KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team begins Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a two-match series at Ball State. 

WMU (8-3, 0-0 MAC) at Ball State (9-2, 0-0)
Match One: Friday, Sept. 25 | 6 pm | WATCH | LIVE STATS
Match Two: Saturday, Sept. 26 | 4 pm | WATCH | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUVolleyball

WELCOME TO #MACTION
Western Michigan opens up Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a two-match series at Ball State. Last year's regular season conference champion, the Cardinals were picked second in this year's MAC preseason coaches poll, while the Broncos were right behind them in third. WMU has won seven consecutive MAC openers.

SERIES HISTORY
Coming into this weekend, Ball State owns a 54-52 edge in the all-time series between these two programs. The Cardinals won last season's lone meeting on their home court in four sets. WMU is heading to Muncie for the the third straight year, while BSU has not visited Kalamazoo since 2023.

LAST TIME OUT
WMU is coming off of a pair of five-set victories over St. Thomas and Milwaukee to wrap up non-conference play last weekend. Leah Richmond and Izzy Swiercz each notched a pair of double-doubles for the Brown and Gold, while Annalise Patchett picked up a double-double in Friday's win over the Tommies and then notched a season-high 18 kills in Saturday's reverse sweep of Milwaukee.

ACES UP THEIR SLEEVES
Western Michigan's comeback over Milwaukee was due in large part to a season-high 13 service aces, seven of which came in the third set to help turn the tide in favor of the Brown and Gold. Elana Erickson served up a career-high five aces for WMU, while Annalise Patchett was right behind with a career-high four of her own. Saturday marked the third match of 2026 with double-digit aces for the Broncos and the team's most aces in a single match in more than a decade. 

SETTING THE TABLE
An All-MAC First Team and MAC All-Freshman Team selection in 2025, setter Leah Richmond continues to fuel the Western Michigan attack, leading the MAC and ranking 29th in the nation at 10.24 assists per set. Richmond's distrubution has helped the Brown and Gold hit over .300 twice, and has them ranked third in the league and 63rd in NCAA Division I with a .253 team hitting percentage. 

BALANCED BRONCOS
Through Richmond's distribution, WMU has used a balanced offensive attack through the season's first few weeks, with six different Broncos having recorded double-digit kills at least once in 2026. The quartet of Annalise Patchett, Izzy Swiercz, Gabby Weihe and Bri Zimmerman are all above 2.20 kills per set, with Patchett sitting 11th in the conference with 3.05 kills per set. Weihe comes into the weekend ranking third in the league and 43rd nationally with a .398 hitting percentage.