MUNCIE, Ind. – The Western Michigan volleyball team concluded its first weekend of Mid-American Conference play with a 3-0 loss (25-19, 26-24, 25-15) at Ball State on Saturday.
FINAL SCORE: Ball State 3, Western Michigan 0
LOCATION: Worthen Arena (Muncie, Ind.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (8-5, 0-2 MAC) | Ball State (11-2, 2-0)
Annalise Patchett (.304 hitting percentage) and
Gabby Weihe (.364) totaled a team-leading nine kills apiece for Western Michigan, while
Leah Richmond handed out 25 assists and
Elana Erickson led the Brown and Gold with 10 digs.
With the first set even at 8-8, Ball State used a four-point burst to begin a 7-1 run to open up a 15-9 advantage. The Broncos got no closer than four for the remainder of the frame, which BSU claimed, 25-19.
Western Michigan grabbed the early edge in the second, putting together a 7-3 stretch to build a 13-8 cushion. The Cardinals closed the gap to one at 19-18, but WMU countered with three in a row to stretch its lead back out to 22-18. BSU then caught fire, picking up four straight points as part of an 8-2 surge which gave the hosts the set, 26-24.
The Cardinals kept the momentum going into the third frame, racing out to a 15-8 advantage which the Brown and Gold did not recover from.
The Broncos return to University Arena on Tuesday evening to take on rival Central Michigan at 6 pm. For tickets to any WMU volleyball home match, visit
wmubroncos.com/tickets.
