BOX SCORE
TOLEDO, Ohio -- The Western Michigan volleyball team flew all over the SeaGate Centre court on Sunday in the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship match, but fell to Ohio, 3-1 (19-25, 18-25, 25-16, 19-25), for the second consecutive season. The Bobcats (26-5) earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the Broncos (23-11) will wait for a possible at-large bid.
Second Team All-MAC senior Michelle Moore led WMU with 16 kills hitting .292 and 12 digs and was named to the all-tournament team, along with senior Caitlin Strimel after she had a team-high 18 digs.
Senior Katie Eberling added 10 kills and 12 digs, while two-time MAC Setter of the Year Jillian Mitchell had 41 assists and 13 digs. First Team All-MAC junior Allyson Doyle added eight kills, 15 digs, five assists and two blocks.
The Broncos started shaky allowing the Bobcats to build an early seven-point lead, 9-2, but then scored three in a row on a pair of Moore kills and Turnage termination. The Bobcats went back on top six, but WMU came back again within four, 12-8, after a Doyle kill and Eberling solo block. Ohio continued its aggressive play and built an eight-point edge, 16-8, after three-straight kills and a block. The Broncos scored the next two points, but Ohio was undeterred and built an 11-point lead, 23-12. WMU gained a measure of momentum late in the set by closing on a 7-2 run, but it was just too far behind, 25-19.
Ohio hit .341 with 16 kills and two errors in the set, while WMU hit .182 with 13 kills and five errors. Eberling had four kills in six swings and Strimel had six digs in the set.
Brown's kill gave the Broncos a very early lead, 3-1, to start the second set until Ohio came back and took a trio of three-point leads. The Broncos called timeout after the third, 12-9, and scored off a Brown kill through the middle. WMU could never get over the two-point hump and a kill by Ohio, followed by a block, forced the last WMU timeout, 18-14. The stoppage didn't slow the Bobcats as they scored four more points to go up by eight, 22-14. A kill by Moore and block by Mitchell and Brown during another late run pulled WMU within five, 23-18, but Ohio regrouped after a timeout and claimed the next two points, 25-18, to take a two sets to none lead into the locker room.
Ohio had 17 kills in the set and hit .289, while holding the Broncos to only 10 kills and .081 hitting. Moore had five of WMU's kills in the set.
Western Michigan got off to the fast start in the third set with aces by Doyle and Strimel and kills by Moore and Doyle helping WMU go up by six, 10-4. The Bobcats pulled within four a couple of times, but kills by Doyle and Eberling put WMU back up six, 16-10, and forced an Ohio timeout. The stoppage in play didn't hamper WMU. Brown and Moore each had two kills and Eberling hammered one home from the left side to keep WMU alive, 25-16.
The Broncos ramped up their offense in the third set and hit .407 with 11 kills and no errors, while Ohio hit .190 with 16 kills and eight errors. Moore's four kills led the way, while Doyle, Brown and Eberling each had two.
Ohio scored seven of the first 11 points to open the fourth set, but WMU came back and closed within one, 7-6, on a block by Doyle and Gotham. Ohio wouldn't allow the tie, even though WMU closed within one two more times. The Bobcats went up three, 12-9, but the Broncos kept closing within two and knocking on the door, but Ohio kept having the answer in a pair of long rallies and eventually built the lead to five, 16-11. A kill by Gotham and two in a row by Eberling made it a two-point set, 16-14, but again Ohio had the answer. Kills by Eberling, Moore and Brown kept the distance at two, but Ohio kept having the answer. Ohio then missed a serve and Gotham had a kill to make it a one-point set, 20-19.
Both teams were diving all over the floor in the course of the next three points, but it was two-time reigning MAC Player of the Year Ellen Herman that found the floor with a tricky roll shot and then two bombs off the block. Ohio ended the match with consecutive blocks, 25-19.
Ohio was nearly flawless in the fourth set with 17 kills and one error to hit .348, while WMU had 53 swings, but finished with 13 kills and six errors to hit .132. Moore and Eberling each had four kills for the Brown & Gold.
Overall, WMU hit .180 with 47 kills, 18 errors, 73 digs, six blocks and four aces. Ohio hit .293 with 66 kills, 17 errors, 78 digs, 12 blocks and three aces.
MAC Tournament MVP Sarah Petrulis led Ohio with 28 digs and all-tournament setter Michelle Jantsch had 54 assists, 10 digs, seven kills and three blocks. Herman led all players with 23 kills.
The Broncos wrap up the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 28 at University Arena against Valparaiso to make a final impression on the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
