The University of Akron Athletics
Zips Fall to Broncos in Straight Sets
October 13 | Women's Volleyball
The University of Akron volleyball team was defeated by Western
Michigan in three games Saturday at Rhodes Arena, 19-30-, 19-30,
17-30.
With the loss, the Zips fell to 9-12 overall and 1-7 in
Mid-American Conference play while the Broncos improved to 16-6,
7-1.
Outside hitter Brionna Patterson (Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky) led
the Zips with 12 kills on .219 hitting and also recorded five digs.
Sophomore Megan Rodriguez (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Walsh
Jesuit) paced the UA defense with a match-high 15 digs.
WMU hit .325 for the match and posted 11 service aces, including
five from Jillian Mitchell. Ashley Vogl led all players with 15
kills on .571 hitting while Caitlin Strimel led the Broncos with 11
digs.
The Zips jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the opening game behind
a pair of kills from Patterson and a service ace from Kara
Smith (Secor, Ill./El Paso-Gridley). But the Broncos came
storming back with a 13-4 run to take a 14-8 lead and pushed its
lead to 23-14 before finishing off the 11-point decision.
The teams played to a 4-all tie in game two and battled fairly
evenly as the Broncos held a slight edge at 12-11 midway through.
Western Michigan pulled away with a 7-2 spurt to give the visiting
team a 19-13 advantage. WMU closed out the game with a 6-1 run to
take a 2-0 lead for the match.
WMU broke away from a 7-all tie in final game with a 13-3 run to
pull off the straight-sets decision.
The Zips will wrap up its West Division swing on the road with a
pair of matches at Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan next
weekend.
