KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision (25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20) to DePaul on Sunday afternoon to close out the 2025 WMU Volleyball Tournament.  
 
FINAL SCORE: DePaul 3, Western Michigan 1
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-2) | DePaul (2-1)
 
Following the match, Western Michigan libero Elana Erickson was named to the weekend's All-Tournament Team. The sophomore paced the Broncos with 18 digs on Sunday, giving her a total of 63 (5.73 per set) for the weekend. She was also a perfect 27-for-27 in serve receive in WMU's three contests.
 
Leah Richmond recorded her second double-double of the weekend, picking up 44 assists and 10 digs. The redshirt freshman set Annalise Patchett up for a team-high 15 kills, while Molly Brown added 10 kills. The Broncos also served up eight aces, with Brown and Richmond notching a career-high three apiece.
 
The two teams traded runs in the early stages of the first frame, with WMU tallying three in a row to grab a 13-11 edge. At 14-12, DePaul notched five consecutive points to ignite a 13-3 surge which closed out the set for the visitors.
 
Holding a 12-11 advantage in the second, Western Michigan notched four straight points to briefly stretch its lead to 16-11. The Blue Demons came right back with four of their own to get back to within one, 16-15. At 20-19, Mia Jurkovic put down a kill and Brown served up an ace to force a DePaul timeout. After yielding the first point following the timeout, the Broncos got back-to-back kills from Jurkovic and an ace from Richmond to take the frame and even the match at one apiece.
 
The Broncos raced out to a 13-6 lead in the third set, and later used a 7-1 run to increase the margin to 20-9. DePaul countered with 13 in a row to move ahead and never looked back, taking the third frame 25-22.
 
A 6-2 stretch helped the Blue Demons get out to a 13-8 advantage in the fourth. Western Michigan chipped away at the deficit, working it down to one multiple times, but DePaul used a three-point spurt to spark another 6-2 run which closed out the set and sealed the match.
 
Next up for the Broncos is a trip to Bloomington, Ind., for the Indiana Invitational. Western Michigan starts tournament play on Thursday at 4 pm against Northern Kentucky.