OXFORD, Ohio — The Miami University volleyball team (8-21, 2-16 MAC) defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies (4-24, 2-16) in a four-set match (23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19) Saturday evening at Millett Hall.
 
Caroline Cermack knocked down a career-high 16 kills, and Gracie Norris totaled a career-best 44 assists to lead all players in the match.

KENT, Ohio – Outside hitter Taylor Alt fired off 16 kills in a 3-1 win (25-10, 16-25, 25-19, 25-12) over Kent State in a must-win for the Rockets on Saturday evening in Kent, Ohio. Freshman opposite/right side hitter Olivia Heitkamp tallied 12 kills of her own, just one termination shy of tying her career-best, and four blocks.

Toledo (17-13, 10-8 MAC) remains in seventh place in the Mid-American Conference standings, one spot away from the conference tournament. The Rockets need sixth-place Ohio (10-7) to lose to Bowling Green in a game played later tonight. Toledo and Ohio split their two matches this season. An Ohio loss would advance Toledo to the MAC Tourney thanks to the Rockets holding the tie-breaker in total games won in head-to-head competition (5-4).

Redshirt freshman middle blocker Sierra Pertzborn totaled nine kills, while junior outside hitter Izzy Granger added eight terminations of her own. Anna Alford and Pertzborn both recorded a team-high five blocks.

Sophomore setter Macy Hatkevich had 42 assists and 13 digs, marking her 10th double-double of the season. Hatkevich also poured in a career-best six kills and one block. Freshman libero Grace Freiberger totaled 29 digs and a career-best four service aces on Saturday, while sophomore outside hitter Caylee Sharkey added 14 digs.

The Rockets will await their fate in the MAC Tournament, depending on the Ohio-Bowling Green contest results.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (16-15, 12-6 MAC) improved their home record on the season to 12-1 after they defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles (13-19, 7-11 MAC) on Saturday evening, 3-1 (26-24, 22-25, 25-19, 25-12)
 
Mandy Leigh earned her 13th double-double of the season with 37 assists and ten digs. Maria Futey and Keira Kleidon both finished with 16 digs. Katrin Trebichavska led the team with 11 kills. Abby Leigh finished with a match-high 19.0 points as she had nine kills, five aces, and six total blocks.
 
The Bulls continued to rack up the aces on their home court as they added 10 to their season total.

The Bulls are back in action tomorrow on Friday as they'll face the 4-seeded Western Michigan Broncos in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals.

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Western Michigan volleyball team closed out the regular season with a five-set victory (25-18, 21-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-9) at Ball State on Saturday evening. The win was WMU's first over the Cardinals in Muncie since 2015.
 
Logan Case narrowly missed a double-double, handing out 63 assists and collecting nine digs for the Broncos. Case's distribution set up four teammates and four double-digit kills, led by Keona Salesman's 16. Anna Calcagno and Julia Marr tallied 14 kills apiece, and Madison Merz hit a blistering .550 to add 12 to the cause.

Western Michigan also had eight service aces for the evening, with Merz tying her career high with four and Elana Erickson equaling her career-best with three.
 
Andelyn Simkins paced the defensive effort with a match-high 23 digs, while Carley Piercefield chipped in nine. Merz registered a team-high four blocks.

Next up for Western Michigan is the 2024 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship. The seedings and bracket for the tournament are set to be announced following the conclusion of the final regular season matches around the league later Saturday evening.  

AKRON, Ohio – Central Michigan Volleyball reached 23 wins with a four-set victory on Friday evening over the Akron Zips. The win total amounts to the winningest season for the program since 1985, when the team went 23-6 on the year. CMU advances to 23-6 on the year and 14-3 in conference play. Central Michigan remains in second place, one match behind Bowling Green (15-2), who defeated Ohio 3-0.

Central Michigan grabbed its victories 25-23, 25-20, and 25-9 in sets one, two, and four, respectfully, while dropping set two to the Zips 21-25.

Central Michigan head coach Mike Gawlik was happy with his team's performance and ability to put together four sets of volleyball and leave with a win.

The offense for CMU was led by, who charted 17 kills, hitting .375 from the outside. Abby Olin left the evening with 12 kills, and Natalia Rejment was not far behind with 11. The Chippewas hit .304 on the night while holding the Zips to a .157 team-hitting percentage.

Shrock's 17 kills is her eighth Mid-American Conference match this season, where she has reached double-digits.

Brooklyn Conner got the start in the middle for the Chippewas in the evening match and made the most of her appearance. The last time Conner saw action this season was the five-set victory over Bowling Green. On the evening, Conner killed six balls, hitting .333, but defensively, she recorded seven block assists – a new career high. 

Krystina Kasson also made her presence at the net known in the victory, recording nine kills with two solo blocks and six block assists. Her six-block assists tie a career-high that she has now reached four times this season. Kasson has 91 total blocks in the 2024 season. In her previous three seasons for the Chippewas, she totaled 74.

When Conner played against Bowling Green earlier this season, she charted ten kills and three block assists. 
Allie Korba, the setter for Central Michigan, surpasses the 1,000-assist mark for the 2024 season in the match and has continued to lead the Chippewas to offensive success.

Three different Chippewas recorded 10+ blocks in Rejment, Aly Gurtiza and Hannah Langton. Rejment recorded her ninth double-double of the season with her 14 digs against the Zips. 

Central Michigan will remain in Akron for another match on Saturday at 6 p.m. The match marks CMU's final regular season match of the year.