The University at Buffalo women's volleyball (2-1, 0-0 MAC) team started off their season over the weekend when they hosted the Buffalo Invite presented by UB Dental. The Bulls hosted Liberty, Marist and Rutgers at Alumni Arena.
The first of the three games was against the Liberty Flames (2-0, 0-0 CUSA) on Friday and unfortunately it was all Liberty. Despite freshman opposite hitter Sydney Bell having eleven kills and two blocks and freshman setter Maddie Mitchell having 24 assists, it was not enough as Liberty won all three sets, 25-23, 25-20 and 25-22.
The Bulls would recover nicely on Saturday against the Foxes of Marist (0-3, 0-0 MAAC). Mitchell had another excellent game, this time getting 35 assists and 11 digs. Junior outside hitter and right side Manoela Forlin had a great game as well, adding 18 kills and five aces. UB won the game 3-1.
The Bulls would round out their weekend against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-2, 0-0 Big Ten), proving to be their biggest test of the tournament. UB started off 2-0 against the Scarlet Knights but Rutgers went on to win back to back sets. In the decisive fifth set, UB won 16-14. Freshman outside hitter Emerson Matthews, who had an incredible game with 15 kills, three blocks, two assists, and nine digs, scored the game winner off of an assist by sophomore outside hitter, Eve Adams. This win marked the first volleyball win over a Big Ten team opponent since 2017.
This weekend, the Bulls will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where they will compete in the Marquette Invite. The Bulls will first play the Dayton Flyers on Friday at 5 p.m.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
