Kills and digs bring success at Alumni Arena

UB Volleyball (5-4) remains undefeated at home after winning a hard-fought match 3-1 versus cross-town competition Niagara University (5-2).

Buffalo entered the match after losing three games in Washington over the weekend but Tuesday the Bulls were back on their own court and in no time, UB was back in the groove.

The Bulls dominated the Purple Eagles for the majority of the first game, leading by as many as six. The scoreboard read 28-23 in favor of UB and it appeared as if the ladies in blue and white were on their way to a victory. Niagara would not go down easy, however, scoring seven straight points and claiming the first match 30-28.

"We started off awesome and then we had that one stretch at the end of game one where we just let it unravel," said head coach Jim Lodes.

UB started off shaky in game two, scoring one point to Niagara's six. Lodes called a timeout to allow his team a chance to regain composure. Buffalo came out of the timeout and battled NU until the end. Both teams continued the game in a relentless manner, battling back and forth.

"We knew coming in that they were going to be well-coached, disciplined, organized and not make mistakes," Lodes said. "We also had to play that kind of ball. In general, with the way the weekend went, we had to do that anyway."

The Purple Eagles were solid in their play and led game two until a kill by junior outside hitter Nikki Morzenti tied the score at 23.

Niagara started to lose composure, allowing the Bulls to exploit its weaknesses and take control.

Buffalo snagged the lead, 24-23, but the score met again at 24.

The Bulls then took control of the game, outscoring Niagara 6-1 to win the game 30-25.

NU began game three in the lead, 2-0, after a side out and successful block. UB tied things up at two all with a Morzenti kill and a block by junior middle blocker Jenna Map?(c) and senior middle blocker Katie Weekly. Buffalo did not relinquish the score for the remainder of game three, winning the game by seven, 30-23.

Game four became a game that Niagara had to win or head home and neither team was going down without a fight.

UB scored the first point but the Purple Eagles tied and surpassed the Bulls, 2-1. Niagara went up by as many as four but the score met at seven after another Morzenti kill.

Buffalo led 8-7 and then NU tied the game. Ties occurred again at nine and 10 with UB falling behind to Niagara, 11-10.

Niagara's lead was short-lived thanks to a Morzenti kill and a Weekly block, pushing the Bulls ahead, 12-11. UB then went on an 18-12 scoring run, winning the game 30-23 and the match 3-1.

At the end of the match, Morzenti led the team with 16 kills, sophomore libero Lizaiha Garcia was the dig leader with 16, and Weekly blocked 8 attempts by the Purple Eagles.

Niagara had an extra weapon on their bench in the form of a former UB Volleyball star. Molly Schrantz, a 2004 graduate, left the Bulls after posting career totals of 994 kills and 1,020 digs.

"I'm sure it didn't hurt," Lodes said of Schrantz's impact. "When you spend a year with those girls, and sometimes two or three years, you know that so-and-so doesn't like to be served short, or so-and-so doesn't like to cover tips or so-and-so doesn't like to block, so keep attacking her. It definitely wasn't a disadvantage."

UB looks to continue its new winning streak on the road in the West Virginia Tournament beginning this Friday. The Bulls will first face West Virginia (6-3) on Friday followed by games against Memphis (8-3) and Duquesne (6-3) on Saturday.