Bulls Hold On For Five-Set Victory Over Western Michigan

Friday, October 18

Buffalo, NY

6 pm

University at Buffalo

6-13,2-5MAC

Western Michigan

11-8,7-0MAC

Western Mich.

Buffalo

Bulls Hold On For Five-Set Victory Over Western Michigan

10/18/2019 9:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo volleyball team snapped a four-match losing skid on Friday night as the Bulls pulled out a 3-2 win over Western Michigan at Alumni Arena. The win improves UB to 6-13 on the year and 2-5 in MAC play.

The Bulls took the contest, 25-19, 25-17, 20-25, 19-25, 15-8 as UB outhit Western Michigan, .270 to .216. It was a huge night for a number of Bulls on both the offensive and defensive ends. Junior Lexi Nordmann hit .467 for the contest as she finished with 14 kills and no errors on 30 swings. Freshman Abby Leigh paced a Buffalo blocking attack by finishing with a career-high 11 blocks.

The Bulls led 11-8 in the opening set when UB scored four straight as a kill from Nordmann put Buffalo ahead 15-8. Western Michigan would come back and pull within 20-18, but the Bulls responded by scoring three in a row as another Nordmann kill put them ahead, 23-18. A kill by senior Polina Prokudina clinched the opening set.

Buffalo raced out to an 8-2 advantage in the second set, forcing Western Michigan into an early timeout. A kill from Prokudina extended the advantage to 11-3 and Buffalo continued to lead by eight at 20-12 when WMU would score four in a row to cut the lead in half. Following a UB timeout, the Bulls ended the set on a 5-1 run to take the set 25-17 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

However, following the intermission the Broncos answered winning the third set 25-20 and the fourth set 25-19, forcing another five set match for the Bulls, their ninth of the year.

The Bulls were impressive in the fifth as they had 11 kills and no errors in the set, hitting .500. The Bulls were also a perfect 8-for-8 in forcing WMU side outs. Buffalo held on to a comfortable lead for much of the final set as a Nordmann kill put them ahead 5-2 and another kill from the junior gave UB a 7-3 lead, forcing a WMU timeout. A block by Leigh and sophomore Monika Simkova extended the advantage to 12-6 and a kill by Prokudina clinched the set and the match.

Prokudina led all players with 20 kills on the evening as she hit .250. In addition to Nordmann's 14, senior Rachel Sanks had 12 and Simkova added 10. Leigh chipped in six kills.

Senior Scout McLerran led the Buffalo offense with 50 assists, while libero Paige Beck finished with six. The Bulls had seven aces as a unit including two each from Sanks and Leigh.

Defensively, the Bulls finished with 11.0 blocks led by the 11 from Leigh, who had 10 block assists. Sanks and Simkova each added four blocks. Beck had a team-high 17 digs, while Simkova added 15. Prokudina and McLerran each had nine and senior Hannah Watson added eight. Freshman Jenna Sonnenberg finished the evening with six digs.

The Bulls remain home tomorrow night when they face Northern Illinois at 6pm at Alumni Arena.