BOX SCORE
OXFORD, Ohio -- Junior outside hitter Allyson Doyle had a career-high 20 kills and freshman middle blocker Jessica Brown had a career-high 20 kills for the second-straight match, but Western Michigan volleyball couldn't hold the lead in a five-set loss, 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 27-29, 11-15), to Miami (Ohio) at Millett Hall on Saturday night.
The Mid-American Conference West champion Broncos (19-10, 11-3 MAC) jumped to a 5-1 lead over the RedHawks (16-10, 11-3 MAC) in the opening moments of the fifth set after two kills each by Brown and Doyle and a Doyle ace. Miami scored four in a row to tie the set, but Brown had two kills to keep WMU in front, 6-5 and 7-6. Miami kept pushing and went on a 5-1 run of its own to go up by three, 11-8. A kill by sophomore Ashley Turnage and a Turnage/Doyle block cut the deficit to one, 11-10, before Miami answered. Doyle had another kill on the next point to cut the lead to one, 12-11, again, but that would be WMU's last point. The RedHawks went up two with a kill and finished the match with consecutive blocks of Katie Eberling and Brown, 15-11.
The Broncos had an opportunity to end the match in the fourth set after overcoming a 17-8 deficit, but not without fighting off several set points. Miami took a 24-19 lead, but couldn't put WMU away. Doyle stopped the first set point with a kill and then Eberling had a solo block and Doyle notched another kill. Miami committed three straight attack errors to give WMU match point, 25-24, but the RedHawks finally put a ball away. Brown had a kill on the next point to earn another match point, but then missed on the next point to keep the match alive, 26-26. Miami earned a fifth set point with a kill, but Eberling kept the Broncos alive with a kill, 27-27, before Miami scored the next two points and forced the fifth set on its sixth set point.
Doyle hit .487 with just one error with 14 digs and three blocks, while Brown hit .375 with three digs and three blocks. Eberling added 12 kills, 11 digs and season-high-tying four blocks, including a season-high two solos. Turnage hit .278 with nine kills and four blocks, while senior Jillian Mitchell dished 55 assists with 13 digs and three kills. Senior Caitlin Strimel led all players with 26 digs.
The RedHawks led 8-4 to open the match before WMU fought back to take a three-point lead, 14-11, after three straight kills off overpasses of Sam Viox serves. Miami came back with three kills of its own to tie before a missed serve and Eberling kill put WMU back up two, 16-14. Moments later kills by Mitchell and Michelle Moore forced a MU timeout, 19-16. The regrouping led to two RedHawk kills, but WMU went back up two, 20-18, with a solo block by Mitchell. Miami scored the next point, but kills by Doyle and Eberling put WMU up three, 22-19, and the Broncos took the set on an error by Miami, 25-22.
It was all offense in the first set as WMU hit .333 with 17 kills, six each by Doyle and Eberling, while Miami hit .324 with 15 kills.
The RedHawks took another 8-4 lead to start the second set and again the Broncos fought back within one, 9-8, after three Turnage kills. Miami settled and scored seven of the next 11 points to go up four, 16-12, and force WMU to call timeout. A kill by Doyle cut the lead to three for the first of three occasions, but WMU never got any closer and Miami took the set on a Doyle service error, 25-20.
WMU hit .222 with 15 kills and seven errors in the second set, but Miami hit .484 with 16 kills and one error.
Miami again took the early lead, 8-6, before the Broncos went on a 13-3 run to go up by eight, 19-11, after an ace by Strimel. Viox and Eberling also had aces during the run, while Brown had two block assists and Turnage had two kills. Even with WMU in control, Miami wouldn't go away and cut the lead to two, 22-20, after three consecutive WMU miscues led to a timeout. Doyle answered with a kill after the timeout and Brown ended the set, 25-22, with a kill.
WMU hit .161 with 13 kills and eight errors in the defensive-minded third set. The Broncos held Miami to .143 hitting with 11 kills and six errors behind 16 digs and three blocks.
Overall, WMU hit .196 with 69 kills, 31 errors, 80 digs, 10 blocks and five aces, while falling to 1-7 in five-set matches. The RedHawks hit .264 with 68 kills, 21 errors, 82 digs, 14 blocks and five aces.
Miami was led by Megan Griffin with 15 kills and .542 hitting, while Lisa Treadway had 20 digs and Andrea Atteberry finished with 58 assists, 10 digs, four kills and four blocks.
The Broncos wrap up the regular season with two more on the road next weekend against Central Michigan on Friday and Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
