ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team snapped a six-match skid with an impressive effort against a Power 5 school on Saturday, closing out their stay at the Michigan Challenge with a 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19) win over South Carolina at Cliff Keen Arena. With the victory, the Broncos improve to 2-9 overall on the season.
Freshman libero Hailey Knecht was honored as part of the All-Tournament team, with the first-year back row specialist digging a match- and season-high 26 balls against the Gamecocks. Knecht averaged 5.50 digs per set over the course of three matches over the weekend.
Alysia Baznik led the way with her second double-double of the season, recording a team-high 18 kills and adding 11 digs over the course of four sets. She posted her kill numbers on 48 swings with just four errors for a .292 hitting percentage. Middles Sydney LeMay and Nicole Kinser each recorded 12 kills, with LeMay also posting a team-best .455 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Mary Murphy rebounded with a match- and season-high 51 assists, three kills and two blocks.
The Broncos led the first set from post-to-post, taking the early lead on a kill by Olivia Kofie and never once allowing the Gamecocks to move ahead. South Carolina tied it at 7 on an ace by Megan Kirkland but WMU quickly recovered, taking the lead on a Gamecock error that sparked a 5-0 run. Bailey Schnell capped the rally with a kill to make it 12-7. The lead was cut to 14-13 after SC's Dessaa Legros notched a kill but the Broncos jumped to 17-13 after a number of errors by the Gamecocks. Kinser helped the Broncos win the race to 20 with a kill to make it 20-17, and Baznik ripped a kill past Sarah Blomgren to force set point at 24-21. Baznik finished the set off with a kill two points later to make it 25-22.
The Gamecocks took a tight second set but WMU was right back in the third, jumping out to an early 9-4 lead when Schnell and Kinser blocked Jacqy Angermiller. Murphy tipped a kill over on the next point to make it 10-5, and Baznik capped the run with a kill on the next point to force a South Carolina timeout. The closest the Gamecocks got the rest of the set came later on, when a Bronco ball handling error made it 22-21. Baznik responded with a kill to make it 23-21 and added another two points later to make it 24-22. LeMay wrapped up the set with a kill of her own, making it 25-22 and putting the Broncos ahead 2-1.
The toughest challenge of the day game midway through the fourth set when South Carolina notched blocks on back-to-back points to make it 14-12. They held the lead all the way until 17-15, but the Broncos scored six straight points to take the advantage. Schnell tied the score at 17 with a solo block of Angermiller and the pair of Kinser and LeMay seized the advantage on the next point with a block of Legros. Kofie added a service ace to make it 20-17, and LeMay finished off the run with a kill on the next point. The Gamecocks committed two straight errors at the end of the set to give the Broncos the victory.
