For six players on Western Michigan University's volleyball team, this weekend at the Mid-American Conference Tournament is the final league business trip of their collegiate careers.

"We're treating it as a business trip," WMU's All-American setter, fifth-year Logan Case, said. "We're not hosting it like we did last year.

"We'll be staying in a hotel and we will be focusing on playing Buffalo. It doesn't matter what seed you are, everyone is the same."

The Broncos (17-12 this season, No. 4 seed) play Buffalo (16-15, No. 5 seed) on Friday at 4 pm in a quarterfinal match at regular season champion Bowling Green. The winner plays BGSU on Saturday in the semifinals.

"We made it into the tournament and that's all we wanted to do in the regular season," Case said. "Now, anything can happen."

Anything has happened for the Broncos already. The MAC season started slowly, but WMU rallied to win 10 of its final 11 matches to make the tournament and enter it with a lot of momentum.

"These last 11 matches have shown how we have improved and we're better than we were before," fifth-year libero Andelyn Simkins said. "Now, we're taking it one match at a time."

It's no surprise the seniors – Case, Simkins, Julia Marr, Madison Merz, Anna Calcagno and Keona Salesman – have been on fire for many of those 11 matches. Afterall, this is it for the seniors.

Case and Simkins started as freshmen at WMU in 2020, Marr and Merz joined as freshmen in 2021 and Calcagno and Salesman transferred to WMU in 2022.

"The senior class, we've all developed into different people, not just as a player but as a person, and that's because of the coaching staff," Simkins said. "Colleen (head coach Colleen Munson) does a great job of building us off the court as well as on the court.

"Our mentality is we aren't done yet and we have so much more we can do."

The six, along with the entire WMU team, have done a lot in the last part of the season. Case is now second in the nation in assists per set, 11.61, and fifth in total assists, 1,184. Simkins, the vacuum cleaner in the back row, is 41st nationally in digs per set, 4.75, and 47th in total digs, 485.

In the final 11 matches, Merz had seven double-digit kill matches and 38 of her team-high 52 assisted blocks. Salesman has six matches with double-digit kills. Marr has five double-digit kill matches and made 14 of her 21 assisted blocks. Calcagno has four double-digit kill matches but has been hugely efficient, where she has a hitting percentage of .250 or better in nine of the 11 matches.

"It is truly hard to put into words what this senior class has meant to our program and me personally," Munson said. "They are truly amazing young women of high character and integrity, tremendous volleyball players, but even better leaders and teammates.

"They have been fun to watch as they play the game with a contagious energy and passion, continue to set records in their positions and will be remembered for their success on the court and in the classroom with the accolades they have earned.

"But what I will miss is the lessons they have taught me about servant leadership. They are models to their teammates, coaches, support staff and fans that their connection and success on the court is built off the court.

"They have laid the foundation for the future of our program, and we are grateful and fortunate to have had these six seniors at Western Michigan."

On the court, for the past five seasons, WMU hasn't come close to having a losing record. Case and Simkins' five-year record is 102-45, Merz and Marr's four-year record is 84-40 and Calcagno and Salesman's three-year record is 65-28. The best season was in 2023 when WMU went 18-0 in the MAC and won the postseason tournament. It then went on to win its first round match in the NCAA Tournament.

Off the court, all six seniors have each won at least one Academic All-MAC award, a very impressive accomplishment, too.

And yet, this is it.

"This feels fake (about this being her final collegiate matches)," Case said. "It won't feel real until January when everyone else starts the spring program.

"I won't be going back…it's bizarre."

Added Simkins: "It hasn't set in yet because we still have so much more to do. It will set in in January."

For now, the seniors and the rest of the WMU volleyball team have at least one more business trip to make.