YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team won its 10th consecutive match on Friday night as it beat Eastern Michigan in straight sets (26-24, 25-9, 25-18). The 10-match winning streak is WMU's longest since 2011, and improves the Broncos to 10-0 in Mid-American Conference play for the first time since 1999.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Eastern Michigan 0
LOCATION: George Gervin GameAbove Center (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (20-2, 10-0 MAC) | Eastern Michigan (2-20, 0-10)
 
With the victory, the Broncos also became the first MAC team and fourth in NCAA Division I to reach the 20-win plateau in 2023. It marks the first time Western Michigan has reached 20 wins since 2014, and is the 10th time WMU has had 20 or more wins under head coach Colleen Munson.
 
The Brown and Gold put up an outstanding defensive effort, holding Eastern Michigan to a .049 hitting percentage, the lowest hitting percentage by a WMU opponent in 2023. Leading the charge defensively was Andelyn Simkins, who racked up 27 digs, which tied for the fourth-most in a three-set match in Western Michigan program history. Seven different Broncos recorded four or more digs on Friday.
 
Just days after becoming Western Michigan's all-time leader in career assists, Logan Case posted her fourth double-double of the campaign, collecting 33 assists and 12 digs. Keona Salesman led the Broncos with 12 kills, while Maggie King chipped in 10. Simkins also added a career-high tying four service aces to WMU's offensive output, the most by a Bronco in a single contest in 2023.
 
The first set was tightly contested throughout, with Eastern Michigan using a three-point spurt to grab an 18-15 edge. At 20-17, WMU tallied four of the next five points to draw level, 21-21. After trading points back and forth, the Eagles got to set point at 24-23. However, EMU's next serve went out of bounds to tie it up at 24-24, and a pair of blocks by Amanda Glanton and Abi Wilcoxson gave the Brown and Gold the first frame, 26-24.
 
Seven straight points helped Western Michigan roar out to a 9-2 lead in the second set. A 6-1 run then helped the Broncos extend the margin out to 15-4. EMU got as close as eight, 15-7, before WMU rattled off another six consecutive points to put the frame beyond reach.
 
A 5-1 stretch early in the third frame helped Western Michigan grab a 12-7 advantage. The Eagles countered with three in a row to close the gap back to two, 12-10. At 16-13, the Broncos used a 7-2 surge to up the margin to 23-15. From there, a pair of kills by King sealed the 20th win of the season for the Brown and Gold.
 
The Broncos and Eagles are slated to meet again on Saturday afternoon. First serve is set for 4 pm on ESPN+.