"Bump, set, success"

Proudly defending the Alumni Arena court this weekend, the women's volleyball team improved to 4-1 on the year by completing a three-match winning streak in the Western New York invitational.

While Buffalo faced Maryland Eastern Shore (0-2) and Colgate (0-3), the biggest challenge for the Bulls came against the Army Black Knights (1-1) on Saturday afternoon.

Head coach Jim Lodes had nothing but compliments for the fierce competitors his team faced.

"It's probably a little clich?(c) but they're very disciplined, probably due to their lifestyle and where they are right now," Lodes said. "They just don't give up. They stay relentless. They keep going. They do the same things over and over. It's like they just keep plugging away, which is a good thing."

With game one tied at 15, junior Lauren Burd completed a kill to raise Buffalo's score. UB rode the lead to the finish and ended the game victorious, 30-18.

In game two, Buffalo claimed the lead after a kill from junior Nikki Morzenti, breaking one of seven ties to create a 13-12 UB advantage. The Bulls went on to win the game 30-24.

With a repeat of Friday night's 3-0 win on the horizon, the Bulls let game three slip away. After a tie at 16, one of the 13 ties of the game, Army would lead by Buffalo by as much as 5. The score would meet again at 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34, with the Black Knights ultimately taking the game 36-34.

Coming out strong for game four, the Bulls started off with a block by Morzenti and senior Katie Weekly. UB kept the lead until a tie at 16. Army then captured the lead for the rest of the game, resulting in a 30-27 Black Knight victory.

"I'm trying not to know our past real well because I don't want to be thinking about it," said Lodes. "But I've heard that's the kind of game that we've struggled with in the past. So, in our timeout I said 'we have to decide we are going to be the new Bulls. I don't want to hear what we used to do.'"

Game five was crunch time and Buffalo came out fierce, denying Army the lead throughout the game. UB won the game 15-10 and the match 3-2.

While the Bulls were victorious as a team against the Black Knights, three of them posted match-high statistics, with Morzenti completing 20 kills, senior Amy Brown racking in 61 assists and sophomore Lizaiha Garcia getting low for 28 digs.

"Brownie (Brown) just puts them up there for me and I want to knock them down," said Morzenti.

In the first match of the tournament on Friday night, Buffalo capitalized on Maryland Eastern Shore's lack of communication, winning the match 3-0 with scores of 30-21, 30-20 and 30-22.

Saturday night fared much like Friday night for the Bulls, who defeated Colgate 3-0 with scores of 30-24, 30-22 and 30-15.

Weekly began game one against Colgate with a kill, giving the Bulls a 1-0 lead over the Raiders. A kill from Weekly also ended the game, during which Buffalo led by as many as 12 points.

Game two was in Colgate's control until a kill from junior Jenna Map?(c) tipped the score to a UB lead at 11-10. Buffalo held on to the lead and finished with an eight-point margin against the Raiders.

With the exception of Colgate's early 1-0 lead, Buffalo took game three under control, winning the game and the match 3-0.

Overall the Bulls were consistent in the invitational, a big difference from last year where the match scores were 3-0, 0-3 and 3-1.

"It's a lot better," said Map?(c), who leads the team in kills and aces. "Last year we didn't really have this consistency. I think what really helped us was the fact that we had it this weekend."

Buffalo recorded just eight wins last year and had not swept the Western New York invitational in three years.

Buffalo will look to continue their winning streak on the west coast this coming weekend. The Bulls travel to Pullman, Wash., to play in the Washington State Tournament.

UB will see their first action against Idaho on Friday, followed by matches with host team Washington State and Oral Roberts on Saturday.

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