Pittsburgh
Bulls Split Saturday Action
9/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
STATE COLLEGE, PA - The University at Buffalo volleyball team split its two matches on Saturday at the Nittany Lion Invitational, falling to Pittsburgh in the opener before defeating Robert Morris, 3-1 in the second match at Rec Hall. The Bulls are now 3-3 on the season.
The Bulls dropped the first contest of the afternoon to Pitt, 3-0, as the Panthers took the match 25-21, 25-16, 25-22. UB kept it close with Pittsburgh, who is currently 28th according to the most recent national poll of the AVCA. Senior Dani Silvers led the way with 13 kills for the UB, recording just two errors on 25 total swings. Marisa Hornbakeradded five kills and Kelsey Lueders had three kills and no errors against Pitt. Junior Lindsey Schlegel recorded 26 assists, while freshman Tori Beckman had a team-high six digs. The Bulls recorded five total team blocks, four of those coming from junior Kristin Bignell.
During UB's second match of the day, UB outhit Robert Morris .255 to .139 as they took the match 25-18, 25-18, 25-27, 25-21. In the first set against Robert Morris the Bulls hit .357. Silvers continued her strong play with six kills and no errors on nine attempts in set one. The Bulls also recorded five service aces in the opening set with Schlegel recording three and Beckman adding two.
The Bulls hit even better in the second set with a .361 hitting percentage. Lueders was instrumental in the second set as she had eight kills through two. The Bulls dropped a tightly-contested third set 27-25. Although the Bulls didn't hit nearly as well in set three, UB blocked the ball much better and had 12 total team blocks through three sets.
UB fought off an early deficit in set four as it again hit well, recording a .324 hitting mark for the set. Silvers led the way with 20 kills, while Lueders finished with 13 and Hornbaker added 11. Senior Lauren Fensten had seven kills and 13 digs. Beckman led the way with 19 digs, while sophomore Heather Pyle recorded a career-high 15 digs. Schlegel finished with 45 assists and a match-high five service aces. Beckman added three aces for the Bulls, who had 10 as a team.
The Bulls return home to face Niagara on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm at Alumni Arena.
