KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team celebrated its Senior Day on Saturday by earning its second consecutive sweep (25-13, 25-20, 25-18) of Kent State.
Following the win, Western Michigan celebrated its five seniors,
Reeghan Boyer,
Molly Brown,
Mary Clare Brusek,
Amanda Glanton and
Maddie Kmetz.
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Kent State 0
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (15-14, 12-4 MAC) | Kent State (8-19, 3-13)
Leah Richmond filled up the stats sheet for the Broncos, racking up 27 assists, 11 digs and eight blocks to come up just shy of the fifth triple-double in program history. Brusek was the main beneficiary of Richmond's distribution, as the senior celebrated her final home match for the Brown and Gold with a match-high 12 kills. Glanton posted eight kills without an error and tied with Richmond for the team lead in blocks with eight. Boyer collected a match-high 14 digs.
A 4-1 spurt helped the Broncos get out to an 11-6 advantage in the first frame. WMU then used a four-point run to increase the margin to 16-8. KSU got as close as 17-10 before another seven consecutive tallies sealed the set for Western Michigan.
In the second, WMU used a four-point burst to break a 9-9 deadlock and move ahead, 13-9. The margin vacillated between two and four for the Broncos until another four straight increased the cushion to 23-16, and Western Michigan kept the visitors at bay from there to take a 2-0 edge into the break.
Kent State took five of the first seven points of the third, but Western Michigan came right back with the next five to move ahead, 7-5. A 5-1 run helped the Golden Flashes regain the advantage, 14-12. The Broncos once again had an answer, tallying the next five points to wrestle the lead back, 17-14. At 19-17, WMU used a final 6-1 surge to close out the contest.
Western Michigan wraps up the regular season next week with a two-match series at Ohio. First serve for Thursday's series opener between the Broncos and Bobcats is set for 6 pm.
