The UB women's volleyball team finished non-conference play Sunday afternoon with the culmination of a three-game invitational during which Buffalo went 3-0. The wins improve the Bulls mark to 8-6 on the season, already three more wins than they had all of last year.
Buffalo 3, Canisius 2
The Golden Griffins came out strong and won the first two games 30-24 and 32-30, but Buffalo rallied back to win the last three Saturday night at Canisius College to win the first match of the invitational.
The Bulls seemed to be disoriented, missing some key blocks and making many serving errors.
"We had a lot of blocking errors . usually that's our strength," said UB Head Coach Sally Kus. "We also had an awful lot of serving errors, seven in (the second) game. You're always going to get a few errors, but seven is a lot for a game, and you want the kids to serve aggressively but the ones that hit the net really kill you."
UB took the third game 30-28. Buffalo's aggressive serve, which hampered them in the first couple games, became their strength. Combined with good blocking from Alexis Bouie and Kathryn Henry and the addition of a stronger serve, the Bulls cruised to victory in the fourth game, clobbering the Golden Griffins 30-17.
"Their serving at the end was more aggressive and their passing got better as the match progressed," said Canisius Head Coach Cathy Hummel.
With their serve scoring points and blockers cleaning up the mess at the net, the Bulls' offense was able to open up and score some big points.
"It was a close call there, we were getting a little nervous but we've been down before and come back, so we had that confidence," said Buffalo's Lindsay Matikosh, who led the team with 21 kills and 25 digs. "(Canisius) wanted this game so bad, and they came out there giving it to us like they wanted to beat us, and they almost did."
UB sophomore Molly Schrantz had 19 kills and 22 digs in the match as well. With their heavy hitters spiking the ball at the Canisius defense with pinpoint accuracy, the Bulls were able to take the fifth and final game 17-15, chalking up a win and hitting the .500 mark for the season.
Buffalo 3, Youngstown State 1
UB needed four games to beat Youngstown State Sunday morning at Alumni Arena. The Bulls took the match 30-14, 30-28, 23-30, 30-18. YSU won just the third game, the only game in which they had a positive attack percentage.
Against the Penguins, Schrantz led the Bulls with 19 kills - tying her career high - and 12 digs. Matikosh added 15 kills and a match-high 24 digs. Bouie also posted double figures in kills with 11, and she also recorded a team-high eight blocks. Freshman Amy Brown finished with 48 assists, and Henry contributed 13 digs from the libero position.
Buffalo 3, Niagara 0
The Bulls dominated the visiting Niagara Purple Eagles Sunday afternoon and won the match in straight games (30-19, 30-15, 30-28).
Against the Purple Eagles, Matikosh (18 kills, 10 digs) and Schrantz (16 kills, 12 digs) both posted double-doubles in kills and digs, and Henry added 14 digs to the Bulls' effort. Brown finished with 45 assists in the three-game match, and Bouie and freshman Katie Weekley each had a match-high four blocks.
News & Notes
The Bulls will put their four-game winning streak on the line when they open the Mid-American Conference portion of their schedule Thursday at Akron. The 9-3 Zips are coming off a 4-0 weekend, having beaten Army (4-9 overall) and Marist (4-11 overall).
Kus recorded her 100th career collegiate coaching victory with Sunday's win over Niagara. She is also six wins away from 900 for her career, which includes her high school matches.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
