KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team rolled to its seventh consecutive victory on Tuesday night as it swept Northern Illinois (25-17, 25-16, 25-22).
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, NIU 0
LOCATION: Victor E. Court (DeKalb, Ill.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (14-11, 10-4 MAC) | NIU (3-21, 1-13)
 
Logan Case recorded 40 assists and 11 digs to register her team-leading 11th double-double of the season and help Western Michigan hit a combined .319 for the night. Four different Broncos had at least seven kills and hit .276 or better, led by Keona Salesman, who totaled 15 kills while hitting .412 (15-1-34). Julia Marr added 10 kills on a .276 hitting percentage, while Anna Calcagno (8 kills, .350) and Mary Clare Brusek (7 kills, .294) also contributed to the WMU offense.
 
Andelyn Simkins anchored the defensive effort with 16 digs. Case had 11 digs and Reeghan Boyer added nine. The Broncos held a 7-2 edge in blocks, with Brusek and Calcagno leading the way up front with three apiece.
 
With Northern Illinois holding a 7-6 edge in the first set, the Broncos used a 5-1 run to jump ahead, 11-8. After the Huskies got back to within one, 11-10, Western Michigan rattled off five straight points as part of a 7-1 surge which built the cushion to 18-11. NIU could not get any closer than five for the remainder of the frame.  
 
In the second, WMU broke a 6-6 tie with a 6-2 stretch to open up a 12-8 advantage. With the gap at two, 14-12, the Broncos used another 6-2 run to increase their lead to 20-14, and then put the frame away with a four-point burst to take a 2-0 edge into the break.
 
The Brown and Gold held the early edge in the third set, but a 5-1 NIU run put the hosts on top, 15-12. Western Michigan immediately responded with six of the next seven to wrestle the lead back, 18-16. The Broncos stayed in front from that point forward and held off NIU in the final frame, 25-22, to complete the sweep.    
 
Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo this weekend to face Miami for its final home matches of the regular season. First serve for Friday's series opener against the RedHawks is set for 6 pm. For tickets, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.