EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team suffered its first loss of the 2026 campaign on Tuesday evening, falling 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-14) at Michigan State.
FINAL SCORE: Michigan State 3, Western Michigan 0
LOCATION: Breslin Center (East Lansing, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (6-1) | Michigan State (6-0)
Leah Richmond paced the Broncos with 24 assists, while
Izzy Swiercz notched a team-high eight kills.
Elana Erickson led the defensive effort with nine digs.
Michigan State got out to the early lead, taking seven of the night's first 10 points. At 8-5, the Spartans ran off four in a row to begin a 6-1 run which extended their advantage to 14-6. Western Michigan drew to within six multiple times, but got no closer in the opening frame.
Even at 7-7 in the second, MSU put together a 6-2 stretch to open up a 13-9 edge. The Broncos responded with the next three points to close the gap to 13-12. Michigan State countered with seven straight points to increase the margin to 20-12 and put the frame beyond reach.
With WMU holding a 5-4 edge in the third, Michigan State used a 6-2 run to move in front, 10-7. At 12-10, the Spartans reeled off six consecutive points to build their lead to 18-10, and kept the Brown and Gold at arm's length for the remainder of the contest.
Western Michigan heads to Chicago this weekend for the UIC-DePaul Invitational. First up for the Broncos is a match against DePaul on Saturday at 5 pm on
ESPN+.
