UB falls to Orange

Injuries are still plaguing the UB volleyball team and the short-staffed crew dropped another game on Tuesday night, this time to the Syracuse Orange.

The Bulls went into the game with just one player available for substitution and the team's record took another painful blow as the Bulls dropped to 8-12 overall.

Syracuse (14-7) started on the right foot, taking the first six points in game one. The Orange continued its streak, going on a 6-2 run. With the score at 12-2, the Bulls showed muscle, working hard to tie the score at 25 on a block by juniors Brandie Clark and Lauren Burd.

The Orange called a timeout but it didn't stop the junior duo as they proceeded to block two more attempts in the next three plays following the break. A kill from sophomore Sarah Streib gave the Bulls a 28-26 lead. However, it was the last two-point lead the Bulls had in the game.

Point 27 for the Orange was the result of a Bulls service error, cutting UB's lead to just one. The teams continued their one-point battle until a tie at 34. Aila Dommestrup broke the tie in favor of the Orange with a kill and then UB forked the win over to Syracuse on an attack error.

The ladies in orange didn't stop there. Game two began with Syracuse jumping out to a 10-3 lead. Buffalo was unable to stop the force of Syracuse, falling in game two 30-19.

Down two games to none, the Bulls went into game three with the match on the line. UB got things rolling and lead by six with the score 15-9. The Orange bounced back with a 9-2 run that changed the scoreboard to 18-17 in favor of the home team. Syracuse was relentless in the final stretch, racking up 30 points to UB's final 27 and grabbing the match in three solid games.

A glimmer in the Bulls' loss was a school record night for Clark. Clark recorded 11 block assists in UB's loss, topping Sasha Courbat's 10 at Canisius on Sept. 27, 2000. Clark also had a double-double on the night with 11 digs.

Also making marks for the Bulls were Streib and seniors Katie Weekley and Amy Brown. Streib had seven kills and a personal-best 15 digs. Weekley contributed five kills and six blocks while Brown accumulated 30 assists, three kills and 10 digs.

Next up for the Bulls is the Ohio Bobcats (16-2, 6-0 MAC). The defending MAC champs head to Alumni Arena for a conference battle beginning at 6 p.m. The game is a part of a promotion that UB is calling Must See UB.