Akron 3, Duquesne 2 | Boxscore
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The University of Akron volleyball team recovered from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Duquesne 3-2 and finish an undefeated 3-0 at the YSU DoubleTree-Youngstown Volleyball Invitational on Saturday by scores of 25-22, 24-26, 23-25, 25-23 and 15-13.
 
Following the match, senior RS Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio) was named YSU DoubleTree-Youngstown Volleyball Invitational MVP, while seniors LS Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) and S Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) earned all-tournament team honors.
 
Akron opened the match with a first-set win (25-22), but the Dukes rallied for a 2-1 set advantage to set the stage for the Zips comeback. Akron claimed the fourth set 25-23 and won the match with a 15-13 come-from-behind decision in the final frame.
 
In the fifth and deciding set, the Dukes rushed to a 6-2 advantage. Akron responded and eventually tied the set 10-10 and Ochaya floored the Zips 11th point, allowing Akron to take its first lead, 11-10.
 
Duquesne retaliated with two quick points, but Akron's Adleta pounded the ball to the floor to knot the set at 12 points apiece. She followed with a service ace for a 13-12 advantage, and the Duquesne immediately squared the set once again, 13-13. Next, Ochaya unleashed back-to-back kills for Akron to claim the set and the match as she led the Zips' offense with 16 kills while posting a .310 hitting percentage. Adleta followed with 15 kills.
 
Senior MB Megan Kelly (Lakewood, Ill.) supported the offense with eight putaways and paced the defensive efforts with six block assists. Weigand added an all-around spectacular performance tossing 46 assists while collecting six kills, three block assists and two solo stops. Senior libero Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) anchored the ground defense with 22 digs.
 
Akron will be back in action on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 3-4 in Charlottesville, Va. as the Virginia Cavaliers hosts a tournament featuring Akron, Winthrop and William & Mary. The Zips open the two-day event against Winthrop at 11:30 a.m. followed by a battle with Virginia at 7 p.m. Akron and William & Mary will battle on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at UVA's Memorial Gymnasium. All matches are scheduled for broadcast on the ACC Network. Fans can also follow the action via live stats on GoZips.com.
 
Ball State 3, Northern Iowa 1 | Boxscore
Ball State 3, North Dakota State 0 | Boxscore
GREEN BAY, Wis. - - It was not easy, but the Ball State women's volleyball team did not buckle under the pressure Saturday, earning a pair of wins to claim the GBD Invite title.
 
The Cardinals (4-0) opened the day with a 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23) victory over Northern Iowa, rallying from down late in the finals two sets to pull out its first win.
 
Ball State concluded the tournament with another hard-fought win, rallying from down late in the opening two sets to sweep North Dakota State by a score of 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-17).
 
"I was happy with our mental toughness, as well as our ability to stay composed and take points one at a time while we battled back late in several sets," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Our service pressure really helped us in those moments, but we must work to not consistently put ourselves in that position."
 
Leading the way for the Cardinals on offense in Saturday's wins was graduate transfer Jaclyn Bulmahn who smashed a season-high 14 kills versus the Panthers (1-1) and followed with 13 against the Bison (1-2).
 
"Jaclyn was really cracking the ball today," Phillips said. "She and Megan have found their rhythm and she's playing with a lot of confidence, as she should. She's an experienced player who works extremely hard, plays smart, and gets great results."
 
Freshman setter Megan Wielonski also had another solid all-around day, setting the offense to a .206 (87-39-233) attack percentage over the two matches. She was credited with five total kills, 10 digs, and six total blocks. She also came up big from the service line with six total aces, including a career-high five in the opener.
 
Other key contributors on offense were junior opposite Natalie Mitchem with 13 kills versus UNI and junior middle Marie Plitt with 12 kills against NDSU.
 
Defensively, Plitt scored eight blocks in the first match and four in the nightcap for 12 on the day. Sophomore libero Kate Vinson held down the backcourt with 28 total digs: 13 against the Panthers and 15 versus NDSU.
 
By sweeping its four matches in the GBD Invite, the Cardinals are off to a 4-0 start for the second consecutive season.
 
"It was a great start for us this weekend," Phillips added. "There was a lot of great competition here that really challenged us set after set. We found several things we did well, but also several areas we have to improve upon, which is what we needed from this trip. Our depth really was huge this weekend and that's a credit to each player being 100% ready when their number was called. I'm most proud of that; a full team effort by the Cardinals this weekend."
 
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Friday (Sept. 3), when it opens play in the TRU By Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational with a 7 p.m. showdown versus tournament host Wright State. The Cardinals will also play DePaul (10 a.m.) and Marshall (5 p.m.) on Saturday (Sept. 4).

Indiana 3, Bowling Green 2 | Boxscore
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Bowling Green Falcons volleyball team (1-2) ended its weekend at the Top Dawg Challenge with a 3-2 loss to Indiana (2-0). Indiana won the first two sets, but the Falcons rebounded and won the next two. The fourth set featured a 17-7 run from the Falcons, helping them push the match to five sets. Indiana withstood a BGSU rally in the fifth, holding on to win 15-12.
 
Indiana was able to get an early 5-4 lead and maintain it throughout the set. The Falcons kept it close the entire set, remaining within six points the entire time. Kat Mandly and Katelyn Meyer each had five kills, with Petra Indrova and Katie Kidwell each adding three.
 
Keeping with the weekend's theme of competitiveness, the second set featured 12 ties and five lead changes. The teams remained within two points of each other until Indiana took a 21-18 lead, which the Falcons could not overcome. Meyer and Indrova each had four kills in the set.
 
In yet another close set, neither team was able to extend their lead to more than two until a late run by the Falcons. Trailing 15-14, BGSU went on a 7-0 run to take a 21-15 advantage, one they would not relinquish. Meyer and Madelynn Luebcke were key for the Falcons on this run, combining for three kills and two block assists. Although Indiana made a run to make it 22-21, the Falcons closed strong with kills from Indrova and Mandly to force a fourth set.
 
Carrying the momentum from their third set victory, the Falcons dominated the fourth set. Petra Indrova's kill gave the Falcons the early 1-0 advantage, and they would maintain that lead the entire set. Kat Mandly and Katie Kidwell scored the next seven Falcon points, with Mandly registering five kills and Kidwell recording a kill and a solo block. An Indiana kill made it 8-5, but the Falcons would close on a 17-7 run to push the match to a fifth and final set. Katelyn Meyer registered four kills and Hanna Laube would add seven assists and an ace during this run.
 
The Hoosiers were able to start quickly in the final set, jumping out to an 8-3 lead. The Falcons showcased their resiliency, going on a 6-1 run to tie the set at 9. Meyer had two kills and Kidwell had one kill to help the BGSU rally. Indiana's Brenna Edwards broke the tie with a kill, and the Hoosier would register two more to help Indiana clinch a five-set victory.

SYRACUSE, NY – The University at Buffalo volleyball team picked up their first win of the 2021 season on Saturday as UB defeated UConn in five sets.  Buffalo split its two matches on the afternoon, falling to Albany, 3-0, in the morning.
 
The Bulls took the afternoon match over the Huskies 25-22, 15-25, 25-23, 18-25, 19-17.  UConn outhit the Bulls, .252 to .199, but UB was able to take advantage of 20 UConn service errors in the match.
 
Overall, Buffalo showed balance on both offense and defense as two players hit double figures in kills, while four UB players reached double figures in digs. In the opening set, the Bulls got out to a 14-8 lead and continued to hold on to an 18-12 advantage following a kill from sophomore Milla Malik. UConn would come back and tie it at 20-20, but three straight points from the Bulls put them in the driver's seat, leading to a 25-22 victory.
 
After the Huskies tied it up in the second, the Bulls needed a comeback in the third as they trailed 20-14. UB then went on a 10-2 run to take the lead. A kill from junior Abby Leigh, clinched the third set for Buffalo.
 
UConn then tied the match back up with a victory in the fourth, sending the Bulls to a fifth set for the second time in three matches. The final set went back and forth as the Bulls had two match points, but the Huskies fought both of them off.  Buffalo had to fight off a match point of its own, trailing 16-15, but a service error kept the match alive.  Tied 17-17, the Bulls got a kill from Malik and block from Courtney Okwara and Stacia Gollogly to clinch the match.
 
Malik led the Bulls with 19 kills, while Abby Leigh finished with 12 kills. Okwara added eight and freshman Maria Futey finished with six.
 
Freshman Mandy Leigh had 38 assists for the Bulls while also leading the squad with two service aces.  As a team, the Bulls finished with six aces.
 
Defensively, senior Kyndal Bacon led Buffalo with 16 digs, while Futey had a career best 13.  Mandy Leigh finished with 11 digs as did freshman Hannah Jacoby, who made her first career start at libero.
 
UB had 7.0 total blocks, led by five from Abby Leigh, including two solos.
 
In the opener on Saturday, Albany took the contest 25-19, 25-17, 25-18 as the Great Danes hit .298 for the contest.
 
Malik led the Bulls with eight kills, while fellow sophomore Emma Gielas finished with six kills and Abby Leigh added seven. Mandy Leigh finished with 17 assists.
 
Defensively, Bacon had six digs and Futey finished with five digs and Malik had four.
 
The Bulls will now head to the Alabama Invite next weekend beginning on Friday with a pair of matches. UB will face Southern Mississippi at 11am ET on Friday followed by a meeting with Alabama at 7pm ET.
 
DePaul 3, Central Michigan 0 | Boxscore
Southeast Missouri State 3, Central Michigan 0 | Boxscore
PEORIA, Ill. -- After kicking off the season with a victory over Bradley on Friday night, the Central Michigan volleyball team lost its final two matches, both in three sets, of the CEFCU Invitational on Saturday.
 
The Chippewas fell to DePaul, 23-25, 23-25, 20-25, and to Southeast Missouri State, 24-26, 22-25, 22-25.
 
In the battle with DePaul, the Chippewas struggled to pull ahead early and succumbed to 21 attack errors across the three sets. Against SEMO, CMU made multiple-point runs in a match that featured 20 ties and eight lead changes but eventually succumbed.
 
Savannah Thompson led the Chippewas on the offense, delivering 14 kills against the Blue Demons and another 12 against the RedHawks. CMU freshman Linnea Willer combined for 16 kills on the day, and senior Maddie Whitfield made seven blocks.
 
Thompson, a senior, was named to the all-tournament team.
 
Chippewa libero Aly Gurtiza posted 40 digs in the two matches, and setter Grace Butler finished with 37 assists.
 
CMU dropped to 1-2 and is scheduled to host the Chippewa Invitational next weekend at McGuirk Arena. North Dakota (1-2), Butler (1-1), and Youngstown State (1-2) are scheduled to partake in the event.
 
The Chippewas are scheduled to open on Friday, Sept. 3 (12:30 p.m.) against North Dakota.
 
Indiana State 3, Eastern Michigan 1 | Boxscore
Eastern Michigan 3, Montana 2 | Boxscore
CHARLESTON, S.C. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team played two matches Saturday, Aug. 28, to close the College of Charleston Invitational in Charleston, S.C., falling 3-1 (15-25, 22-25, 25-23, 14-25) to Indiana State to start the day and defeating Montana, 3-2 (23-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-15, 15-12), to finish the weekend.
 
Eastern 1, Indiana State 3
EMU fell 15-25, 22-25, 25-23, and 14-25 to Indiana State in the day's first action. Though Eastern won the third set and led in moments through the match, it ultimately did not have the juice to take the sets.
 
Freshman Annie Lockett (Mason, Ohio-Mason) and redshirt freshman Krista Blakely (Detroit, Mich.-University High School Academy) led the Green and White with 12 kills each. Lockett and Blakely were aided by sophomore Samantha Basham (Granville, Ohio-Newark Catholic) and redshirt sophomore Raeven Chase (Toronto, Ontario, Canada-Michael Power St. Joseph Catholic), who added eight and six kills, respectively.
 
Quarterbacking the offense was sophomore Jayden Otto (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge) with 39 assists. The setter also tallied seven digs and two kills.
 
Defensively, the Eagles were led by sophomore Kamryn Stilwell (Parma, Ohio-Padua Francisan), who posted 17 digs, while Basham added 11. Chase was a force again at the net with a team-high six blocks.
 
Eastern 3, Montana 2
Eastern Michigan finished the day with a comeback, defeating Montana 3-2 (23-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-23, 15-12), after being down two sets. Down 2-1, the Eagles never looked back in sets four and five. Eastern Michigan posted a 12-point lead, 22-10, before winning the set 25-15.
 
Lockett again dominated the outside with a career-high 17 kills, while Blakely and Chase posted double figure kills with 14 and 12, respectively. Additionally, freshman Madeline Timmerman (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Central) tallied seven kills as well as five blocks.
 
Setting up the EMU offense was Otto again as she led with 48 assists. The sophomore posted a double-double by adding 11 digs.
 
Four Eagles recorded 10-plus digs in Stilwell (17), freshman Bella Hommes (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Forest Hills Central) (12), Otto (11), and junior Mackenzie Garis (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge) (10). Blakely led the Eagles with six blocks.
 
Eastern Michigan will return to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center when the Eagles host Bradley Saturday, Sept. 4, at 3 p.m. to open the Golden Grizzlies Invitational. The tournament is hosted by Oakland University.
 
For the most up-to-date information on all things EMU volleyball, visit EMUEagles.com and follow the team on social media at @EMUVolleyball.
 
Kent State 3, SIUE 1 | Boxscore
Kent State 3, IPFW 2 | Boxscore

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Kent State volleyball team closed the opening weekend of the 2021 season with wins against SIUE (3-1) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2) Saturday at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational.
 
The Golden Flashes (2-1) received balanced offensive production with four players posting at least 25 kills. Junior Savannah Matthews led the way with 33 kills. Junior Morgan Copley and senior Melissa Kolurbasi totaled 26 kills each and senior Danie Tyson add 25 kills. Redshirt senior Alex Haffner finished the day with 108 and 27 digs.
 
Kent State stressed its opponent with tough serving and had 19 aces on the day. Matthews led the way with five, while junior Gracey Jarecke and sophomore Bryn Roberts had four each.
 
Morgan Copley and Alex Haffner were named to the all-tournament team. Copley posted a team-best .397 hitting percentage and averaged 2.58 points per set over the three matches. Haffner posted double-doubles in both matches on Saturday and closed the weekend with averages of 11.33 assists per set and 2.75 digs per set.
 
Marshall 3, Miami 2 | Boxscore
HUNTINGTON, W. Va.—Despite a hard-fought effort, the Miami University volleyball team (0-3) dropped a five-set decision to host Marshall (2-1) in the final match of the Marshall Invitational on Saturday evening at the Cam Henderson Center, 22-25, 29-27, 25-23, 14-25, 11-15.
 
The teams went back and forth in the opening set. Marshall pushed ahead to a 21-17 lead, but Miami closed within 21-20. The Thundering Herd outscored the RedHawks 4-1 down the stretch to take the opening set, 25-22.

Marshall built an early 9-2 lead in the second set. Miami used a 12-3 flurry to capture a 14-12 advantage. After a back-and-forth battle, a service ace by senior Jennifer Schulze and a kill from sophomore Abby Stratford clinched the second set for the RedHawks, 29-27.

Miami used a 6-1 spurt to take an 11-10 lead in the third set and pushed its lead to 17-12 off a senior Sophie Riemersma service ace. The Thundering Herd pulled within one three times down the stretch, the last at 24-23, but a Riemersma kill clinched the third set for Miami, 25-23.
Marshall built a 12-2 advantage in the fourth set. Miami closed within 16-10, but the Thundering Herd rolled to the 25-14 set four win.

The Thundering Herd jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Miami fired back with four unanswered points to knot the set. The RedHawks notched a 9-8 edge off a freshman Brooke Cirigliano block and were tied with Marshall at 11-11, but the Thundering Herd scored the final four points to take the fifth set, 15-11.

 
Northern Illinois 3, Air Force 0 | Boxscore
DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team capped its Huskie Invitational Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-19) sweep of the Air Force Falcons at Victor E. Court.
 
"We did a really good job of serving and passing today," said head coach Ray Gooden following Saturday's sweep. "We had great opportunities come from our serve and I thought we did a good job handling their tough serve. It was nice to see us put pressure on them with our serve consistently."
 
Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./New Hampshire) tied her career-high for aces for the second straight day with four. She also led all players in the match with 10 kills. NIU's middle blocker duo of Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) and Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) combined to hit .448 in the match with 15 kills. Kemp hit .400 with eight kills and four blocks while Atiemo hit .500 with seven kills and a match-high five blocks. Jablonski and Atiemo were both named to the Huskie Invitational All-Tournament Team following the match.
 
NIU's (2-1) powerful serve was present from the opening point of the match. The Huskies forced four Air Force errors in a 9-3 opening run that included a pair of Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) aces. The lead grew to seven at 11-4 on a Jablonski ace that forced a Falcons timeout. The Huskies took their largest lead of the set at 16-8 following a block by Kemp and Mihacevich. NIU earned set point at 24-16 on a Jablonski kill and took the opening set 25-17 on a Mihacevich kill.
 
Air Force (0-3) and NIU traded points to start the second set, playing to a 6-6 tie. A Kemp kill broke the tie and started a 3-0 Huskies run to put NIU up 9-6. The Falcons came back and tied the set 11-11 on a Vittoria Juarez kill. With the set tied at 15, Air Force took its first lead of the set since 4-3 when back-to-back kills from Ella Tschuor and Taleah Cooper put the visitors ahead 17-15. Down 20-17, NIU rattled off seen straight points to earn set point at 24-20 after consecutive aces from Jablonski. Air Force fought off one set point, but Atiemo clinched the set with a kill to give NIU a 2-0 lead with a 25-21 win.
 
A block by Kemp and Mihacevich sparked a 7-3 run to open the third set for the Huskies. The lead grew to seven at 12-5 following a block by Atiemo and Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) and a Mihacevich ace. NIU led 17-12 when an Aaryn Scires kill kickstarted a 4-0 Air Force run that got the Falcons within one, 17-16. The Huskies answered the Air Force run with a 5-1 run of their own to take a 22-17 lead. Kemp gave NIU match point with a kill to make the score 24-18, and combined with freshman Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) on a block on match point for a 25-19 set win and 3-0 match victory.
 
The Huskies held a 10-9 edge in blocks to hold Air Force to a .160 hitting percentage. NIU held the Falcons to a -.027 hitting mark in the final set. Freshman libero Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) led all players with nine digs. Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) added eight digs of her own.
 
NIU goes on the road on Thursday, Sept. 2 to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers in the first of a home-and-home series next week. First serve at Lantz Arena is at 5 p.m. The Huskies will host the Panthers at Victor E. Court next Saturday night at 6 p.m.
 
Northern Kentucky 3, Ohio 2 | Boxscore
COLUMBUS, Ohio-- The Ohio volleyball team (0-2) fell to Northern Kentucky (1-1), 3-2 (25-15, 21-25, 25-23, 25-27, 8-15), on Saturday (August 28) at the Sports Imports Classic inside Nationwide Arena.
 
The Bobcats dominated in first set, hitting .263 to NKU's -.025 and never allowing the Norse the lead. Northern Kentucky battled to take the second, but a resilient Ohio bounced back to secure set three despite 17 ties and seven lead changes. The Norse continued to bring the pressure, taking the score to 27-25 in the fourth and leading the entire fifth set.
 
Although the Bobcats led in kills, assists, and digs, they were not able to recover from 18 service errors and ultimately dropped the match.
 
Fifth year opposite hitter Maggie Nedoma (Brook Park, Ohio) recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 digs and a game-leading 23 kills. Nedoma hit .327 and aided the Bobcat defense with two block assists. Junior outside hitter Olivia Margolies (Galena, Ohio) had 15 kills while freshman opposite hitter Caroline Clippard (Cincinnati, Ohio) followed closely behind with 12.
 
Sophomore setter Tria McLean (Battle Creek, Neb.) neared a double-double with an impressive 52 assists and eight digs, while sophomore defensive specialist/libero Sam Steele (Omaha, Neb.) tallied a whopping 34 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist/libero Maci Watrous (Coppell, Texas) also contributed with 13 digs of her own.
 
Up next, Ohio will head to the Red & White Invitational in Normal, Ill., where they will face Illinois State on Friday (Sept 3) at 5:30 p.m. EST and Marquette on Saturday (Sept 4) at 2 p.m. EST
 

Toledo 3, Lehigh 1 | Boxscore
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The University of Toledo women's volleyball team captured their second victory of the season on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 (25-9, 25-17, 21-25, 25-19) win over Lehigh at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. 

Sophomore Taylor Alt once again led the way for the Rockets with a double-double, logging 16 kills and 12 digs in addition to maintaining a .429 hitting percentage.

The Rockets used an 8-0 run in the middle of the first set to create a 10-point lead over Lehigh, leading to a 25-9 first set score in favor of Toledo. Lehigh came out strong in the second set, jumping to a 7-2 lead, however, the Rockets utilized a nine-point run to take an 11-7 lead. That momentum carried into a 25-17 second set score to increase the Rockets' match lead to 2-0. Lehigh battled back to take the third set. The Rockets surged back in the third set with a 9-0 run to take a 17-9 lead before winning the set, and the match, with a score of 25-19.

Toledo's attack was efficient for most of the match, registering a team hitting percentage of .353. That came in large part due to logging a hitting percentage of .500 or higher in both the first and fourth sets.

"We had a great team effort today," Head Coach Jason Oliver said. "We played our style and put a bunch of pressure on Lehigh. It was a great end to a good first weekend."
 
Western Michigan 3, Wright State  0 | Boxscore
Western Michigan 3, Canisius 0 | Boxscore
EAST LANSING, -- The Western Michigan volley ball team wrapped up the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational with a pair of sweeps over Wright State and Canisius on Saturday.
 
Junior outside hitter Maggie King and sophomore outside hitter Abi Wilcoxson were both named to the All-Tournament Team. King finished the weekend with 3.67 kills per set, 33 total, and Wilcoxson had 3.0 for 24 total. King also had 3.0 digs per set.
 
WMU came strong out of the gate in its 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-15) win over the Raiders, led by Wilcoxson and her match-high 13 kills. She had nearly half of her kills in the first set, recording six and hitting .600. WMU as a team hit .324 in the opening set. The Broncos rebounded form a slow start, going down 4-1, to roar back and build a 10-6 lead. WSU was able to cut the lead to one, 12-11, and then tied it up at 15-15. From there it was all Western Michigan. The Broncos went on a 10-2 run to close it out 25-17. The Broncos never trailed in the second set, with the Raiders keeping it close and tying it at 16-16. Although the team's hitting percentage dipped to .149, it recorded seven total blocks in the set, led by Wilcoxson's one block and three block assists. Wright State kept i close early on in the third set but the Broncos took a 4-3 lead and never looked back, hitting .387 and recording six block assists. Logan Case had 24 assists, while Rose Duffy finished with 11. King just missed out on a double-double with seven kills and a team-high 11 digs.
 
Western Michigan also hit over .300 in its 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-16) sweep of Canisius, finishing at .311. Julia Marr led WMU with 12 kills, hitting .550, while King had nine kills to go along with eight digs. Duffy started the match and finished with 29 assists. The Broncos also posted six service aces in the match.
 
The Griffins opened up the first set with a 2-1 lead but a kill by Madison Merz tied it up and WMU never trailed after that. CC was able to tie it up at 6-6 but the Broncos responded with a 9-2 run to take a 15-8 lead. WU extended its lead to eight, 20-12, after an ace by King. WMU cruised from there to close it out 25-18. King had five kills to lead the team in the second set, also hitting .444. Six different players recorded kills in the second set, which the Broncos won 25-12. Marr had five kills in the final set, while the Broncos recorded eight block assists and held Canisius to a -.036 hitting percentage. The teams battled back and forth to a 7-7 tie until a kill by Wilcoxson gave WMU the lead for good. It jumpstart a 6-0 run to give Western Michigan some distance before closing out the set and match, 25-16.
 
The Broncos return to Kalamazoo to host the 2021 Discover Kalamazoo Classic on Friday and Saturday. WMU opens the tournament against Southeast Missouri State on Friday at 11 a.m. Fort Wayne and SEMO battle it out at 4:30 p.m., while Western Michigan and Indiana close out the opening day at 7 p.m. On Saturday the Mastodons and Hoosiers open up the action at 11 a.m. IU and the Redhawks face each other at 4:30 p.m. before the Broncos and Fort Wayne wrap up the tournament at 7 p.m.