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Western Michigan
Bulls End Season With MAC Quarterfinal Loss
11/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
TOLEDO, OH – The University at Buffalo volleyball team ended their most successful season since joining the Mid-American Conference as the Bulls fell in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament to the West Division Champions, Western Michigan, 3-0.
The Broncos put forth a strong defensive effort limiting UB to just a .035 hitting mark for the night. WMU, who took the match 25-14, 25-14, 25-21, hit .246 on the night.
The Broncos got off to a quick start in the first set scoring the first five points of the match. The Bulls began to make a comeback, but the two teams traded points back and forth as the Bulls used their second timeout of the set down 12-6. The Bulls struggled in the first set hitting -.070 as they fell 25-14.
The Bulls led early on in the second set, but the Broncos responded and then with UB down 8-7, Western Michigan went on a 10-2 run to take an 18-9 lead in the second. The Broncos continued to play outstanding defense throughout the set as they again won 25-14.
The Bulls scored the first five points of the third set, but the Broncos responded with three straight points of their own. The Broncos fought back to tie the set at 7-7. An 8-1 Western Michigan run gave them an 11-7 lead before the Bulls ended it with a kill. The Bulls again showed fight, but couldn't get all the way there as they dropped the set 25-21.
"I have never been more proud of a group than I am of this one," said head coach Todd Kress. "This was a huge step in the right direction for our program and we will work all off season be better next year. I thought Western played a heck of a match and we had a hard time getting any balls down on the floor."
The Bulls were led by freshman Tori Beckman who recorded 23 digs to set the school's all-time single season digging record with 553. Dani Silvers had a team-high eight kills while Marisa Hornbaker added seven. Kelsey Lueders added eight kills and a service ace for UB. Junior Lindsey Schlegel had a team-high 25 assists and four kills on the night.
The Broncos were led by 12 kills from Michelle Moore and 11 kills from Jessica Brown. Caitlin Strimel led four players in double figures in digs with 21.
The Bulls end their season with a 16-16 record, their most wins since the 1997 season.
