KALAMAZOO, Mich. – After a month away from home, the Western Michigan volleyball team returns to University Arena on Tuesday night for a rivalry matchup against Central Michigan.
WMU (8-5, 0-2 MAC) vs CMU (0-15, 0-2)
Tuesday, Sept. 29 | 6 pm |
WATCH LIVE |
LIVE STATS
FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUVolleyball
HOME SWEET HOME
After spending nearly the entire month of September on the road, Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo on Tuesday night to take on rival Central Michigan. The Broncos won all three matches of their annual home tournament to open the season, extending their home winning streak to eight in a row, dating back to last season. WMU has been dominant at University Arena under
Colleen Munson, who owns a 184-63 (.745) record at home while at the helm of the Brown and Gold.
SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan comes into Tuesday night's contest with a 63-44 lead in the all-time series against Central Michigan. The home team has had the upperhand in the rivalry recently, with the home team winning each of the last 11 matchups. In last year's lone meeting, the Broncos kept the trending going with a five-set victory in Kalamazoo.
LAST TIME OUT
WMU is coming off of a pair of three-set losses at Ball State to open up Mid-American Conference play over the weekend.
Annalise Patchett and
Gabby Weihe paced the Western Michigan attack with 2.67 kills per set apiece, with Weihe posting a .395 hitting percentage for the weekend. On the defensive side,
Carley Piercefield collected a team-leading 3.83 digs per set against the Cardinals.
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 43rd in the nation at 10.02 assists per set. Richmond's distrubution has helped the Brown and Gold hit over .300 twice, and has them ranked fourth in the league and 74th in NCAA Division I with a .245 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 2.00 kills per set, with Patchett sitting 11th in the conference with 3.00 kills per set. Weihe comes into the week ranking third in the league and 41st nationally with a .397 hitting percentage.
SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS
Central Michigan has had a rough start to the season and enters Tuesday's contest in search of its first victory of the campaign. The Chippewas have been led by sophomore Taylor Cripe, who comes into the week ranked sixth in the conference at 3.19 kills per set. She also ranks second in the MAC in total attacks (485) and attacks per set (10.32).
