KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team hits the road to face a pair of in-state foes this week, with a trip to Mount Pleasant to take on Central Michigan on Thursday to be followed by a Friday night matchup at Eastern Michigan.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Match One: Thursday, Oct. 17 | 6 pm | WMU at CMU |
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Match Two: Friday, Oct. 18 | 7:30 pm | WMU at EMU |
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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan begins a stretch of four out of five matches on the road this week as it travels to Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos picked up a pair of home victories last week, dispatching both Ohio and Kent State in straight sets.
Logan Case handed out 11.83 assists/set to help the Broncos hit .320 for the week.
Julia Marr paced the WMU attack with 28 kills (4.67/set) on a .320 hitting percentage.
SETTING THE STANDARD
Logan Case leads the MAC and ranks third in NCAA Division I at 11.30 assists/set. The fifth-year setter has WMU at the top of the league in both assists/set (12.82, 25th in NCAA DI) and kills/set (13.54, 36th). The NCAA's active leader in career assists with 5,786, Case enters the weekend nine assists away from moving into third in conference history.
MILESTONE WATCH
Andelyn Simkins enters this week's road trip just 11 digs away from becoming the fourth Bronco in program history to reach 2,000 career digs. For the season, the fifth-year libero ranks second in the conference and 31st nationally with 4.74 digs/set.
ONE-TWO PUNCH
Keona Salesman (3.23) and
Julia Marr (3.22) rank seventh and eighth, respectively, in the league in kills/set. After tallying double-digit kills in both wins last week, Marr is up to 3.25/set in MAC play.
SCOUTING REPORT
Both Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan are tied for second in the MAC standings at 5-2. CMU is atop the league in opposing hitting percentage (.162, 27th nationally) and has two of the top-10 in the conference in blocks in Grace Thomas and Abby Olin. EMU's defense has been strong as well, with the Eagles boasting the best block in the league (2.62/set, 35th nationally), led by the MAC's blocks leader, Hatteras Welker (1.34/set).
SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan owns a 63-44 all-time record against Central Michigan, including a pair of home wins last season. WMU has lost three straight at CMU, with its last win in Mount Pleasant coming in 2018. The Broncos have dominated the series against Eastern Michigan to the tune of a 76-24 record. Western Michigan has won 11 straight meetings, including seven in a row in Ypsilanti.
