MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Western Michigan volleyball team rallied to tie early on, but were unable to push themselves over the top in falling 3-1 (25-13, 20-25, 25-22, 25-16) to the #11 Washington Huskies in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, played at the Sports Pavilion at the University of Minnesota. The Broncos conclude their 2011 season with a 24-9 record.
The scrappy Bronco defense out-dug the Huskies, with Lena Oliver tying the program single-season digs record with a match-high 27 digs on her own. OIiver finishes the season with 700 digs, tying Caitlin Strimel's 2006 total. Freshman Kaycee Acree also broke double-digits, posting 16 digs.
Other than a first set where the Broncos hit just .128, the WMU offense clicked throughout the match, including a strong second set where they hit a blistering .421. The Washington front court proved difficult to handle, however, as the Huskies controlled the net defensively with eight team blocks, compared to just one for the Broncos.
After falling behind 1-0 on the heels of a 25-13 first set, the Broncos gathered early steam in the second set and took a 3-2 lead on a Jessica Brown kill. Terin Norris would notch a kill on the next point, and from that point forward the Broncos controlled the set. After the Huskies tied the score at 7-7, WMU received kills on consecutive points from Brown, Ashley Turnage, and Gillian Asque to force Washington into a timeout.
Brown would extend the lead to five points with a kill that made it 13-8, and Asque would force the second Washington timeout with a kill to make it 18-13. The Broncos got their largest lead of the set when the Huskies' Kylin Munoz launched a ball past the back line, and Claire Gerwig sealed the set 25-20 with one of her team-high 15 kills.
The Broncos bounced back from a slow start in the third set - they trailed the Huskies 19-13 at one point - by posting a 7-2 run to pull the score to 21-20 on another Brown kill. Washington would reach set point on a Krista Vansant kill, and though Gerwig would delay the victory with a kill towards the back row, Washington ultimately took the close set 25-22.
WMU kept the early portion of the fourth set close, but the Huskies posted an 8-1 run to take a 19-12 lead and force a timeout from the Broncos. Though the Broncos battled, Washington ultimately took the set and the match.
The Broncos were led offensively by Gerwig, who notched 15 kills and hit .538. Both Brown and Asque recorded 13 kills. Norris finished the match with 54 assists, a season-high in a four-match set.
