KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team hits the road for the first time in conference play this weekend as it visits Bowling Green.
WMU (5-8, 1-1 MAC) vs Bowling Green (8-6, 3-0)
Match One: Friday, Oct. 4 | 6 pm |
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Match Two: Saturday, Oct. 5 | 4 pm |
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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan hits the road for the first time in MAC play this weekend as it heads to Bowling Green for a two-match series against the Falcons.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a split of a two-match series against Buffalo last weekend to open MAC play. WMU had five different players record at least eight kills on its way to a sweep in Friday's opener, but the Bulls came back and took a 3-0 decision to earn the split on Saturday.
SETTING THE STANDARD
Logan Case leads the MAC and is second in NCAA Division I at 11.51 assists/set. The fifth-year setter has WMU at the top of the league in both assists/set (13.11, 15th in NCAA DI) and kills/set (13.91, 18th). The NCAA's active leader in career assists with 5,638, last weekend Case climbed into fourth in conference history in career assists.
DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Andelyn Simkins is the anchor of a Western Michigan defense which leads the conference and ranks 15th nationally at 17.38 digs/set. Individually, Simkins is averaging 5.09 digs/set, the second-highest mark in the MAC and 11th-best in the nation. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has posted double-digit digs in 42 consecutive matches going back to last season. She enters the weekend 61 digs away from becoming just the fourth Bronco to amass 2,000 career digs.
BLOCK PARTY
WMU set a new season high with 11 blocks in Friday's sweep against Buffalo. Junior middle blocker
Amanda Glanton led the way with seven rejections, the most by a Bronco in any match so far in 2024. Western Michigan added seven more blocks on Saturday, which included a career-high four, three of which were solo, by
Julia Marr.
BREAKING DOWN BOWLING GREEN
Bowling Green enters the weekend at 3-0 in league play after winning at Toledo in five sets on Tuesday night. BGSU's Lauryn Hovey sits atop the MAC in both service aces (29) and aces/set (0.57), while Alexis Mettille leads the conference with a .417 hitting percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
WMU owns a 45-28-1 lead in the all-time series and won all three meetings last year, including a five-set victory in the MAC Tournament Championship to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
