BOWLING GREEN, Ohio –  For the first time since 2017 the Western Michigan volleyball team will play for a Mid-American Conference Championship after defeating No.3 seed Ohio in four sets (25-19, 25-16, 19-25, 25-16) in the MAC Tournament Semifinals on Friday night.

No.2 seed Western Michigan will square off with No.1 seed and MAC Regular Season Champion Bowling Green on Saturday, April 3 in the MAC Championship. First serve is set for 5:00 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.  

It's the Broncos first appearance in the MAC Championship match since 2017. WMU seeks its sixth MAC Tournament Title and first since 2014. On Saturday the Broncos seek an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in school history.

The Broncos hit .264 en route to winning its fourth straight match as senior outside hitter Rachel Bontrager and sophomore outside hitter Maggie King each recorded double-digit kills against the Bobcats. Bontrager along with freshman Logan Case also recorded double-doubles in the MAC Semifinal victory.

Reigning MAC Player of the Year Rachel Bontrager posted a match-high 22 kills to go along with a career-high 26 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. The Valparaiso, Ind., native also had a stellar .312 hitting percentage with three blocks. Bontrager has now recorded double-digit kills in 19 straight matches while her 22 kills marked the seventh match this season with at least 20 kills.

Second Team All-MAC selection Maggie King matched her career-high with 19 kills and hit .286 with four digs and one block. King has earned double-digit kills in 12 straight matches and has now had double-digit kills in 16 of WMU's 22 matches this season.

For the sixth match this season MAC Freshman & Setter of the Year Logan Case recorded a double-double with 51 assists and 16 digs. The 16 digs for Case matched her career-high while her 51 assists marked the ninth match this season with at least 50 assists.

Western Michigan had five players with double-digit digs against Ohio as Bontrager and Case combined for 42 digs followed by senior libero/defensive specialist Kaley Smith with 24 digs. The freshman duo of Mairead Boyle and Andelyn Simkins each had double-digit digs as Boyle had 14 while Simkins had 13.

As a team WMU hit .264 and held Ohio to just a .155 hitting percentage. Ohio registered eight service aces to WMU's two while also holding an 8-7 advantage in blocks. Western Michigan recorded a staggering 103 digs to Ohio's 82 in the four-set win and had 61 assists on 68 kills.

With the win the Broncos have four straight and 12 of their last 13 matches. WMU now has an overall record of 18-4.