Courtesy of Western Michigan Athletic Communications
Final MAC Volleyball Championship Bracket
Western Michigan 3, Miami 2
ATHENS, Ohio – The Western Michigan volleyball showed off its determination and resilience for the second straight night, rallying back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Miami RedHawks 3-2 (21-25, 17-25, 25-13, 25-16, 15-13) for the program’s fifth Mid-American Conference Tournament championship overall and first Tournament title since 2000. The Broncos improve to 22-13 on the season and will await the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 30.
The Broncos never gave up against the RedHawks, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to dominate the third and fourth sets of the match and hold off a Miami rally late in the fifth set to claim the title. MAC Tournament MVP Lexie Pawlik dished out 50 assists and set the Broncos to a .231 attack percentage, including marks of .519, .306, and .321 in each of the final three sets. Sydney LeMay also picked up All-Tournament honors, recording 13 kills in the match.
Alysia Baznik recorded a double-double of 14 kills and 13 digs while hitting .256, and Pawlik finished one kill shy of a triple-double with 50 assists, 11 digs, and nine kills. Olivia Kofie finished with 12 kills and a .304 hitting percentage, and Ali Gossen had a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs.
Things looked dire for the Broncos after the first two sets as Miami jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the match, but WMU responded in much the same way they did against Ohio the night before. The Broncos buckled down and went off offensively in the third set against the RedHawks, blowing them away to the tune of a 25-13 score to set the tone for the rest of the match. WMU opened the set on an 8-2 run that was capped by a kill from Gossen, and the lead reached 12-3 thanks to a kill by Olivia Kofie that forced a Miami timeout. The Broncos won the race to 20 points with a kill by Baznik to make it 20-10, and Gossen put the third set away with a kill at 25-13.
The fourth set played out in much the same way, with the Broncos taking a lead and expanding it to erase any early doubts about the outcome. Pawlik recorded a tip kill to break an early 4-4 tie, and WMU never looked back as it expanded the lead to 13-9 on an ace from Caroline Rose. Baznik upped the advantage to 15-11 with a kill, and Claire Gerwig sparked what would become a 6-0 run with a kill to make it 19-13. Gossen continued the rally with a kill on the next point, and LeMay capped it off with a kill to make it 23-13. Mikaela Ryshytylo closed out the set with another ace, beating Olivia Rusek to force set five.
Now imbued with confidence, the Broncos roared out early in the fifth set and took an 8-5 lead after back-to-back kills by Gossen. The lead reached 11-8 after an attack error by Rusek, and WMU held a 13-11 lead after Pawlik dumped one over the net for a kill. Miami tied the set at 13-13 when Meg Riley and Jenny Ingle blocked Gossen on an attack attempt, but Baznik broke the deadlock with a kill on the next point and Gossen notched the match-winner with a cross-court kill.
2014 MAC Volleyball All-Tournament Team
Kelly Lamberti, Ohio
Mackenzie Roddy, Northern Illinois
Sarah Chaney, Miami
Meg Riley, Miami
Sydney LeMay, Western Michiga
Lexie Pawlik, Western Michigan - MVP
