KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team rallied back from two sets down to force a decisive fifth, but ultimately dropped a 3-2 decision (25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 26-28, 15-9) to Akron on Friday night.   
 
FINAL SCORE: Akron 3, Western Michigan 2
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (7-13, 4-3 MAC) | Akron (9-9, 2-5 MAC)
 
Four Broncos notched double-digit kills, led by Mia Jurkovic's career-high 15. Mary Clare Brusek and Annalise Patchett collected 11 kills apiece, while Amanda Glanton put down 10 kills. The quartet was set up by the duo of Leah Richmond (25 assists) and Maddie Kmetz (20).
 
On the defensive side, Western Michigan had 12 blocks, led by Glanton and Molly Brown, who had eight and seven block assists, respectively. Reeghan Boyer paced the Brown and Gold in digs for the second straight night with 17, while Elana Erickson collected 14.
 
After a three-point run gave Akron a 13-12 edge in the first, the Broncos ripped off six straight to move ahead, 18-13. With the margin at 21-16, the Zips collected six consecutive points to begin a 9-1 surge to nab the first set, 25-22.
 
Akron tallied four straight points to open up a 12-9 advantage in the second. The visitors stretched their lead to 21-16 before the Brown and Gold countered with a 6-1 run to tie up the frame at 22-22. The Zips withstood the rally, notching three of the next four points to take another close one, 25-23.
 
UA rolled out to a 15-7 lead at the beginning of the third frame. With the margin at 21-15, Western Michigan rattled off four in a row and 10 of the next 11 to keep the contest alive with a 25-22 set victory.
 
Akron held a 9-4 edge in the early stages of the fourth frame, but WMU fought back to draw level at 12-12. UA notched six of the next eight to regain the advantage, 18-14. At 21-16, the Broncos put together a six-point run to move ahead, 22-21. The two teams proceeded to wrestle back and forth, and the Zips had two different match point opportunities, but Western Michigan fended them off and got back even. At 26-26, the Brown and Gold got back-to-back kills from Brusek and Jurkovic to finish off the frame and send the contest to a decisive fifth.
 
Holding a 4-3 edge in the fifth, the Zips notched four of the next five points to stretch it to an 8-4 margin. WMU worked it down to three multiple times, including 12-9, but Akron then scored the final three points of the night to close it out.
 
Western Michigan hits the road next weekend for a two-match series at Buffalo. First serve of Friday's series-opener with the Bulls is slated for 6 pm.