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University at Buffalo
16-15
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Western Michigan
19-13
Bulls Drop MAC Tournament Opener To Western Michigan
11/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
ATHENS, OH – Playing in the MAC Tournament for the first time since the 2010 season, the State University of New York, Buffalo volleyball team lost on Friday evening, falling to Western Michigan, 3-0. UB entered the tournament as the eighth seed, while the Broncos were the fifth seed in the tournament.
Western Michigan took the contest 25-22, 25-18, 25-19 as the Broncos outhit the Bulls, .207 to .133. UB had its best chance for a victory in the first set, but had some issues with serve receive, which got the Broncos back in the set. WMU had 10 aces in the match, including five in the opening set.
The Bulls had a couple of three-point leads in the first set, including leading 19-16 following a Western Michigan attack error. However, the Broncos scored four straight points, including two on service aces to take the lead. UB remained down just one at 23-22, but two straight points from the Broncos gave them the set.
Western Michigan won the second set 25-18 and was well on its way to a win in the third set before the Bulls tried to make one last rally. The Broncos led 22-12 in the third set and 24-15 when the Bulls were able to fight off four match points before WMU won the set 25-19.
"Tonight wasn't the outcome we wanted, but this team did some great things this year," said first-year head coach Reed Sunahara. "We are a young group, having started three freshmen tonight, and these types of experiences will help us grow this program for the future."
Named to the MAC's All-Freshman team a day ago, Cassie Shado led the Bulls with nine kills and no errors on 18 total attacks. Junior Akeila Lain added eight kills, while freshman Skyler Day and senior Sable Staller each finished with five kills. Junior Marissa Prinzbach led the Bulls with 19 assists, while sophomore Megan Lin added 11.
Defensively, freshman Niki Bozinoski finished with a team-high 17 digs, while Day added 11 and junior Megan Lipski had nine. The Bulls finished with 8.0 total team blocks, led by five from Lain.
Western Michigan advances to the next round of the MAC Tournament where it will face #4 Ball State. The Broncos were led by 10 kills from Ali Gossen and Sydney LeMay. Caroline Rose finished with 25 digs.
While UB's trip to the MAC Tournament is over, its season still has one match remaining as the Bulls will host Albany next Saturday at Alumni Arena at 2pm.
