KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan fifth-year setter Logan Case handed out a career-high 67 assists and set up four teammates for double-digit kills in a 3-2 win (21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 27-29, 15-8) win at Akron on Friday evening. In the fourth set of the match, Case became the first player in WMU program history and just the third player in Mid-American Conference history to reach 6,000 career assists.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Akron 2
LOCATION: James A. Rhodes Arena (Akron, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (11-11, 7-4 MAC) | Akron (8-16, 4-8)
 
Case's career-high 67 assists helped the Broncos hit .283 for the evening. Her distribution set up Anna Calcagno for a career-high 21 kills on a .386 hitting percentage. Keona Salesman hit .339 and put down 20 kills, while Julia Marr (17 kills, .342) and Madison Merz (10 kills, .280) were also in double-figures for WMU. It was the fourth consecutive match with double-digit kills for Merz.
 
Andelyn Simkins led the five Broncos who recorded double-digit digs with 34, her second-highest total of the season. Elana Erickson and Carley Piercefield notched 15 digs apiece, a career high for both freshmen. Case added 13 digs for her team-leading 10th double-double of the campaign, and Reeghan Boyer pitched in 12 digs. Merz tied her career high with eight blocks to lead Western Michigan's defense at the net, while Calcagno contributed six rejections.
 
The first set featured 11 ties, and was back and forth until Akron broke a 14-14 deadlock with a 7-2 surge which gave the hosts a 21-16 advantage. WMU worked its way to within three a few times, but the Zips eventually put the frame away, 25-21.
 
The two teams traded runs back and forth again in the early stages of the second, with Akron using a four-point burst to jump ahead, 14-10. The Broncos immediately countered with seven of the next eight to take a 17-15 lead. The Zips got back even, 18-18, but a pair of errors gave the edge right back to WMU, 20-18. UA trimmed the margin down to one a few times, including at 23-22, but two more errors by the hosts sealed the set for Western Michigan and evened the contest at one apiece.
 
The Broncos opened up a 10-5 advantage at the outset of the third frame. Akron clawed its way back to within one on numerous occasions, including at 19-18. Western Michigan then ripped off six of the next seven to close it out and take a 2-1 lead into the fourth.
 
In the fourth set, a 5-1 run helped WMU move ahead, 14-12. Akron briefly wrestled the lead away at 18-17, but the Brown and Gold used another 5-1 stretch to go up by three, 22-19. The Zips answered with four of the next five to draw level, 23-23. Western Michigan had a few match point opportunities, but UA tallied the final three points to take the set, 29-27, and force a decisive fifth frame.
 
WMU raced out to a 6-1 lead in the fifth set. At 9-5, the Broncos tallied three in a row to increase the margin to 12-5. Akron never got closer than five after that, as Western Michigan closed it out for its fourth consecutive win.
 
The Broncos return to University Arena next Friday and Saturday for an Alumni Weekend series against Toledo. First serve of Friday's series opener is set for 6 pm. For tickets to any WMU volleyball home match, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.