Spikers claim huge win at Northern Illinois
Oct. 28, 2000
DeKALB, Ill. -- WMU's volleyball Broncos earned an important 3-0 victory Saturday (Oct. 28) at Northern Illinois. The win on the Huskies' home court was the first for Western Michigan since NIU rejoined the Mid-American Conference, in 1997, and the first for Bronco coach Cathy George.
WMU won 15-8, 15-8 and 15-11 to improve its overall record to 16-5 and its MAC record to 11-1. Western Michigan is undefeated (5-0) in University Arena this season versus MAC opponents and has won 10 straight matches, all against conference foes. On Friday night (Oct. 27) , WMU swept Buffalo, 3-0, in a matched played in Kalamazoo.
The Broncos remain tied for the best record in the league with the Ball State Cardinals (18-4 overall, 11-1 MAC), which also swept a pair of conference opponents this weekend. Ball State's only MAC loss of the season came one week ago at Northern Illinois. The Broncos host the Cardinals on Friday, Nov. 17.
In Saturday's match, sophomore setter Ashley Ritter assisted her teammates 42 times on kills (14.0 apg), had six kills of her own and a .857 hitting percentage. She also carded a double-double (assists and digs) contributing 11 digs to the Bronco defensive effort.
Senior Alberta Griffin also had a double-double for WMU with a team-leading 15 kills and 14 digs. Classmate Monyka Paul added 10 kills and seven digs to her season-leading totals for the Broncos in both categories.
WMU hosts cross-state rivals Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan on Friday, Nov. 3, and Saturday, Nov. 4, respectively. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. in University Arena. Saturday's match will also be parents' night for the volleyball Broncos.