3-915-13; MAC
Miami (OH)
4-89-16; MAC
Bulls Pick Up MAC Road Victory At Miami, 3-0
10/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
OXFORD, OH – The University at Buffalo volleyball team dominated its performance at Miami (OH) on Saturday evening, defeating the RedHawks, 3-0, at Millett Hall. The win improves UB's record to 15-13 on the season and 3-9 in the MAC.
UB swept the contest, 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 as it hit .240 on the evening, opposed to just .111 for the RedHawks. UB had to fight back early as the RedHawks opened the first set on a 7-3 run. UB came back with a 7-2 run of its own to take a 10-9 lead. UB extended its lead to 17-11 on back-to-back service aces from freshman Christine Fritsche. The RedHawks would cut it to 19-16, but the Bulls closed out the set with a 25-22 victory.
In the second set, things were tied up at 10-10 when Miami went on a 7-2 run, taking a 17-12 lead in the set. Miami continued to lead in the second set and went up 23-18 when UB began its fight back. The Bulls ended the set on a 7-0 run with two kills from Carissa McKenna and Marisa Hornbaker. Throw in a Lindsey Schlegel ace and two Miami service errors and the Bulls moved to a 2-0 lead in the match.
UB rode its momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 6-3 lead. Miami fought back to get things within 10-9, but the Bulls responded with a 7-1 run to take a 17-10 lead in the set. The Bulls closed things out on a kill from Abby Niekamp to take the third and final set, 25-19.
"It was a good team win and we learned that we can be a very good team when you fight from the first point," said head coach Todd Kress. "We also learned that trusting and believing in your teammates out on the court goes a long way in being successful."
The Bulls were led by 13 kills from Hornbaker, while Fritsche and Niekamp each had nine. Niekamp finished an extremely efficient weekend with just one error in the match, hitting .615. McKenna finished with a career-best six kills, while Kayla Govier added five. The Bulls excelled in the serving column with six service aces, led by three from Fritsche. Freshman Kelly Svoboda added two and senior Lindsey Schlegel had one. Schlegel finish with 17 assists, while freshman Dani Reinert added 13.
Defensively, the Bulls dug 63 balls in the three sets, led by 21 from Svoboda. Fritsche added a career-high 16 digs, while Reinert had six. The Bulls had 6.0 total blocks, led by five total blocks from McKenna, including a solo. Govier added three total blocks.
UB returns home next weekend for its final two regular season matches at Alumni Arena. UB host Ohio on Friday at 7:00 pm and Kent State on Saturday at 5:00 pm.
