KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team made it back-to-back wins at University Arena to start the season on Saturday evening as it outlasted UNI in four sets (25-22, 25-17, 16-25, 30-28).
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, UNI 1
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (2-0) | UNI (1-2)
 
Maggie King paced the WMU attack with a match-high 16 kills for the contest. Anna Calcagno came just shy of her second consecutive double-double, as she put down 12 kills and registered nine digs. Julia Marr and Keona Salesman notched eight kills apiece for the Broncos.
 
Logan Case set up her teammates to the tune of a match-high 48 assists, and also contributed eight digs. Andelyn Simkins made it 22 consecutive matches with double-digit digs as she racked up a match-high 22.
 
As a team, Western Michigan totaled 13 blocks, with Madison Merz's career-high eight block assists leading the way. It was the first time a Bronco had posted eight or more blocks in a contest since Janell Williams notched 12 against Toledo on Nov. 9, 2019. Calcagno registered a career-high six block assists, while Mary Clare Brusek also notched a career-high five blocks (2 solo, 3 assists) for the evening.
 
Trailing 14-12 in the opening frame, WMU rattled off five consecutive points as part of a 7-1 stretch to open up a 19-15 advantage. UNI responded with a run of its own to bring the set to a 21-21 tie. Marr broke the deadlock with a kill, then combined with Merz for a block to put the Broncos up two, 23-21. Following a timeout, the Panthers got one point back before a Calcagno kill and another Western Michigan block, courtesy of Merz and King, ended the set in favor of the home team.
 
The Broncos built a 10-5 lead at the outset of the second frame. Northern Iowa closed the gap to two a few times, before three straight points boosted WMU's edge back to five, 17-12. At 20-16, the Brown & Gold ripped off five of the final six points to take a 2-0 match advantage into the intermission.
 
The Panthers used a six-point run to fuel a 9-4 start to the third set. At 12-7, UNI ran off a 6-1 stretch to extend the margin to 18-8. The Broncos got five points in a row to shrink the gap to 19-14, but drew no closer, as Northern Iowa forced the contest into a fourth set.
 
The fourth frame was tight throughout, with neither team owning a lead of more than two points until Northern Iowa used a 7-2 run to take a 19-15 advantage. The Broncos responded with a 6-2 stretch to get back even at 22-22. The two teams proceeded to trade points back-and-forth, with Western Michigan fending off four set points to keep the frame alive. The Panthers fought off a match point at 28-27 to bring the contest back even, but the Brown & Gold finally put an end to the stalemate with a King kill and a UNI error.
 
Western Michigan wraps up its Opening Weekend on Sunday afternoon as it takes on Villanova. First serve between the Broncos and the Wildcats is slated for noon at University Arena.  

Postmatch interviews with head coach Colleen Munson and senior outside hitter Anna Calcagno: