KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team hits the road for the first time in MAC play this week as it heads down to Oxford, Ohio, to take on Miami and Muncie, Ind., to face Ball State.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Match One: Thursday, Oct. 2 | 6:30 pm | WMU at Miami |
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Match Two: Friday, Oct. 3 | 6 pm | WMU at Ball State |
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FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUVolleyball
THE ROAD AHEAD
Western Michigan hits the road for the first time in MAC play this week as it heads to Oxford, Ohio, and Muncie, Ind., to face two other teams which opened their league schedules with a pair of victories. The Broncos are 2-0 to start league play for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
LAST TIME OUT
WMU began MAC play with home wins over in-state foes Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan last week.
Leah Richmond picked up two more double-doubles, averaging 11.00 assists and 3.44 digs per set.
Mary Clare Brusek paced the attack with 4.11 kills per set on a .437 hitting percentage.
LEAGUE-LEADING LIBERO
Elana Erickson has flourished as WMU's new libero this season. The sophomore has won a pair of MAC Defensive Player of the Week awards and currently sits atop the conference in both total digs (274) and digs per set (4.81). Erickson's 274 digs rank 13th in all of NCAA Division I, while her 4.81 digs per set are 20th nationally. Led by their new libero, the Broncos rank sixth in the nation in total digs (977) and ninth in digs per set (17.14).
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Leah Richmond continues to rack up the double-doubles for the Broncos, and picked up two more last week to run her double-double streak to six consecutive matches. The redshirt freshman recorded 50 assists and 13 digs against Eastern Michigan, then followed that up with 49 assists and 18 digs against CMU to up her season double-double total to 11. For the year, Richmond is second in the MAC at 9.46 assists per set, and just outside of the top-10 in digs per set with 3.18.
MC BRINGS THE HAMMER
Mary Clare Brusek had a hot start to conference play last week, hammering down 19 kills on a .548 hitting percentage against EMU and following that up with 18 kills while hitting .350 against CMU. For the week, the senior put down 4.11 kills per set, had 4.39 points per set and hit .437.
SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan enters Thursday's matchup with a 42-27 advantage in the all-time series against Miami. The Broncos have won seven in a row against the RedHawks, including four straight in Oxford. Going into Friday, Ball State owns a 53-52 edge in the all-time series against WMU. The Broncos won two of the three meetings between the two last season, including their first win in Muncie since 2015, and a sweep of the Cardinals in the MAC Tournament Championship Match.
