Women's Volleyball 08.28.2021

Volleyball Programs Open 2021 Non-Conference Season

Akron 3, St. Francis 0 | Boxscore
Akron 3, Youngstown State 0 | Boxscore
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Akron Zips registered a pair of victories to open the 2021 season, winning the season opener 3-0 over St. Francis and following with a 3-0 triumph over Youngstown State at the YSU DoubleTree-Youngstown Volleyball Invitational on Friday.

The unblemished start to the season marks the first time since 2013 that Akron opened with consecutive wins – the 2013 squad started the season with a 4-0 record.

In the first match, Akron defeated SFU by scores of 25-19, 26-24 and 25-22 as senior LS Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) and sophomore LS/RS Faith Johnson (Naperville, Ill.) powered the Zips' offense with double-digit kills. Adleta recorded 15 kills and posted a team-best .367 hitting percentage, while Johnson floored 11 points with a .267 percentage. Both, Adleta and Johnson were targeted 30 times.

Senior S Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) tossed 35 of the Zips' 40 assists, while senior libero Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) anchored the defense with 17 of the team's 31 digs.

The defense above the net had a strong showing as Akron tallied nine total blocks led by senior MB Megan Kelly (Lakewood, Ill.) with five block assists and one solo rejection. Adleta, Johnson, senior RS Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio) and freshman MB Karleighana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) added two block assists apiece. Ochaya also contributed eight kills.

Akron claimed the nightcap in three consecutive sets by scores of 25-23, 25-14 and 25-23. Ochaya paced the Zips' offense with 13 kills and a .375 hitting percentage. She added a team-best eight block assists as the Blue and Gold denied 10 YSU attacks. Adleta and Johnson added to the Zips' offensive power by flooring seven kills each. Weigand tossed 26 assists.

Jones supported the defensive effort in her collegiate debut with six block assist and a solo block, while Weigand led the ground effort with 17 digs.

Akron is scheduled to be back in action at the YSU DoubleTree-Youngstown Volleyball Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 28 at noon against Duquesne at the Beeghly Center. The match is slated to be aired live on YouTube.com/YSUsports or fans can follow the action via live stats on GoZips.com.

Ball State 3, Green Bay 1 | Boxscore
Ball State 3, St. Thomas 0 | Boxscore
GREEN BAY, Wis. - - While the opening day jitters may have gotten the best of the Ball State women's volleyball team in Friday's opening set, they did not last long.

After dropping the first frame of the GBD Invite, the Cardinals (2-0) finished the day with six dominating set wins to secure a pair of match victories.

BSU hit .361 (84-16-188) over those final six stanzas to score a 3-1 (11-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22) win over Green Bay and a 3-0 (25-22, 25-10, 25-13) victory over fledgling NCAA Division I program St. Thomas.

"Our serve receive rally set the tone for our offense today." head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "I thought Megan did a great job of setting a balanced offense, and I thought our hitters were aggressive and played with confidence."

One of those key hitters for Ball State was junior Natalie Mitchem who smashed a team-high 20 total kills on the day: tying for team-high honors with nine versus the Phoenix (0-1) and finishing with a match-high 11 against the Tommies (0-1).

"Mitchem found her grove today and is starting to become a dominant presence for us at the net," Phillips said. "She was hitting a lot of different shots, moving around along the net, and was the steady offensive presence we needed, and will continue to need, all year."

While Mitchem may have had the most kills on the day, it was an overall well-balanced effort for the Cardinals who had five different attackers register at least 10 kills over the two matches: Mitchem (20), sophomore Lauren Gilliland (16), junior Natalie Risi (15), graduate transfer Jaclyn Bulmahn (13) and junior middle Marie Plitt (13).

Plitt led the Cardinals at the net with five total blocks, while Mitchem and freshman setter Megan Wielonski collected four each. In her collegiate debut, Wielonski did a solid job leading the Ball State offense, handing out 60 total assists. She also served up three of BSU's 10 aces over the two matches.

"Megan did a great job for her first collegiate game day," Phillips added. "Our passing allowed her to get in rhythm and then she ran a really balanced offense and played with great confidence as I expected. I thought she located the ball well and our hitters trusted her tempo which allowed our offense to start to flow."

That passing game was bolstered by the play of junior defensive specialist Maggie Huber who recorded a match-best 17 digs in the opener, along with sophomore libero Kate Vinson who led all players with 14 in the nightcap. Vinson finished the day with 28 digs, while Huber collected 22 and Risi added 21. Risi also led BSU's primary passers with a .963 (26-for-27) reception percentage.

"Today was a good first day for the Cardinals," Phillips concluded. "We maintained our composure after a rocky start and played at a high level all day. We're going to enjoy it tonight, reset and prepare for two tough opponents tomorrow."

The Ball State women's volleyball team will play two more matches at the GBD Invite Saturday, starting with a Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) contest versus UNI and ending with a 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT) first serve against North Dakota State.

Illinois Chicago 3, Bowling Green 1 | Boxscore
Bowling Green 3, Butler 1 | Boxscore
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Katie Kidwell broke the program's career block assist record as the Bowling Green Falcons volleyball team defeated Butler, 3-1. It was also a historic night for head coach Danijela Tomic, who notched her 150th career win at BGSU. The Falcons rebounded from a loss in the first set and won the next three, ending the fourth and final set on a 22-4 run.

Earlier in the day, the Falcons dropped a tightly contested season opener to Illinois Chicago (1-0), 3-1. This was the first match of the Top Dawg Challenge, hosted by Butler University at Hinkle Fieldhouse. UIC won the first two sets before the Falcons countered by winning the third. The Flames won the fourth set, 25-23, to win the match.

The first set saw 11 ties and four lead changes, with neither team holding a lead of more than three points. BGSU held a 20-17 advantage late in the set, but the Bulldogs were able to close on an 8-3 run behind four kills and two block assists from Melody Davidson. Katelyn Meyer was very efficient for the Falcons, registering seven kills in the set.

Bowling Green took a 4-3 lead early in the second set and did not trail the rest of the way. Four consecutive kills stretched the lead to 13-6, the largest of the set. Butler trimmed it to 18-14 but the Falcons relied on strong defense and a flurry of errors by the Bulldogs to tie the match at 1-1. This time it was Petra Indrova leading the offense, recording seven kills. The Orange and Brown's final three points were scored on kills from Indrova.

The third set was once again highly competitive, with both teams remaining within four points of each other. Early in the set, Katie Kidwell and Hanna Laube recorded a block assist to break a 3-3 tie. This was Kidwell's 443rd career block assist, tying Kendra Halm's school record. Kidwell broke the record later in the set, once again combining with Laube to give the Falcons a 16-13 advantage. The senior did not wait long to raise her program-record total, registering another block assist to extend the BGSU lead to 18-13. The Falcons withstood a resilient Butler team that cut the lead to 24-23. Indrova once again scored the set-clinching point for BGSU, this time with an ace.

Butler came out aggressively in the fourth set, opening with a 9-1 lead. The teams traded points to make it 11-3, then Hanna Laube recorded her only kill of the game. This kickstarted a scoring frenzy for the Falcons, who trimmed the deficit to 12-8. The Bulldogs took a timeout, but BGSU came out of the break on an 8-2 run, taking the lead on a Katrin Trebichavska kill. Nikolija Katanic and Petra Indrova were key during the run, with Katanic recording two block assists and Indrova adding two more kills. Indrova once again scored the winning point, registering her 18th kill of the match.

Syracuse 3, Buffalo 2
Boxscore
SYRACUSE, NY – The University at Buffalo volleyball team went toe-to-toe with their ACC foe from the East on Friday morning, but the Bulls dropped a five-set match to Syracuse in the season opener for both teams.

Syracuse took the contest 25-20, 22-25, 25-12, 25-27, 15-9 as the Orange outhit the Bulls, .381 to .147. Despite the large differential in hitting percentage, the Bulls were kept in the game due to 16 service aces from the home team.

UB played just eight players in the contest, including two who were making their Buffalo debuts in setter Mandy Leigh and outside hitter Maria Futey.

Picking up where she left off last season, sophomore Milla Malik led the Bulls in kills with 16, while fellow sophomore Stacia Gollogly set a new career high with 11 kills in her first match of the season.

Junior Abby Leigh chipped in eight kills, while Futey had five and Courtney Okwara added three.

Mandy Leigh, ran the UB offense in her debut, finishing with 38 assists, to go alone with a pair of kills, six digs, and two blocks.

The Bulls finished with six aces from the service line, including two each from Abby Leigh and Paige Beck, and one each from Malik and Futey.

Defensively, Beck led the Bulls with 16 digs, while senior Kyndal Bacon added 13. Okwara had a team-high four blocks, including one solo.

The Bulls return to action tomorrow for a pair of matches in Syracuse. Buffalo will face Albany at 11am and UConn at 3pm.

Central Michigan 3, Bradley 1
Boxscore
PEORIA, Ill. – Savannah Thompson had 16 kills and 23 digs on Friday as the Central Michigan volleyball team opened the season with a four-set victory over host Bradley in the CEFCU Invitational at the Braves' Renaissance Coliseum.

The Chippewas captured the match, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15, winning their opener for the fifth-consecutive season.

CMU is scheduled to play two matches in the invitational on Saturday. The Chippewas are set to play DePaul (0-1) at 10 a.m. and then close the event against Southeast Missouri State (1-0) at 4:30 p.m. SEMO defeated the Blue Demons in four sets on Friday.

Also for CMU, Anna Erickson added 11 kills as did freshman Linnea Willer who was playing in her first collegiate match. Chippewa libero Aly Gurtiza, another freshman playing her first match in a Chippewa uniform, finished with a team-best 29 digs.

Setters Kamryn Olson and Grace Butler finished with 26 and 20 kills, respectively, for CMU, which posted with a .232 hitting percentage while holding the Braves to .120.

Eastern Michigan 3, College of Charleston 0
Boxscore
CHARLESTON, S.C. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team opened the 2021 season with a three-set sweep (25-20, 25-13, 25-16) over the College of Charleston tonight, Aug. 27, on the first day of the CofC Invitational. The Eagles (1-0, 0-0 MAC) boasted a .278 hitting percentage (39-12-97), while holding the Cougars (0-1, 0-0 CAA) to a .076 clip (33-25-105).

Offensively, it was sophomore Samantha Basham (Granville, Ohio-Newark Catholic) that paced Eastern Michigan as she recorded 11 kills and seven digs. Basham was aided by redshirt freshman Krista Blakely (Detroit, Mich.-University High School Academy) and redshirt sophomore Raeven Chase (Toronto, Ontario, Canada-Michael Power St. Joseph Catholic), who added nine and seven kills, respectively. Starting in their first match donning the Green and White, freshmen Annie Lockett (Mason, Ohio-Mason) and Madeline Timmerman (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Central) each had a breakout match with six kills and four kills, respectively. In all, six Eagles combined for 39 total kills.

Orchestrating the EMU offense was sophomore Jayden Otto (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge), who paced the team with 33 assists. The setter also contributed a team-high four service aces, and added three blocks, two digs, and two kills.

The Eagles' defensive efforts were led by sophomore Kamryn Stilwell (Parma, Ohio-Padua Franciscan) and freshman Bella Hommes (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Forest Hills Northern), who each had nine digs. Chase and Timmerman were a force at the net, as they tallied four blocks each.

In the opening set, the Eagles and Cougars went back-and-forth, tying the set at 6-all. Then the Green and White went on a 4-0 scoring stint highlighted by a Timmerman solo block and kill. EMU built its lead to five points (12-7) after an Otto ace. However, CofC went on a 3-0 run to make it a two-point game (12-10). The intensity heightened as both teams went back-and-forth until the set was tied at 20-all. But, it was the Eagles who came out on top with a 5-0 scoring run to take the first set, 25-20.

Leading the match, 1-0, Eastern Michigan started the second set strong with a 4-2 lead, thanks to a kill by Lockett. Over the next four points, the Cougars were able to tie up the set at 5-all off a 3-1 scoring stint. The Eagles regained momentum to take a five-point lead (10-5) after a block assist from Chase and Otto. EMU's spark continued on a 10-4 run to push its lead to seven, 17-10. For the rest of the set, Eastern didn't look back as it claimed the second set, 25-13, to hold the 2-0 advantage for the match.

In the third set, the Eagles continued their momentum with a 5-3 lead after a CofC setting error. But, the Cougars produced a 7-3 scoring stint to take the two-point lead (10-8). Struggling to come back over the next few points, Eastern Michigan regained energy off a Lockett kill to go on a 9-3 run to reclaim the lead, 17-13. The Green and White's spark continued throughout the rest of the set as EMU won the set, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.

Eastern will be back in action Saturday, Aug. 28, as it closes the tournament with two matches in Charleston, S.C. The Eagles will challenge Indiana State in the first match at 12 p.m., before ending the weekend with Montana at 4:30 p.m.

Evansville 3, Kent State 0
Boxscore
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Kent State lost its 2021 volleyball season opener to Evansville, 3-0 (24-26, 14-25, 22-25), at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational on Friday afternoon.

The Golden Flashes (0-1) recorded 10 blocks in the match to register double-digit stuffs in a three-setter for just the second time since 2010. Freshman Ainsley Guse led the way in her collegiate debut with five block assists. Redshirt junior Jacqlyn Caspers, junior Savannah Matthews and senior Danie Tyson totaled three blocks each.

Setter Alex Haffner had success going to her middles early, as Guse and Tyson combined for seven of Kent State's 11 kills in an opening set that featured 16 ties and nine lead changes. Tied at 14-14, Evansville got a kill from Melanie Feliciano to go ahead at the media timeout. A kill by Tyson evened the score and then Guse and junior Morgan Copley teamed for a block to put the Flashes back in the lead. The Purple Aces answered by taking the next four points and eventually led 24-20. Kent State fought back to make it 24-24 following back-to-back blocks, an attack error and an ace from sophomore Bryn Roberts. The comeback was thwarted, and Evansville won the set, 26-24.

The Purple Aces carried that momentum into the second set and took control early with a 7-1 lead. The Flashes got within three points twice but were unable to have sustained success on offense and finished the set with only eight kills and a .059 hitting percentage.

Savannah Matthews caught fire in the third set and totaled nine kills on 16 swings. The teams split the first 16 points before Evansville appeared to pull away with an 11-2 run. Down to their final points, the Flashes put together an 8-2 run of their own to get within 24-22 before Alondra Vazquez was able to bring the match to a close with her 25th kill of the contest.

Matthews led Kent State with 13 kills and Tyson added nine kills with a .562 hitting percentage. Haffner registered 28 assists. The floor defense was led by Roberts' match-high 13 digs.

The opening weekend of the season will conclude with a pair of matches on Saturday. The Flashes will play SIUE at 1:30 p.m. and then host Purdue Fort Wayne at 7 p.m.

Austin Peay 3, Miami 2
Boxscore
HUNTINGTON, W. Va.—A hard-fought effort came up just short as the Miami University volleyball team (0-1) was edged in its season opener in five sets by Austin Peay State University (1-1) on Friday afternoon at the Marshall Invitational (25-19, 25-27, 25-18, 21-25, 10-15).

Junior Lindsay Taylor tallied three kills and Miami amassed four blocks with two coming from freshman Brooke Cirigliano as the RedHawks notched a 25-19 win in the opening set.

The RedHawks used a balanced attack in the second set, led by senior Sophie Riemersma's four kills, while junior Jacquelyn Krumnauer served up two of her three aces for the match, but the RedHawks came up short in a 25-27 decision.

After trailing early in the third set, Miami took a 6-5 lead off a Riemersma kill and never looked back. Miami hit a strong .421 in the set as the RedHawks hammered out a 25-18 win in the third stanza. Senior Gaby Harper tallied six kills, while hitting .545, and added a solo block for the RedHawks. Junior Allyson Severance notched five kills.

The RedHawks held a 17-16 lead in the fourth set, but the Governors went on a 9-4 surge to close out the fourth set to collect a 25-21 win.

Miami held an early 3-2 lead in the fifth set, but Austin Peay rattled off four unanswered points to push ahead and did not look back, taking the match with a 15-10 set five win.

Northern Illinois 3, Western Illinois 1 | Boxscore
CSU Bakersfiled 3, Northern Illinois 1 | Boxscore
DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team opened its 2021 season Friday by going 1-1 against Western Illinois and CSU Bakersfield. The Huskies defeated the Leathernecks 3-1 before dropping its nightcap to CSU Bakersfield 3-1.

"Every team that's out here this weekend is trying to battle to get wins," said head coach Ray Gooden. "It was a good team win this morning against Western Illinois. You have to give credit to Bakersfield. They have the tempo that we're trying to match. Right now, we're trying to win together and learn together. When we're all in it for each other, we did a good job."

NIU (1-1) hit .285 as a team to defeat Western Illinois 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-14 in the first match of the day. Junior outside hitter Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./New Hampshire) led the Huskies with 14 kills and added 10 digs for a double-double. Sophomore Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) also had a double-double with 11 kills and a match-high 12 digs. She also hit a match-high .529 for the match. Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) dished out 44 assists as libero Samantha Juarez (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) chipped in 10 digs with a pair of aces.

The Huskies trailed 14-12 in the first set when a Jablonski kill and a block by Balensiefer and Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) sparked an 8-0 NIU run that put the home team ahead 20-14. NIU earned set point in the opening frame against Western Illinois on a kill from freshman Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) to put the Huskies up 24-20. The Leathernecks fought off two set points, but a service error gave NIU the set 25-22.

Western Illinois (0-2) bounced back to take the second set 25-23. NIU took an early 9-4 lead in the third behind a 4-0 run capped by a block by Balensiefer and freshman middle blocker Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy). The Leathernecks cut the NIU lead to two at 15-13 on a Payton Bowman kill, but NIU responded with kills from Balensiefer and Atiemo to take a 17-14 advantage. The advantage grew to four at 22-18 on a Kemp kill, with the Huskies taking the set 25-20 on another Kemp kill to go up 2-1 in the match.

NIU ran out to an 8-1 lead in the fourth set and did not look back. The Huskies led by nine in the eventual deciding set when an Atiemo kill made the score 19-10. Senior middle blocker Angie Gromos (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago) put the exclamation point on the victory with a kill on match point as NIU took the fourth 25-14 and the match 3-1.

The Huskies hit .325 in the third set and .379 in the fourth to put away the Leathernecks in the opener. NIU held Western Illinois to a .205 hitting percentage while holding a 51-38 edge in digs.

NIU dropped the nightcap of the first day of the Huskie Invitational to the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners 21-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-25. The Huskies could not keep pace with the Roadrunners' offense, hitting .126 to CSU Bakersfield's .240. Jablonski led the way for the second match in a row with 14 kills, adding 15 digs. Mihacevich put down 10 kills with 11 digs for a second consecutive double-double as well. Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) led NIU with 18 digs.

Despite the loss, Gooden liked the feel of the match in giving his Huskies a taste of what conference play could be like.

"That match had a MAC [Mid-American Conference] feel to it," Gooden said. "Both teams were scrapping and getting after it. It was cool and different to see a team playing with that tempo. That's where we want to get to. We can buckle down on that a little more, play a little bit cleaner, and we push that to five sets and hopefully have a chance to win."

NIU wraps up the Huskie Invitational on Saturday afternoon at Victor E. Court against Air Force at 2 p.m.

No. 4 Washington 3, Ohio 0
Boxscore
COLUMBUS, Ohio-- The Ohio volleyball team (0-1) dropped to its 2021 season opener to fourth-ranked Washington (1-0), 3-0 (21-25, 20-25, 14-25), on Friday (August 27) at the Sports Imports Classic inside Nationwide Arena.

In the first set, Washington quickly got to work taking an early 4-0 lead. The Huskies went on to increase their lead by as much as seven points, but Ohio kept working. The Bobcats went on a six-point run to tie the Huskies 14-14 and put themselves back in the game. Despite five ties, the Bobcats were unable to take the lead and fell 21-25 in set one.

Ohio dominated early in set two, putting themselves up 6-1. After stretching their led to six, Washington responded with a seven-point run that put them up, 10-9. The Bobcats regained their lead but were met by another run that put the Huskies in front for the remainder of the set. Ohio was unable to regain their footing in the third and dropped the set 25-14 to conclude the match.

Overall, the Bobcats hit .258 and had 37 kills to Washington's 36. The Huskies however hit .382 and outdug Ohio 38-27.

Junior middle blocker Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) hit .450 and led the Bobcats in kills with 11. Freshman outside hitter Caroline Clippard (Cincinnati, Ohio) and junior outside hitter Olivia Margolies (Galena, Ohio) followed with nine kills.

Sophomore setter Tria McLean (Battle Creek, Neb.) topped the leaderboard with 29 assists while fellow sophomore and defensive specialist/libero Sam Steele (Omaha, Neb.) led Ohio with 10 digs.

The Bobcats will conclude their time at the Sports Imports Classic tomorrow (August 28) at 3:30, where they will face Northern Kentucky.

Toledo 3, Elon 0 | Boxscore
Virginia Tech 3, Toledo 0 | Boxscore
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The University of Toledo women's volleyball team opened up its 2021 season by splitting a pair of contests at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va on Friday. The Rockets defeated Elon, 3-0, before falling to the host school by the same margin.

Sophomore Taylor Alt racked up 25 kills in the two matches, 13 vs. Elon and 12 against the Hokies.

Game 1 - Toledo 3, Elon 0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-16)
The Rockets edged the Phoenix in a closely fought first set, 26-24, then had little trouble in the second and third sets. Toledo hit an impressive .407 in the third set while holding Elon to just .094. Alt led the way with 13 kills and three services aces, while junior Olivia Vance chipped in with eight kills and five aces.

Game 2 - Virginia Tech 3, Toledo 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-22)
Toledo kept it close in all three sets but could not break through against Virginia Tech. The Rockets tied it up at 17-17 in the second set before the Hokies closed with an 8-2 run. In the third set, an Alt kills tied it up at 19-19 but VTU pulled away down the stretch. Alt and junior Ryenne Filisi each had 12 kills to led Toledo.

Michigan State 3, Western Michigan 0
Boxscore
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team dropped it's season-opening match against Michigan State, 3-0 (15-25, 22-25, 29-31), at the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational on Friday night.

Junior outside hitter Maggie King led all players with a game-high 17 kills and narrowly missed out on her first double-double of the season after recording eight digs. Mairead Boyle led the Broncos with 14 digs, while Logan Case recorded a double-double with 30 assists and 11 digs. Sammi Lobell had four digs and a team-high three blocks.

The Spartans took the first set 25-15. The teams opened the set battling to a 4-4 tie before the Spartans opened up a 9-5 lead. From there the Broncos never got within more than four points.

The second set was a tight contest to the finish. After a 4-4 tie the teams went back and forth taking the lead, with neither team leading by more than two. The Broncos battled from a two-point deficit to tie it up at 15-15 but after a kill by Biamba Kabengele the Spartans took the lead and never trailed after that. The Broncos brought it within one, 19-18, but the Spartans scored the next three points to open up a bigger lead and won 25-22.

WMU jumped out to a 7-2 lead to open up the third set, extending the lead to six points at 12-6. The lead reached eight when an ace by Boyle pushed the score to 17-9. Michigan state chipped away at Western Michigan's lead, getting within two at 23-21. A MSU block error gave the Broncos set point at 24-21, but the Spartans scored the next three points to tie it up at 24-24. WMU had set point three more times but MSU responded to each by tying up the game until taking a 29-28 lead. Andelyn Simkins squared the game at 29-29 with a kill, but Michigan State responded with two straight points to take the set and the match.

Western Michigan is back in action early on Saturday, taking on Wright State at 10 a.m. and then Canisius at 5 p.m.

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Volleyball Programs Open 2021 Non-Conference Season