KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team took the first set on Monday night, but Michigan State claimed the next three to pick up the 3-1 victory (22-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-20) on Monday night at University Arena.
 
FINAL SCORE: Michigan State 3, Western Michigan 1
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-6) | Michigan State (5-0)
 
Molly Brown paced the Broncos in kills, putting down 12 for the evening. She was followed closely by Annalise Patchett (9) and Mary Clare Brusek (8). Leah Richmond handed out 35 assists and picked up seven digs.
 
On the defensive end, Elana Erickson collected a team-high 19 digs, with Reeghan Boyer (12) and Ella Guilfoy (11) joining WMU's libero in double-figures. Patchett notched a career-high tying three blocks, each of which were solo stops.
 
With Michigan State in front 11-9 in the opening stanza, Western Michigan put together four consecutive points to begin a 9-2 surge which put the hosts on top, 18-13. The Spartans worked their way back to within one, 23-22, but an MSU service error followed by a Guilfoy service ace gave the Broncos the opening frame.
 
The Spartans rolled out to a 13-3 lead to begin the second set. WMU trimmed the margin down to seven on a couple of occasions, but could not draw any closer as Michigan State evened the contest at 1-1.
 
Michigan State tallied nine of the first 12 points in the third frame. Trailing 11-4, the Broncos used a 6-1 spurt to close the gap to 12-10. With the margin at 16-13, MSU rattled off eight of the next 10 to reach set point. WMU fought off three consecutive set points, but the Spartans held on to grab a 2-1 match advantage.
 
Western Michigan claimed a 7-5 edge in the early stages of the fourth. Michigan State then put together a six-point run to wrestle the lead away, 11-7. At 15-10, the Spartans tacked on another four in a row to stretch the margin to 19-10. The Broncos once again fought down the stretch, fending off four consecutive match points before the visitors put the final frame away, 25-20.
 
Western Michigan begins a six-match stretch away from home later this week with the LMU Invitational. The Broncos open up tournament play against host LMU on Thursday. First serve is slated for 6:30 pm on ESPN+.