KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team hits the road this week for a pair of matches at Akron.

WMU (10-5, 2-2 MAC) at Akron (6-10, 1-3)
Match One: Thursday, Oct. 8 | 6 pm | WATCH | LIVE STATS
Match Two: Friday, Oct. 9 | 6 pm | WATCH | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUVolleyball

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Following a week-long homestand which saw it sweep both of its in-state rivals, the Western Michigan volleyball team hits the road this week for a pair of contests at Akron. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Broncos come into this week with a 34-14 advantage in the all-time series with Akron. Since 2010, Western Michigan is 18-3 against the Zips, with two of the three losses coming at Akron. The teams split last year's two matchups in Kalamazoo.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan completed its first homestand of conference play with a straight-set victory over Eastern Michigan last Friday night. The Bronco defense keyed the victory, as it tied its season high with 13 blocks to limit EMU to a .018 hitting percentage, the lowest hitting percent by a WMU opponent so far this season. Gabby Weihe led the charge up front with a career-high nine blocks (2 solo, 7 assists), while Annalise Patchett set a new career high with six blocks assists. Leah Richmond picked up 23 assists and 10 digs to notch her team-leading sixth double-double of the year.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK SWEEP
Western Michigan's sweep of its two in-state rivals last week helped the Brown and Gold claim all three MAC Player of the Week awards. Annalise Patchett took home Offensive Player of the Week after putting down 24 kills (4.00/set) on a .351 hitting percentage in the two victories. Leah Richmond recorded double-doubles in both matches to claim the Setter of the Week award, totaling 65 assists (10.83/set) and 20 digs (3.33/set) for the week. Gabby Weihe was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 11.0 blocks (1.83/set) to help the Broncos limit CMU and EMU to a combined .063 hitting percentage. 

SETTING THE TABLE
Leah Richmond's Setter of the Week performance helped to keep her at the top of the MAC at 10.11 assists per set, which ranks 41st in the nation. Behind their redshirt sophomore setter, the Broncos have hit above .300 three times this season, and currently rank fourth in the league and 57th nationally with a .251 team hitting percentage. 

BALANCED BRONCOS
Richmond's distribution has enabled WMU to use a balanced attack so far in 2026, with six different Broncos having tallied double-digit kills at least once. The quartet of Annalise Patchett, Izzy Swiercz, Gabby Weihe and Bri Zimmerman are all above 2.15 kills per set, with Patchett sitting eighth in the conference at 3.11 kills per set. Weihe comes into the week ranked third in the league and 36th nationally with a .395 hitting percentage.