AKRON, Ohio – The Western Michigan volleyball team dropped the first contest of its two-match trip to Akron in five sets (26-24, 17-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-13) on Thursday evening.
FINAL SCORE: Akron 3, Western Michigan 2
LOCATION: James A. Rhodes Arena (Akron, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (10-6, 2-3 MAC) | Akron (7-10, 2-3)
Leah Richmond (54 assists, 21 digs) and
Annalise Patchett (20 kills, 18 digs) each recorded double-doubles for the Broncos.
Cassidy Pratley tallied a career-high 13 kills, while
Mia Jurkovic and
Gabby Weihe picked up 10 kills apiece.
Carley Piercefield collected a career-high 23 digs, with
Elana Erickson also getting into double-figures with 10 digs.
With Western Michigan holding a 14-12 edge in the first set, Akron ran off four consecutive points to move ahead, 16-14. The Broncos fought back to draw level at 20-20. Tied again at 24-24, the Zips grabbed the next two points to claim the opening stanza.
A 9-2 surge helped WMU break a 5-5 deadlock and build a 14-7 cushion in the second. The Brown and Gold led by no fewer than six the rest of the way and evened the contest at one set apiece.
The Broncos kept the momentum going, tallying the first six points of the third frame. Western Michigan again kept Akron at a comfortable distance on the way to claiming the set, 25-21, and taking a 2-1 match advantage into the fourth.
The Zips used a four-point burst to build a 13-8 lead in the fourth. Another four-point run stretched Akron's advantage to 19-11, and the hosts stayed in front the rest of the way to send the contest to a decisive fifth frame.
Akron crept out to a 5-2 edge in the fifth. Western Michigan countered with a 5-1 run to move in front, 8-7, but the hosts responded with six of the next seven to wrestle the lead right back, 13-9. WMU clawed its way to within one, 14-13, but the Zips tallied the final point of the night to claim the victory.
The Broncos and Zips are set to meet again on Friday night at 6 pm on
ESPN+.
