The volleyball team finished first in a tournament for the third straight weekend, but they will not be tournament champions for a third straight weekend.
The Bulls (9-4) finished the Hoosier Classic in a three-way tie for first place with Butler (8-4) and host Indiana (9-3) this weekend, but the Hoosiers won the tournament due to a sets tiebreaker. Buffalo went 2-1 over the weekend, defeating Butler and Western Illinois (2-11) Saturday after losing to Indiana 3-1 Friday.
The Bulls nearly drew a fifth set against Indiana. Buffalo and the Hoosiers split the first two sets and Indiana won a highly contested third set, 25-23. The Bulls cut the deficit to 19-17 in the fourth, before Indiana scored six of the last seven points to win the match.
“I thought we came out flat and against a team like Indiana, you just can’t do that,” said head coach Reed Sunahara. “We recovered well, we had a chance to win that third set, but in the end, we couldn’t capitalize. It was a good learning experience for us.”
Junior outside hitter Tahleia Bishop finished the match with 14 kills and 10 digs, while junior middle blocker Amber Hachett finished with 11 kills and two digs. Junior setter Marissa Prinzbach had a team-best 36 assists.
After Friday’s loss to Indiana, the Bulls made quick work of Butler and Western Illinois, winning both games in four sets Saturday.
After winning the first two sets 25-19 and 25-20, Butler took the third set 25-21. The Bulls finished Butler with a highly contested 25-23 fourth set.
Bishop had a game-high 24 kills to go with 11 digs. Junior middle blocker Akeila Lain added 10 kills, while junior outside hitter Megan Lipski finished with eight kills and 13 digs. Prinzbach added 45 assists and 10 digs.
“We did a good job of bouncing back,” Sunahara said. “Beating a Butler team with a higher [Rating Percentage Index] than us, playing well in crunch time and playing at a high level. I would like to see more of that.”
The Bulls defeated Western Illinois to close the weekend. After Western Illinois took the first set 25-23, the Bulls recovered to win the next three 25-17, 25-21 and 25-16. Bishop capped off a strong weekend with 20 kills and 11 digs, while Lipski had 14 kills and 12 digs. Prinzbach finished with 50 assists and 11 digs, while freshman libero Niki Bozinoski added 11 digs.
After three weekends of road games, the Bulls return to Alumni Arena for three straight contests.
“It’s never a bad thing to be on the road, just to see what’s out there,” Sunahara said. “That being said, it’s always great to go back home, sleep in our own beds and play in front of our home crowd.”
Buffalo takes on Niagara (4-7) Tuesday at Alumni Arena. The game is set to begin at 7 p.m.
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Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
