BOULDER, Colo. – The Western Michigan volleyball team began its 2022 season with a 3-1 win over Summit League preseason favorite Denver on Friday at the Buffs Invitational. In its second match of the day, the Broncos dropped a 3-1 decision to Colorado.
FINAL SCORE (M1): Western Michigan 3, Denver 1
LOCATION: CU Events Center (Boulder, Colo.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-0) | Denver (0-1)
FINAL SCORE (M2): Colorado 3, Western Michigan 1
LOCATION: CU Events Center (Boulder, Colo.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-1) | Colorado (2-0)
Maggie King (13 kills, 13 digs) and
Julia Marr (11 kills, 14 digs) each recorded double-doubles for Western Michigan in the opener against Denver, while
Logan Case (47 assists, 9 digs) came just shy of a double-double of her own. Marr's career-high 14 digs led WMU and helped her register the first double-double of her collegiate career.
King's 13 kills paced a balanced WMU attack which saw four different players tally double-digit kills. Joining King and Marr in double-figures were
Madison Merz, who totaled 12 while hitting .429, and
Abi Wilcoxson, who notched 11 on a .346 hitting percentage.
Andelyn Simkins pitched in 10 digs for the Broncos.
Mary Clare Brusek earned a start in the first match of her collegiate career and tallied three kills. Also making the first appearances of their college careers against the Pioneers were
Amanda Glanton, who had a kill and two blocks, and
Reeghan Boyer, who tallied five digs and picked up an assist.
In the first set, a five-point spurt helped Denver get out to a 12-5 advantage. A 7-2 surge brought the Broncos back to within two, 17-15. After falling behind by five, 20-15, WMU tallied four straight points to close the gap to 20-19, but five of the final six went to DU to give the Pioneers the first set.
Western Michigan got off to the better start in the second frame and opened up a 10-6 lead in the early going. WMU's advantage got as high as five, 17-12, before Denver charged back, shaving the margin to one on six occasions before eventually drawing level at 24-24. After a DU error put the Broncos on the brink of tying the match, Brusek hammered down a kill to seal the set for WMU, 27-25, and send the teams into the break even at one set apiece.
Denver held a slim advantage for much of the third frame until a 7-0 WMU run, capped by a Merz solo block, pushed Western Michigan into a 19-15 lead. The Pioneers got as close as 19-17, but six of the final eight points went to WMU, giving the Broncos a 2-1 edge heading into the fourth set.
WMU carried the momentum into the fourth frame, as it opened up an early 6-2 edge. Denver responded with runs of 5-1 and 6-2 on the way to grabbing a 16-13 lead. Trailing 17-14, the Broncos rattled off four straight points to briefly move back in front, 18-17. With the set tied at 19-19, Western Michigan used a 5-1 spurt to get within a point of victory. After the Pioneers fought off one match point, King's final kill of the afternoon sealed WMU's 1-0 start to the 2022 campaign.
In the second match of the day, Marr tallied a match-high 17 kills to lead the Broncos. Going back to the end of the 2021 season, Marr has recorded double-digit kills in nine consecutive contests. King and Wilcoxson added 12 and 10 kills, respectively, for WMU, while Case handed out a match-high 43 assists.
Defensively, Simkins paced Western Michigan with 13 digs, while Boyer posted 10. Wilcoxson and Glanton collected a career-high five blocks apiece.
Colorado got out to a 5-2 edge in the first frame, but WMU battled back to even it up at 10-10. The two teams traded points until the Buffaloes regained a slim 17-15 lead. With CU in front 20-18, Western Michigan rattled off five in a row to ignite a 7-2 surge which gave the Broncos the first set of the evening.
With WMU on top 10-8 in the second set, the Buffaloes tallied four in a row to move ahead, 12-10. Trailing 15-14, Western Michigan used a 5-1 spurt to wrestle the advantage back from Colorado, 19-16, and force the hosts into calling a timeout. The Broncos later held a 23-20 lead, but four straight and six of the next seven went to the Buffaloes, who grabbed the set, 26-24, and drew even in the match.
The third frame was back-and-forth early, with neither team grabbing a lead of more than two points until a 4-1 stretch put the Buffaloes ahead 11-8. Western Michigan scraped its way back to within two on five occasions, before a 5-0 Colorado surge extended the hosts' advantage to 22-15 and put the third set beyond WMU's reach.
Early in the fourth frame, a four-point run helped Colorado break a 4-4 tie and claim an 8-4 edge. Facing an 11-5 deficit, WMU put together a 5-0 run to get back to within a point, 11-10. The Buffaloes responded with the next four to push the margin back out to 15-10. Western Michigan trimmed CU's advantage back to three, 17-14, but Colorado used a 7-1 surge to end the threat of a Bronco comeback.
Western Michigan concludes play at the Buffs Invitational on Saturday afternoon with a contest against Green Bay. First serve is set for 2 pm.
