Volleyball Goes 2-1 in UB Hampton Inn-vitational

First year volleyball Head Coach Sally Kus may not have a legacy of winning at UB, but she does have a winning record.

The Bulls went 2-1 over the weekend at the UB Hampton Inn-vitational, dropping the first game 3-2 to coastal Carolina on Friday night, and coming back to win both games on Saturday against Bucknell (3-2) and Canisius (3-0).

Junior Lindsay Matikosh and sophomore Molly Schrantz were named to the All-Tournament Team. Matikosh led Buffalo with 50 kills while contributing 42 digs and nine blocks. Schrantz excelled for UB in all aspects with 29 kills, 91 assists, nine service aces, 30 digs, and nine blocks.

According their coach, UB has some positives to take from the weekend.

"We started two freshmen and I think they gained a lot of valuable experience," said Kus. "More than anything we got a lot of experience that will help us next weekend."

Coastal Carolina 3, Buffalo 2

Buffalo opened up the five-game series with a 30-27 win over the Chanticleers. The Bulls were solid all-around in the first game and used two separate 4-0 runs to help the cause and Matikosh's six kills helped seal the deal.

CCU stormed back in games two (30-22) and three (30-25), using poor passing by the Bulls to take the lead in the series 2-1. UB refused to back down for the fourth game, starting the match 6-0, and eventually building their lead until they finished the Chantileers off 30-19 with a service ace by freshmen Katie Weekley.

The fifth and deciding game was dominated by CCU early as they used UB misplays and a strong attack to build a 14-8 lead. Buffalo fought back with a 4-0 run to make the game 14-12, but were denied when a Sarah Bennett kill beat UB defenders to end the game 15-12.

Jeanne Lambert led the Chanticleers with 12 kills, six service aces and a match-high 29 digs. Bennett (15) and Katie Knutson (11) also recorded double digits in kills.

Buffalo had four players finish in double figures in kills, led by Matikosh with 15, including six in the opening game and four in the deciding game. Matikosh also finished with 15 digs and three blocks. Weekley (14 kills, six blocks) and Amy Brown (28 assists, team-high 18 digs) both had impressive showings in their first collegiate matches, and junior Alexis Bouie started the year strong with 13 kills and six blocks. The sophomore duo of Schrantz (10 kills, 28 assists, 11 digs, four service aces) and Kathryn Henry (nine kills, 15 digs, three blocks) also contributed to the Bulls' effort.

Buffalo 3, Bucknell 2

The Bulls looked doomed in their match against the Bucknell Bison, losing the first two games 30-27 and 30-28. Buffalo kept both games close, but a combination of mistakes and poor passing were major factors in the losses.

UB, frustrated with their uninspired play in the first two games, roared back to take the final three games to win the best of five. Led by Matikosh's 17 kills and 15 digs, and Schrantz's triple-double (10 kills, 40 assist, 10 digs), the Bulls easily handled the Bison, 30-20, 30-17, and 15-10.

Bouie finished the match with 13 kills, a career-high nine digs and six blocks, and Weekley added 10 kills and 10 blocks.

Buffalo 3, Canisius 0

UB wasted no time overwhelming Canisius in the final game of the weekend, sweeping the Golden Griffins three games to none. The Bulls started out quickly winning the first game on the shoulders of an early 5-point run that was quickly followed by a 3-point run. These eight points helped Buffalo secure a 30-22 win.

UB errors made the second game close, but the Bulls rode the strength of 20 kills to win. Buffalo actually trailed by as much as four, 17-13, due to shaky passing, but steadily managed to cut the lead to two, 22-20. A high arcing 4-ball (a set to the pin atop the net perpendicular to the sideline) that was crushed by Matikosh started a 4-point rally by UB and they never looked back, taking the match 30-25.

The Bulls led game three 9-6 early on, but misplays on both the attack and the defense allowed Canisius to make a 6-0 run to take the lead.

The Golden Griffins slowly extended their lead to seven at 21-14, but the Bulls took control late in the game to rally for the sweep.

"We decided that we didn't want to play a fourth game," said Matikosh. "So we found it somewhere to pull it out and put the balls down."

A furious late game run by the Bulls was highlighted by two block assists from Bouie. Matikosh recorded six kills out of the Bulls final nine points as UB won 31-29.