
On the strength of a 7-1 run, the Chippewas got out to a 9-4 advantage in the third frame. At 21-14, Western Michigan picked up four consecutive points to trim the deficit to 21-18. Three points was as close as WMU could get, as CMU extended the contest into a fourth set.
Central Michigan used a five-point run to break a 4-4 deadlock and move ahead, 9-4, early in the fourth frame. WMU rattled off three points in a row to get within one, 14-13, but the Chippewas countered with eight straight points to push the margin out to 22-13. The Broncos fought off six consecutive set points, but CMU ultimately closed out the set to extend the match into a decisive fifth frame.
A 6-1 stretch helped the Chippewas get out to a 9-3 edge in the fifth set. Western Michigan countered with five in a row to spark a 7-1 response which evened the set at 10-10. CMU answered with four straight points and five of the next six to seal the five-set victory.
The Broncos and Chippewas meet again on Saturday afternoon. First serve is set for 4 pm at CMU's McGuirk Arena. The contest will be streamed live on
ESPN3.
