KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team begins the second half of its Mid-American Conference schedule this week as it travels to Akron for a two-match series.
WMU (9-11, 5-4 MAC) at Akron (8-14, 4-6)
Match One: Thursday, Oct. 24 | 6 pm |
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Match Two: Friday, Oct. 25 | 6 pm |
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FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUVolleyball
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After a home victory over Northern Illinois on Tuesday, Western Michigan heads right back out on the road to begin the second half of MAC play with a two-match series at Akron.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a straight-set victory over NIU on Tuesday night at University Arena.
Madison Merz had 10 kills on 14 swings to hit .714 for the night and added a season-high seven blocks for WMU.
Logan Case collected her ninth double-double of the season (30 assists, 10 digs) to help the Brown and Gold hit .299 in the win.
SETTING THE STANDARD
Logan Case leads the MAC and ranks third in NCAA Division I at 11.29 assists/set. The fifth-year setter has WMU at the top of the league in assists/set (12.80, 26th in NCAA DI) and second in kills/set (13.50, 38th nationally). The NCAA's active leader in career assists, Case is currently third in MAC history with 5,887 career helpers.
MASHING MADISON
Madison Merz continued her recent hot streak on Tuesday, hammering down 10 kills on 14 swings without an error to hit .714 for the night. The senior is hitting .427 in conference play, the second-highest mark in the league.
DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Fifth-year libero
Andelyn Simkins has helped the Broncos rank at the top of the conference in team digs/set with 16.56, which ranks 31st nationally. Individually, Simkins is second in the MAC and 56th in the nation at 4.54 digs/set.
BALANCED BRONCOS
WMU has featured a varied offensive attack thus far in 2022, and boasts five players averaging between 2.19 and 3.15 kills/set.
Keona Salesman (3.15) and
Julia Marr (3.15) lead the way and are ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in the MAC.
SCOUTING REPORT
Akron comes into the weekend with two of the top-8 in the MAC in kills/set, in Lauren Baker (3.42, 5th) and Emanouela Christodoulou (3.16, 8th). Baker is also fifth in the league at 3.96 points/set.
SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan owns a 31-13 all-time mark against Akron, including a four-set win in Kalamazoo last year. The two teams split a pair of matches the last time they met in Akron back in 2022.
