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Bowling Green
Errors Costly As Bulls Fall To Bowling Green
9/29/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo volleyball team suffered defeat for just the second time at home this season, falling to Bowling Green on Saturday night, 3-1. For the Falcons, who are a perfect 4-0 in conference play, this was the first time they dropped a set to a MAC foe. The loss drops UB to 7-9 and 1-3 in the MAC.
Bowling Green took the contest 25-21, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22 as it outhit the Bulls .133 to .044. UB hung with the conference's top team, but was hurt by 36 hitting errors and 11 service errors. The Bulls got out to a quick start this evening as they scored the first four points of the match and led 7-3, but an 8-1 BG run put the Falcons in front for the remainder of the set. Bowling Green also had success in the second set before UB broke through in the third.
Bowling Green opened an early 8-4 lead in the third, but the set remained tight through out with 15 ties and nine lead changes. The final tie came at 21-21, but the Bulls responded with three straight points to take a 24-21 lead. The Falcons recorded two straight points, but freshman Tahleia Bishop ended the set with a kill as Buffalo took it 25-23.
The Bulls went on to score the first four points of the fourth set, forcing Bowling Green to call an early time out. The Bulls continued to lead 13-10 when a 7-1 BG run put the Falcons up 17-14. The Bulls responded with three straight points to tie it up at 17-17, but two Bowling Green points gave it the lead for good.
"I thought we came out a little sloppy tonight and we had way too many errors to beat a good team like Bowling Green," said head coach. 'We know that we can play with the top teams in the league, but we have to eliminate those errors to do so."
The Bulls got a tremendous effort defensively from junior libero Kelly Svoboda, who finished with a career-high 31 digs. She became the first UB player with more than 30 digs in a match since Tori Beckman did so during the 2009 season. Fellow junior Dana Musil added 14 digs and a match-high 17 kills on 52 attempts, which tie her career high.
Bishop added nine kills, while junior Carissa McKenna finished with six. McKenna led UB's blocking efforts with nine total blocks, including a solo. Freshman Akeila Lain added six blocks.
The Falcons had three players in double figures in kills, led by 11 from Paige Penrod. As a team, the Falcons recorded 23 total blocks, including 12 from Leah Shaw.
The Bulls now hit the road for the next two weekends beginning Friday at Kent State.
