After winning eight straight matches, including a 3-1 victory over former MAC East-leading Miami, BG couldn’t continue its hot play as it was downed in Kalamazoo, Mich. by Western Michigan.
The loss dropped BG to 18-8, 9-3 in the MAC, a major blow to its MAC East title hopes.
In game one, BG couldn’t stop the Broncos, who held the lead for the entire game. BG hit a miniscule .082, but was able to fight back late and pull the game within two at 20-18.
BG’s small rally forced Western Michigan coach Colleen Munson to call a timeout, which steadied the Broncos. They would then take the game on a pair of BG attack errors by Meghan Mohr and Stephanie Swiger.
“We were hitting the ball hard when we were attacking, but we were hitting out, it was just a bad day at the net,” said BG coach Denise Van De Walle.
Game two proved to be much closer. Neither team was able to take more than three points. Late in the game with the score tied at 24, Western took the lead off of a kill by Ashley Vogl, and BG responded with a kill by Swiger, only to see Western take the game on a kill by Michelle Moore.
The Falcons’ best game of the match came in game three as they took their first and only game from the Broncos. BG began the game strong, jumping out to 17-12 lead and eventually pushing its lead to 27-20.
The Broncos showed the resilience that had won them games one and two. Western took four out of the next six points, leaving the score at 29-24 in BG’s favor.
The 30th point wouldn’t come easy as Madeline Means’ attack dropped out of bounds and Western’s Vogl recorded two kills before BG could win the game on a kill by Mohr.
The momentum the Broncos built up in their near-comeback at the end of game three proved costly to BG in game four. Western jumped on the Falcons early, amassing a 15-5 lead.
The Falcons fought back, taking five points in a row with junior Chelsey Meek behind the serving line, putting the score at 19-13. Following BG’s run, Western took the game and the match on an 11-6 run highlighted by at least two kills by four different Broncos.
“It was a very disappointing evening, it was one of those nights where everyone was off at the net,” Van De Walle said.
In the loss, BG was dominated at the net: The team hit .105 for the match and .083 in game four. Two bright spots for the Falcons were freshman Sam Fish, who hit .375, had 43 assists and one service ace, and Mohr, who recorded 18 kills.
Following the loss, BG heads home to Anderson for its toughest home stand of the season against Kent State and No. 19 Ohio University. Both matches start at 4 p.m.
“This is just one match. We have to get over it and be back on track for Saturday and Sunday. These are two very important matches,” Van De Walle said.
