KALAMAZOO, Mich. – After sweeping No. 7 seed Auburn in Thursday's first round, the Western Michigan volleyball team looks to punch its ticket to the Sweet Sixteen on Friday night as it faces No. 2 seed Louisville in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Volleyball Championship. 

WMU (31-2, 18-0 MAC) at No. 2 Louisville (25-4, 15-3 ACC)
Friday, Dec. 1 | 7 pm | TICKETS | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUVolleyball

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a straight-set victory over No. 7 seed Auburn on Thursday. Logan Case handed out 44 assists to help the Broncos hit .367, and set the duo of Anna Calcagno and Maggie King up for 14 kills apiece. WMU also served up a season-high 11 aces, led by Andelyn Simkins, who posted a career-high six, which was one shy of tying the single-match program record. 

ACES UP THEIR SLEEVE
The Broncos registered double-digit service aces for the second consecutive match in Thursday's win over Auburn. WMU collected 10 in its MAC Championship victory over Bowling Green on Nov. 20, and followed that up with a season-high 11 last night. Andelyn Simkins led the way with a career-high six, one shy of Katie Eberling's single-match record of seven, set on Oct. 12, 2007, at Buffalo.

HOT-HITTING BRONCOS
Behind 44 assists from Logan Case, the WMU attack registered a .367 hitting percentage in the first round win over Auburn. Anna Calcagno and Maggie King led the way with 14 kills apiece, hitting .429 and .303, respectively. Mary Clare Brusek added nine kills while hitting .562. Thursday marked the 13th time that Western Michigan has hit .300 or better this season, and it has won all 13.

WMU VS THE ACC
Louisville is the second ACC foe of the season for Western Michigan. The Broncos topped Wake Forest in four sets back on Sept. 9 in Kennesaw, Ga.

LUCKY NUMBER 13
After clinching the Mid-American Conference's automatic bid, Western Michigan is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 and the fourth under head coach Colleen Munson.  This marks 13 all-time appearances for WMU in the tournament, more than any other MAC program. 

PARTY LIKE IT'S 1983
WMU is currently riding a 21-match winning streak, its longest run since starting the 1983 campaign 32-0. The 2023 season also marks the first time Western Michigan has reached the 30-win mark since 1983. The Broncos join Dayton (31) as the only two DI programs who entered this year's NCAA Tournament with 30 or more wins. 

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Western Michigan is making its MAC-record 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2014. In 20 tournament matches, the Broncos are 8-12, and have made a league-record five appearances in the regional semifinals. Prior to Thursday, WMU's most recent NCAA Tournament wins came in 2008, when it upset Dayton on its home court and then beat Tulane to advance to the regional semifinals where to it fell to No. 1 seed Penn State.

MAKING HER CASE
The MAC Player and Setter of the Year, senior Logan Case is making a strong statement as to why she belongs in the discussion among the top setters in the country. She enters Friday as the DI leader in total assists (1,385) and is second in the nation in assists/set (11.94). Fueled by Case, WMU ranks fourth nationally in assists/set (13.53), seventh in kills/set (14.36) and 22nd in hitting percentage (.274). In last week's MAC Championship match, she became the first Bronco to eclipse 5,000 career assists and also surpassed 1,000 career digs.

TRIPLE TROUBLE
WMU's offense features a dynamic trio on the outside in Maggie King, Anna Calcagno and Keona Salesman, who are all inside the MAC's top-11 in kills/set. King, who is less than 100 kills away from becoming the all-time leader in program history, ranks sixth in the league and 73rd nationally at 3.71 kills/set this season. Salesman (3.43) and Calcagno (3.04), rank 10th and 11th, respectively.

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Western Michigan boasts a strong defense as well, anchored by MAC Defensive Player of the Year Andelyn Simkins. Individually, the senior libero ranks second in the conference in both total digs (578) and digs/set (4.98). Nationally, those numbers rank 18th and 22nd, respectively. Simkins' work defensively helped the Broncos lead the MAC in digs/set (16.07, 43rd nationally) and opposing hitting percentage (.189). She has also been exceptional on serve receive, having made just 20 errors on 497 attempts for a .960 reception percentage. 

PERFECTION ACHIEVED
WMU achieved a perfect 18-0 record in MAC play on the way to its 10th regular season conference title, making the Broncos the first team since Ohio in 2006 to go unbeaten in league play and the first since Ball State in 1993 to go 18-0. It is the seventh time in program history Western Michigan has gone undefeated in conference matches, as it went unbeaten for six straight years in league contests from 1983-88. The 1983, 1984 and 1985 seasons all saw the Broncos go 18-0 in the conference. 

BRONCOS DOMINATE MAC AWARDS
Western Michigan dominated the MAC's specialty awards, led by Logan Case becoming just the second player in league history to win both the Player and Setter of the Year awards in the same season. She is also the first three-time Setter of the Year winner. Colleen Munson was named the Coach of the Year for the second time at the helm of the Broncos (2014) and Andelyn Simkins earned the Defensive Player of the Year.  WMU also had a league-high six All-MAC honorees, with Case, Simkins and Maggie King earning spots on the First Team and Mary Clare Brusek, Anna Calcagno and Keona Salesman landing on the Second Team. 

MUNSON REACHES NEW HEIGHTS
This season's 31 wins are a new high-water mark for WMU 19th year head coach Colleen Munson. This year was the 10th during Munson's tenure in which the Broncos have won at least 20 contests. The Nov. 4 win against Ball State, which clinched at least a share of the MAC Regular Season title for the Broncos, was also Munson's 200th conference win at the helm, making her just the fifth head coach in league history to achieve that milestone.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
As the regular season champion and No. 1 seed, Western Michigan hosted the MAC Volleyball Championship for the first time since 2000. The Broncos have turned University Arena into a big home court advantage this season, having won all 14 of their home matches in 2023. Going back to last season, WMU has won 17 in a row at University Arena, its longest home winning streak since a 20-match run between the 2009-10 campaigns.