KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team opened up Mid-American Conference play with a 3-1 victory (25-23, 23-25, 33-31, 25-10) over Eastern Michigan on Thursday night.
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Eastern Michigan 1
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (4-10, 1-0 MAC) | EMU (8-6, 0-1 MAC)
Leah Richmond posted her fifth consecutive double-double for the Brown and Gold after handing out 50 assists and collecting 13 digs. The redshirt freshman set three teammates up for double-digit kills, led by
Mary Clare Brusek, who put down 19 while hitting a blistering .548.
Molly Brown and
Annalise Patchett added 10 kills apiece.
On the defensive side, WMU tied its season high with 12 blocks.
Amanda Glanton totaled a team-high eight rejections, while Brown notched seven.
Elana Erickson posted a match-high 24 digs, and was joined in double-figures by Richmond (13),
Reeghan Boyer (12) and
Carley Piercefield (11).
Even at 8-8 in the first set, Western Michigan put together a 6-1 run to grab a 14-9 advantage. Trailing 17-11, Eastern Michigan rattled off six in a row to tie it up, 17-17. The visitors then grabbed a 22-20 edge, but WMU tallied five of the final six points on three blocks and a pair of Brusek kills to take the opener, 25-23.
The Eagles used a 4-1 spurt to build a 14-10 lead in the second set. Western Michigan whittled the margin down to one at 20-19, but EMU tallied the next three to restore its three-point cushion, 23-19. Four of the next five went to the Brown and Gold, again trimming the gap to one, 24-23, but Eastern Michigan got the next point to even the match at one set apiece.
The Broncos were first to 15 in the third, building a 15-11 advantage. EMU countered with a five-point spree to move ahead, 16-15. The two teams then proceeded to seesaw back and forth, putting the frame well into extra points. At 31-30 in favor of the Eagles, a service error brought Western Michigan back level. The Brown and Gold then got back-to-back kills from Patchett to claim the third frame, 33-31, and a 2-1 match lead.
WMU kept the momentum rolling into the fourth, tallying eight of the first nine points to get out to an 8-1 start. Eastern Michigan closed the gap to five, 9-4, but the Broncos then put together an 11-2 surge to boost the margin to 20-6, and put the contest beyond reach.
Western Michigan continues the opening week of conference play on Friday evening as it welcomes Central Michigan to University Arena. First serve between the Broncos and Chippewas is scheduled for 6 pm. For tickets to any WMU volleyball home match, visit
wmubroncos.com/tickets.
