KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Maggie King notched a career-high 30 kills to help the Western Michigan volleyball team knock off Northern Illinois 3-2, (25-20, 18-25, 19-25, 25-17, 15-8) in the regular season finale for both teams on Wednesday evening at University Arena. WMU's victory, coupled with Buffalo's win over Akron earlier in the evening, knocked the Huskies out of contention for next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament.
 
The Broncos finish the season 17-13 overall and 9-9 in the MAC, while NIU closes the campaign at 17-11 and 10-8 in league play.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Northern Illinois 2
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (17-13, 9-9 MAC) | Northern Illinois (17-11, 10-8 MAC)
 
King's career-high 30 kills came on a .333 hitting percentage. It was the eighth 30-kill performance in Western Michigan program history, and the first for the Broncos since Rachel Bontrager had 30 kills in a victory over Buffalo on March 4, 2021. King recorded double-digit kills in each of the final 13 matches for WMU.
 
Logan Case picked up her fourth consecutive double-double for Western Michigan, as the junior handed out 57 assists to go with 13 digs. Julia Marr made it back-to-back double-doubles to close out the campaign, as she notched 11 kills and 14 digs. Abi Wilcoxson was also in double-figures with 11 kills.
 
Andelyn Simkins picked up a team-high 29 digs for the evening, coming within one dig of her third straight 30+ dig performance. Reeghan Boyer pitched in 15 digs for the Broncos.
 
Western Michigan got out to a strong start, picking up seven of the evening's first 10 points. The Broncos extended the lead to six at 16-10, and NIU did not get any closer than five for the remainder of the opening frame.
 
In the second set, Northern Illinois broke a 6-6 deadlock with an 8-1 run to move ahead, 14-7. At 15-10, the Huskies rattled off four of the next five, extending the margin to 19-11. The Broncos worked to within six, but NIU held off WMU to even the match at one set apiece.  
 
With the third frame even at 4-4, Northern Illinois went on an extended 13-3 run to take a 17-7 lead. The Broncos countered with nine of the next 12 to shrink the gap to 20-16, but again the Huskies staved off the rally to take a 2-1 match edge into the fourth set.
 
NIU held a 9-8 advantage in the fourth frame until the Broncos rattled off five consecutive points to go on top, 13-9. The five-point run ignited a 13-3 surge which gave Western Michigan a 21-12 lead, putting the set beyond reach and sending the contest into a decisive fifth frame.
 
Western Michigan continued the momentum into the fifth set, grabbing six of the first seven points. Leading 9-5, the Broncos stretched the margin to seven, 12-5, with three straight points. Northern Illinois answered with three in a row of its own, but WMU tallied the final three points of the match to complete the come-from-behind victory.  

Postmatch Interviews with WMU Head Coach Colleen Munson and senior outside hitter Maggie King: