Bulls Open Home Schedule; MAC Play Thursday Night
9/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, NY – After playing 12 straight matches away from home to begin the season, the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York volleyball team will make their first appearance at Alumni Arena on Thursday night when they host Akron at 7:00 pm in the Mid-American Conference opener for both schools. UB will host Toledo on Saturday evening.
The Bulls are 1-11 on the season, but have played one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the nation this year, which included a pair of top 10 national opponents. The Bulls travelled to Penn State (Big Ten), Washington (PAC-12), Ole Miss (SEC) and Syracuse (ACC) over the first four weekends and those four teams are a combined 44-3 this year. Senior Megan Lipski leads the team with 116 kills, while freshman Valisha Watkins is second on the team with 87 kills and sophomore Cassie Shado is third with 82. Senior Marissa Prinzbach has 358 assists. Defensively, the Bulls are led by Nikki Bozinoski, who has 113 digs, while Lipski has added 99 and sophomore Tessa Ooyama has 95. Shado has a team-high 51 total blocks.
Akron is 6-7 on the season, beginning MAC play. Like the Bulls, Akron swept Navy earlier this season and the other common opponent is Canisius, which Akron defeated in earlier September. This past weekend, the Zips dropped matches to Samford, Morehead State and East Tennessee State. Akron is led by Amanda Bedel, who has 117 kills, and is hitting .289 on the year. Julia Smagacz adds 101 kills. Karly Kusan leads Akron with 251 assists and Kelsey Wilson leads the squad with 24 aces. Defensively, Brenna Mack has 138 digs and Wilson leads Akron with 43 blocks.
Toledo enters MAC play with a 3-10 record and will host Ball State on Thursday evening before traveling to Buffalo on Saturday. That match will begin at 7:30 pm. Toledo is led by Rachel Vidourek, who has 140 kills and a team-high .337 hitting percentage. Saige Thomas adds 130 kills. Alex Hines leads the Rockets with 453 assists. Defensively, Maurissa Leoanrd has 213 digs for the Rockets. Vidourek also leads Toledo with 47 blocks.
Tickets will be sold for all volleyball matches this season. Adult tickets are $8 a person, while junior, senior and group tickets are $5. Undergraduate students will be admitted for free with a valid student ID card.
For the Toledo match, those showing their football ticket from earlier in the afternoon will be given free admission to the match.
For those unable to attend, live stats and live video are available for free at UBBulls.com.
