KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A balanced offensive attack helped the Western Michigan volleyball team post a .327 hitting percentage in a straight-set victory (25-13, 25-14, 25-16) over Navy on Saturday night.
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Navy 0
LOCATION: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (2-0) | Navy (0-2)
Leah Richmond narrowly missed out on a double-double (33 assists, 9 digs) while helping five different Broncos record at least six kills.
Annalise Patchett and
Izzy Swiercz led the way with nine kills apiece,
Cassidy Pratley put down a career-high eight kills on a .615 hitting percentage,
Mia Jurkovic had seven kills and
Gabby Weihe added six.
Defensively,
Carley Piercefield paced the Brown and Gold with 20 digs,
Annalise Patchett tallied a career-high 11, Richmond recorded nine and Swiercz picked up eight. WMU also held a 9-3 edge in blocks, with four apiece from Richmond and Weihe leading the way.
Western Michigan started quickly, rattling off six of the evening's first seven points. At 11-7, the Broncos used a 12-3 surge to build the cushion to 23-10, and sealed the opening frame a few points later.
Navy held an 8-5 edge in the early stages of the second set. The Brown and Gold then proceeded to tally 13 of the next 14, including 10 in a row at one point, to seize an 18-9 lead and put the frame beyond the visitors' reach.
Five consecutive points helped the Broncos grab an 8-4 edge in the third. Holding a 10-7 advantage, Western Michigan ripped off nine of the next 10 points to open up a 19-8 lead. The Midshipmen got as close as six, 22-16, before WMU notched the final three points of the night to seal the victory.
The Broncos wrap up their Opening Weekend tournament on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm against Indiana State. For tickets to any WMU volleyball home match, visit
wmubroncos.com/tickets.
