KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team wraps up non-conference play this weekend with Kendall's Battle at the Capital Credit Union Classic in Green Bay, Wis. The Broncos are slated to face Green Bay, Northern Iowa and Tennessee Tech over the course of the three-day tournament.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Match One: Thursday, Sept. 18 | 7 pm | WMU at Green Bay |
LIVE VIDEO |
LIVE STATS
Match Two: Friday, Sept. 19 | 4 pm | WMU vs. Northern Iowa |
LIVE STATS
Match Three: Saturday, Sept. 20 | 12 pm | WMU vs. Tennessee Tech |
LIVE STATS
FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUVolleyball
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan closes out its stretch of six consecutive contests away from home this week with its final non-conference tournament, the Capital Credit Union Classic. The Broncos are slated to open the tournament on Thursday night against Green Bay, then face Northern Iowa on Friday afternoon and Tennessee Tech on Saturday afternoon.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of three matches in three days at the LMU Invitational in Los Angeles. Western Michigan took the first set of the tournament opener against LMU, but dropped the next three frames to the Lions. On Friday and Saturday, the Brown and Gold fell to a pair of top-20 teams, in #16 USC and #19 BYU.
THE OPPONENTS
Western Michigan begins the weekend against tournament host Green Bay, which checks in at 1-7. The Phoenix were picked to finish third in the Horzion League's preseason poll. WMU has won each of the three prior meetings, with the most recent coming back in 2022. The three-time defending Missouri Valley champions, Northern Iowa comes in at 4-5 after dropping a pair to ranked foes last weekend. Western Michigan is 1-5 all-time against UNI, but won the most recent encounter in 2023 in Kalamazoo. The Broncos wrap up tournament play with Tennessee Tech, which is looking to break a six-match slide. WMU has played the Golden Eagles just once prior to Saturday, a straight-set victory back in 2006.
LEAGUE-LEADING LIBERO
Elana Erickson has excelled in the libero role for WMU in the first few weeks of the season. The sophomore leads the conference in total digs (161), which ranks 29th in NCAA Division I. She is also the league leader in digs per set, tallying 4.35 per frame. Led by its new libero, Western Michigan paces the conference in digs per set (15.70, 35th in DI) and is 16th in the nation in total digs with 581.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Setter
Leah Richmond registered two more double-doubles at the LMU Invitational, totaling 27 assists and 11 digs against LMU, and 25 assists and 11 digs against #19 BYU. She nearly had a double-double against #16 USC as well, notching 24 assists and nine digs. Through 10 career matches, Richmond has a team-high six double-doubles. She ranks fifth in the MAC at 8.89 assists per set, while ranking second on the Broncos and just outside of the top-10 in the league in digs at 2.84 per set.
