KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan volleyball team got off to a hot start and held off a feisty Eastern Michigan team as the Broncos defeated the Eagles 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 25-27, 26-24) at Kalamazoo College's Anderson Athletic Center on Friday. With the win the Broncos improve to 5-11 overall on the season and open Mid-American Conference play with a victory.
Alysia Baznik posted her fourth double-double of the season with 13 kills and a team-high 16 digs, also adding four blocks and five assists in the victory. Bailey Schnell recorded a career-high 12 kills and hit an impressive .375, committing just three errors on 24 swings. Olivia Kofie pounded nine kills and recorded a match-high five blocks, while the setter duo of Mary Murphy and Sydney Cheatham combined for 42 assists and set the Broncos to a .239 hitting percentage. Hailey Knecht posted 15 digs.
It took until the very end of the first set for either team to gain any separation from the other, with the Broncos getting the last laugh after breaking a late stalemate. Stacey Perinar put EMU ahead 17-16 with a kill but Schnell countered with one of her own, bouncing off the block to tie the set. Baznik shut down the next two Eagle attack attempts, blocking Cassie Haut and Kelsey Jones on back-to-back points to put the Broncos ahead 19-17 and force EMU into a timeout. The junior outside hitter smashed a kill to put her team ahead 21-18 but the Eagles scored three straight to tie it at 21. Baznik made it 24-22 with a kill, and Mikaela Ryshytylo finished off the set with a kill to win it at 25-23.
EMU went up 8-4 to start the second set but the lead was short-lived as the Broncos battled back and and tied it at 10 on a Kofie kill. Baznik forced the Eagles into calling their first timeout of the set with a kill at 13-11, and Kofie stretched the advantage to 16-12 with a service ace off Perinar. Schnell won the race to 20 for the Broncos with a kill, and a series of EMU errors put WMU ahead 23-17. Baznik forced set point with a kill and Kofie finished it off, bouncing one off the back line to take the set 25-19 and give the Broncos a 2-0 match advantage.
The Eagles took a tight third set to cut the Broncos' match lead to 2-1, setting the stage for a dramatic fourth set. Schnell put the Broncos ahead 16-13 with a kill but the Eagles went on an 8-2 run to pull ahead 21-19. Kelsey Jones and Katie Krasowski gave the Eagles their best lead of the set with a block of Baznik to make it 23-19, but a pair of errors by Perinar pulled the Broncos to within 23-21. Kofie and Sydney LeMay blocked Perinar on her third attempt in the series to cut the lead to one, and Baznik notched a kill to tie the set at 23-al. Kofie broke a 24-all stalemate with a kill, and Baznik and Kofie combined for a block of Jones to clinch the match win at 3-1.
