FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Western Michigan volleyball team took on a pair of nationally-ranked opponents on Saturday and fell in straight sets to each, dropping a 3-0 (15-25, 16-25, 22-25) match to #15 Arizona State and a 3-0 (22-25, 22-25, 15-25) match to #9 Colorado State. With the losses, the Broncos' record falls to 1-6 on the season.
Sierra Hubbard-Neil totaled 14 kills on the day, including a team-high nine against the Sun Devils and another five against the Rams. Olivia Kofie had the team-high against the Rams in the nightcap, posting 10 kills and hitting an impressive .562. Hailey Knecht recorded 26 digs – 13 in each match – while Alysia Baznik recorded 25 in two matches.
The match against the Sun Devils began somewhat evenly, with WMU taking an early lead thanks to a strong offensive attack. Hubbard-Neil put the Broncos' ahead 5-4 with a kill and Kofie added another a few points later to put her team ahead 8-7. Arizona State pulled ahead soon after, though, taking the lead for the set with a pair of kills by Macey Gardner. Hubbard-Neil pulled the Broncos to within 19-15 with an ace, but the Sun Devils closed with six straight points for the set.
WMU trailed by just three points midway through the second set when Nicole Kinser bounced a kill to make it 13-10, but the Sun Devils scored three straight to make it 16-10. Mikaela Ryshytylo cut ASU's lead to 19-15 with a kill, but again the Sun Devils closed out with a big run to win 25-16.
The third set was the closest of the match, with the Broncos and Sun Devils keeping things tight throughout. Tied at 19-all late in the set, Kinser and Mary Murphy combined for a block of Gardner to break the deadlock. Murphy added on in the next point, tipping a kill over to put the Broncos ahead 21-19. The Sun Devils tied it at 21 but the Broncos pulled to within 23-22 on Whitney Follette's service error. Arizona State scored the final two points of the set to take it 25-22 as well as the match 3-0.
The nightcap against the Rams started out much like the third set against the Sun Devils, with the Broncos holding tight with a nationally-acclaimed opponent. The Broncos opened on a 4-2 run that was capped by a Hubbard-Neil kill, and the set was tied as late as 9-all after a Crystal Young service error. WMU enjoyed a 4-0 run to take a 14-13 lead in the match, starting with a kill by Kofie and wrapping with a service ace by Izabella Porada. The Rams began to pull away, though, taking a 20-16 lead on a kill by Jasmine Hanna. Kinser cut the CSU lead to 24-22 with a solo block of Alexandra Poletto, but the Rams finished off the set 25-22 with a kill by Adrianna Culbert.
The Rams opened up a big lead in the second set, going up 18-10 on a Bronco attack error, but WMU stormed back with 11 of the next 15 points to cut the Ram lead to 22-21. Kofie started things with a kill and the Broncos forced a CSU timeout with blocks on two consecutive points. Hubbard-Neil and Kinser combined to block Culbert in the first instance, and Kinser and Kofie combined for the second to make it 18-14. Kinser cut it to a two-point advantage with a kill at 19-17, and Baznik wrapped the run with a kill to make it 22-21. LeMay kept it a one-point deficit with a kill to make it 23-22, but Culbert added kills on the final two points of the set to make it 25-22. CSU pulled away fairly early in the third set and eventually built a double-digit lead, winning the final set by a 25-15 score.
