MUNCIE, Ind. – The Western Michigan volleyball team continued its recent hot streak to move into a tie for the top spot in the division with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 25-27, 27-25) win over Ball State on Saturday. The Broncos improve to 7-12 overall and 3-1 in Mid-American Conference play, tying them with Ball State and Northern Illinois for first place in the MAC West division. It is the first time the Broncos have beaten the Cardinals in the regular season since sweeping the season series in 2012.
Hailey Knecht recorded a match-high 24 digs to lead a defensive effort that held the Cardinals to a miniscule .133 hitting percentage; the freshman libero averaged 5.25 digs per set over the course of two matches this weekend. Alysia Baznik recorded 20 digs and Izabella Porada also broke double digits, posting 11 digs. Sydney LeMay had a team-high 11 kills on 29 swings with just three errors for a .276 hitting percentage, while Bailey Schnell recorded 10 kills and hit .310 by committing just one error. LeMay and Olivia Kofie were forces at the net, recording seven and five blocks, respectively.
Baznik broke an early tie in the first set, pounding a kill off a set by Sydney Cheatham to put the Broncos ahead 7-6. The Cardinals pulled even on an ace by Brooklyn Goodsel but LeMay was there to retake the advantage, notching kill to make it 13-12. Mikaela Ryshytylo forced the Cardinals into a timeout with a kill at 16-12 but Ball State tied it up at 21 with a block by Goodsel and Emily Holland. The Broncos closed on a 4-0 run, though, with LeMay retaking the lead one more time and Ryshytylo bouncing a kill for the set win.
The Broncos dominated the second set, taking the early lead on a 8-3 run and flying their way to the set victory. Nicole Kinser launched a kill to bump the lead to 7-3 and teamed with Kofie to block Kelly Hopkins and close the run. Ball State pulled it to within one point when Goodsel recorded a kill but Kofie extended the lead a few points later, hitting a kill to force the Cardinals into a timeout. Kinser scored the first point out of the break to make it 19-14, and setter Mary Murphy set the Broncos to three straight points to close the set and put the Broncos ahead 2-0. Murphy aced Alex Fuelling to force set point at 24-18, and LeMay closed the set out with a kill.
The third set was one of the closest of the night, with Ball State pulling out a 27-25 decision to cut the match lead to 2-1. WMU opened on an 8-3 run to open the fourth set, with Kofie and Kinser blocking Emily Holland and Ellie Dunn on consecutive points to take the advantage. The Cardinals tied it at 13 with a block of Schnell and actually took a 20-15 lead at one point but the Broncos battled back. Murphy tipped a kill over to make it 21-17 and Baznik cut it to one point with a kill at 22-21. LeMay pushed the Broncos ahead for the first time since early in the set with a kill, and Baznik broke a 24-all tie with a kill of her own. Schnell pulled the Broncos ahead one more time with a kill at 26-25, and Kofie finished off the match with her 10th kill of the evening.
