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University at Buffalo
14-10, 4-6MAC
Central Michigan
9-13, 4-6MAC
Bulls Snap Losing Skid; Down Chippewas In Four
10/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, NY – The State University of New York, Buffalo volleyball team snapped a four-match losing skid on Saturday evening as the Bulls defeated Central Michigan, 3-1, at Alumni Arena. The win improves the Bulls to 14-10 on the season and 4-6 Mid-American Conference play.
The Bulls took the contest 25-16, 19-25, 25-21, 25-15 as UB hit .305, its highest total in a month and a half. Central Michigan hit just .177 for the contest. The Bulls started off hot on Saturday evening as they scored the first nine points of the contest, forcing CMU to use both of its timeouts before it even found the scoring column. Central Michigan pulled no closer than six in the opening set, but the Bulls then took their largest lead at 11, as a block from Tahleia Bishop gave UB a 22-11 lead. The Bulls took the set 25-16.
Central Michigan responded in the second set with an early run of its own as the Chippewas went on a 9-3 run to force the Bulls into a timeout. Despite the early deficit, the Bulls managed to pull within five at 21-16. UB got even closer following an ace from junior Marissa Prinzbach, pulling them within 23-19, but two straight CMU points gave the Chippewas the set.
The third set was the most competitive of the four on the evening as the Bulls opened up an early 11-8 lead, but an 11-6 run from CMU gave the Chippewas a 19-17 lead. The Bulls responded though with five straight points, the last one coming on a kill from Bishop as the Bulls went back ahead 22-19. CMU pulled within 23-21 before back-to-back kills from Bishop gave UB the set and a 2-1 lead.
UB took control in the fourth set after the teams played even through the first 22 points. With the score tied 11-11, the Bulls went on a set-changing 12-2 run, which was capped off on a block from juniors Amber Hatchett and Megan Lipski. With the Bulls squarely in control, freshman Cassie Shado put an exclamation point on the victory with the final kill of the evening.
"We did a really nice job of bouncing back tonight after a tough loss yesterday," said head coach Reed Sunahara. "I thought it was a total team victory and this is something we can build on as we enter November."
Bishop led all players with 20 kills as she had just three errors, hitting .459 for the evening. Hatchett, Lipski and Lain each finished with eight kills, while Shado had seven. Both setters saw action tonight as Prinzbach finished with 28 assists and sophomore Megan Lin added 18 assists.
Defensively, Lipski had a team-high 12 digs, while freshman Niki Bozinoski added 10. The Bulls finished with 15.0 total blocks, its second highest total of the year. Lain, Shado and Bishop each finished with five total blocks, including three solos from Lain and Bishop.
Central Michigan dropped to 9-13 and 4-6 in the MAC with the loss. The Chippewas were led by Kaitlyn McIntyre, who had 17 kills. Kylie Copple added 34 assists and Kristen Reenders led the way defensively with 21 digs.
The Bulls will head back to the road for their second go around with the MAC East. UB will face Miami (OH) on Friday night at 7:00 pm and Bowling Green on Saturday evening.
