KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team hits the road this weekend for a two-match series at Toledo.
WMU (12-13, 9-3 MAC) at Toledo (17-7, 8-4)
Match One: Friday, Oct. 31 | 6 pm |
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Match Two: Saturday, Nov. 1 | 4 pm |
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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan takes its five-match winning streak on the road this week as it travels to Toledo for a two-match series. The Broncos enter the weekend in second place in the MAC standings, one game ahead of the Rockets.
LAST TIME OUT
WMU ran its winning streak up to five in a row on Tuesday with a straight-set victory over Northern Illinois.
Leah Richmond posted a double-double (31 assists, 10 digs) to help the Broncos hit .310 for the night.
Annalise Patchett led the attack with 12 kills on a .370 hitting percentage, while
Reeghan Boyer anchored the defensive effort with 21 digs.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Leah Richmond picked up yet another double-double in Tuesday's victory over NIU, totaling 31 assists and 10 digs. It was her 19th double-double of the year and 10th in WMU's 12 MAC contests. For the season, Richmond leads the conference in both total assists (936) and assists per set (9.85), with her 936 total assists ranking second in all of NCAA Division I. The redshirt freshman also ranks 10th in the MAC in digs per set with 3.22.
DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Western Michigan has been one of the top defensive teams in the conference all season long, thanks in large part to its back line. The Brown and Gold lead the MAC in both total digs (1,660) and digs per set (17.11), with their total digs ranked third nationally and their digs per set average 11th-best in the nation. A pair of Broncos rank in the top-10 in the league in digs per set, with
Elana Erickson second (4.00) and
Leah Richmond 10th (3.22). Since moving to the libero role full time for the series at Buffalo,
Reeghan Boyer has upped her digging contributions as well, and ranks ninth in conference play at 3.43 digs pet set.
BRONCO BLOCK PARTY
In addition to its digging, the Bronco defense has seen a major uptick in blocking during conference play. After recording double-digit blocks just once during the non-conference slate, Western Michigan has recorded double-digit blocks in 10 of its 12 MAC matches. Leading the charge up front for WMU has been
Amanda Glanton, who is atop the league in conference play in both total blocks (73) and blocks per set (1.49).
SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan comes into the weekend with a 65-17 advantage in the all-time series against the Rockets. The Broncos have won five consecutive meetings between the two programs, including a pair of wins during their last trip to Toledo back in 2023. WMU has won six of the seven meetings in Toledo since 2019, with UT's lone home win during that span coming on Oct. 16, 2021.
