Bulls Close Out Regular Season With Five-Set Win At Kent State

Saturday, November 16

Kent, OH

7 pm

University at Buffalo

12-16,8-8MAC

Kent State

14-14,7-9MAC

Buffalo

Kent St.

Bulls Close Out Regular Season With Five-Set Win At Kent State

11/16/2019 10:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 2019 VB Bracket

BUFFALO, NY – For a team that has made it a habit of going the distance, it was only fitting that the University at Buffalo volleyball team went to a fifth set yet again on Saturday night defeating the Kent State Golden Flashes, 3-2. The Bulls improve to 12-16 and finish league play 8-8. UB will be the #7 seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament.

Buffalo took the contest 25-22, 28-30, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11 as the Bulls hit .301 for the contest, compared to .290 for the Golden Flashes. In the opening set, the two teams traded the lead back and forth as they found themselves tied at 17-17 when UB got kills from seniors Kristina Nieves and Rachel Sanks to take a 19-17 lead. The Golden Flashes again pulled within one at 22-21 before the Bulls got kills from Lexi Nordmann and Scout McLerran to get to set point. A kill from Polina Prokudina clinched the opening set.

Both teams had their opportunities in the second set as Kent State finally came out ahead 30-28. The Golden Flashes took a 2-1 lead in the match with a win in the third set, but like they have done all year, the Bulls weren't done.

Kent State led 8-5 in the fourth set when the Bulls scored four straight points as a Sanks kill gave Buffalo the 9-8 lead. The Golden Flashes went on to take a 20-19 advantage, but the Bulls responded with a 4-0 run to go ahead, 23-20. Kent State would fight off two set points, but a Golden Flashes' service error clinched the set and sent the match to five.

An ace from freshman Jenna Sonnenberg put Buffalo ahead 3-1 early. Leading just 6-5, the Bulls went on a 5-0 run, all but putting the match away. Kent State would fight off three match points late, but a kill from Sanks clinched the set and the match.

Sanks finished with 23 kills to lead all players. Prokudina added 16 kills, while Monika Simkova had 12. Nieves finished with nine kills and just one error as she hit .533. Both Nordmann and McLerran each had seven kills.

McLerran added 56 assists and she also had two of Buffalo's eight aces. Simkova and freshman Abby Leigh also each had a pair of aces.

Defensively, Simkova finished with a team-high 15 digs, while sophomore Paige Beck added 14. McLerran chipped in 10 digs. The Bulls had 10.0 blocks, including four from McLerran. Nieves had a team-high five blocks, while Prokudina finished with three.

The Bulls will now head to Bowling Green, OH for the 2019 Mid-American Conference Tournament. UB will face #6 Akron in the first round of action on Thursday at 7pm.