KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team rolled past Buffalo 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-23) in the Mid-American Conference Opener for both teams on Friday night at University Arena. It marks the fourth consecutive season WMU has won its conference opener.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Buffalo 0
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (9-4, 1-0 MAC) | Buffalo (8-5, 0-1 MAC)
 
The Broncos hit .287 as a team in the contest, led by Maggie King's 14 kills on a .520 hitting percentage. The 14 kills extended the senior's streak to eight matches in a row in double-figures. King also pitched in eight digs. Amanda Glanton collected nine kills while hitting .353 for WMU.
 
Logan Case handed out a match-high 35 assists, extending her streak of 30 or more helpers to 26 straight matches. Andelyn Simkins totaled 21 digs, her third match of 20+ digs in 2022. Mairead Boyle added a season-high 12 digs for the Broncos.
 
Buffalo held a 9-6 edge in the first set before the Broncos used a 4-1 spurt to even it up at 10-10. With UB in front 12-11, Western Michigan rattled off five consecutive points to spark a 7-1 run which put the Broncos ahead, 18-13. That stretch was enough to keep WMU on top by no fewer than four for the remainder of the first set. Western Michigan hit .536 in the opening frame, with King tallying seven kills on seven swings.
 
In the second set, the Broncos broke a 4-4 deadlock with another 7-1 surge to open up an 11-5 advantage. From there, Western Michigan continued to slowly build on its lead, and put the Bulls away with seven of the final 10 points to take a 2-0 edge into the break.  
 
The Bulls got out to a 4-1 lead in the third frame, but Western Michigan responded with six of the next seven to move in front, 7-5. The Broncos extended the advantage to 12-8, before a 10-3 Buffalo surge put the visitors back on top, 18-15. Four of the next five points got WMU back even at 19-19, forcing a UB timeout. The Bulls notched the first point out of the timeout, but Western Michigan answered with the next four to jump ahead again, 23-20. Buffalo clawed back to within a point twice down the stretch, but the Broncos held on to win their fourth straight MAC opener.
 
Western Michigan and Buffalo continue their weekend series at 3 pm on Saturday afternoon at University Arena. For tickets, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.