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University at Buffalo
9-0
UCF
4-7
Bulls Win Ninth Straight; Take Home Georgia State Invite Title
9/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
ATLANTA, GA – The University at Buffalo volleyball team continued its unbeaten streak with a pair of 3-0 sweeps on Saturday, clinching a victory at the Georgia State Invite. The Bulls defeated UCF earlier this afternoon and then beat the host Panthers on Saturday evening. Sophomore Tahleia Bishop was named the tournament's most valuable player, while Dana Musil and Christine Fritsche were both named to the all-tournament team. UB is now 9-0 on the year.
The Bulls opened the day with a 3-0 sweep of Central Florida, beating UCF, 25-20, 25-21, 27-25. Like they have done in every match to date this season, UB outhit its opponent, .273 to .149. Buffalo got out to an early 8-3 lead on a kill from Bishop and with the set tied 13-13, UB went on an 8-2 run to take a 21-15 lead in the opening set.
UB got out to the same 8-3 lead in the second set and led by as much as 17-9 before UCF came back and tied it up at 21-21. The Bulls went on to score the final four points, including back-to-back kills from Bishop and a Musil ace ended the set.
It was Central Florida who took the lead in the third as it led UB, 15-9 in the set. UCF continued to lead in the set at 20-16 when UB went on a 5-1 run to tie it up at 21-21. The Bulls fought off a set point and ended the match on a 4-1 run with the final point coming on a block from Carissa McKenna and Kaja Schirmer.
"We moved Tahleia over to Liz's spot with her out and she played great," said head coach Todd Kress. "Dana came in a played well and overall it was just a huge team win."
Bishop had a match-high 18 kills, while Musil had 10 and Fritsche added nine. McKenna finished with seven kills and no errors on nine swings. Senior Dani Reinert finished with 26 assists.
Senior Kelly Svoboda finished with a match-high 25 digs, while Musil added nine. McKenna added seven total blocks and Bishop finished with five.
Against the host Panthers, UB took the match 25-22, 25-23, 26-24 as it held Georgia State to just a .076 hitting percentage.
The Bulls fell behind in the opening set 14-13, but they went on a 6-2 run to take a 19-16 lead in the set. UB opened its lead to 23-17 and it held on for the 25-22 victory. Georgia State also took the lead in the second set as the Panthers led 13-10 early in the set and continued to lead 20-17. From there, UB scored six straight points, capped off on a kill from sophomore Amber Hatchett and a Georgia State error, giving UB the 23-20 lead. Georgia State pulled within 24-23, but an attack error gave UB the set and the 2-0 lead.
Georgia State led the third set 20-16 as it looked to extend the match and it increased its lead to 23-18, but the Bulls refused to quit. Three straight UB blocks pulled the Bulls within 23-21 and a Georgia State error and Musil ace tied the set up at 23-23. With the match tied 24-24, back-to-back kills from Hatchett and Bishop clinched the set and the match.
"It was a gritty win for us against a very good and athletic Georgia State team," said Kress. "Our team showed a lot of fight and resiliency coming back from a couple of deficits tonight. This weekend was a total team effort out on the court."
The Bulls had a balanced offense in the win as Musil, Fritsche and Bishop all finished with eight kills. Hatchett added seven and McKenna finished with six. Reinert and junior Taylor Pritchett each finished with 18 assists. Pritchett and Musil each led the way with two aces.
Svoboda had a match-high 22 digs, while Fritsche finished with 11. As a team, UB finished with 13.0 total blocks, led by seven from Hatchett, including a solo. Sophomore Akeila Lain and McKenna each added five blocks.
The Bulls will wrap up their seven-match road trip this Tuesday evening as they head to Canisius. The match is set to begin at 6:00 pm.
