Saturday, October 9
Buffalo, NY
4:00 pm
9-9,2-4MAC
2
vs
3
Ball State
15-3,5-1MAC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Ball St.
25
25
17
25
16
3
Buffalo
15
27
25
21
14
2
Bulls Fall Short In Five-Set Thriller Against Ball State
10/9/2021 7:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo volleyball team put forth one of its most complete efforts of the season on Saturday, but the Bulls came up short in a 3-2 loss to a Ball State program that has dropped just three matches all season.
The Cardinals took the match 25-15, 25-27, 17-25, 25-21, 16-14 as Ball State narrowly outhit the Bulls, .293 to .286. UB had four players reach double figures in kills and five scored double figures in digs.
After Ball State took the opening set, the Bulls came back in the second. A kill from junior Courtney Okwara opened a 10-7 lead, but Ball State would come back to take the 20-17 lead. UB scored the next three points to tie the set up, but UB would have to fight off two set points. Okwara had a kill and a block to give the Bulls the lead and a kill from freshman Maria Futey clinched the set.
Buffalo played its best set in the third, hitting .378 against the Cardinals. Buffalo scored eight of the first 10 points of the set and a kill from Emma Gielas put the Bulls ahead, 17-11. Ball State never really made a serious charge in that set as a kill from Milla Malik clinched the set and gave UB a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Bulls led 11-7 early in the fourth set, but the Cardinals came back and tied it up at 13-13. The two teams were tied 12 times in the fourth set as neither school held more than a one point lead from 13-13 all the way to 21-21. However, from there Ball State scored the final four points to clinch the set and send the match to five.
The Cardinals drew first blood in the deciding set as Ball State led 8-5. But the Bulls responded by scoring the next four points, taking a 9-8 lead. A block from Okwara and Mandy Leigh put the Bulls ahead 13-10 and the Bulls took a 14-12 lead with the chance to close the match out. The Cardinals fought off two match points and Marie Plitt for Ball State recorded the final three kills as BSU won the set, 16-14, taking the match 3-2.
Malik and Gielas each had 17 kills to lead the way, while Okwara finished with 16 kills, hitting .483. Futey had another strong match for the Bulls as she had 15 kills and just two errors, hitting .382. Leigh dished out 56 assists, to go along with three kills. Olivia DeBortoli had six kills and just one error, hitting .455.
Defensively, Futey led the Bulls with 15 digs to complete the double-double, while Malik and Leigh each finished with 14 digs, both also finishing with double-doubles. Junior libero Jenna Sonnenberg and senior Kyndal Bacon each finished with 13 digs.
The Bulls had 11.0 total blocks, led by seven from DeBortoli and five from Gielas. Okwara added four, including a solo block.
Buffalo remains home on Wednesday night when it hosts Akron at 6pm at Alumni Arena.
The Cardinals took the match 25-15, 25-27, 17-25, 25-21, 16-14 as Ball State narrowly outhit the Bulls, .293 to .286. UB had four players reach double figures in kills and five scored double figures in digs.
After Ball State took the opening set, the Bulls came back in the second. A kill from junior Courtney Okwara opened a 10-7 lead, but Ball State would come back to take the 20-17 lead. UB scored the next three points to tie the set up, but UB would have to fight off two set points. Okwara had a kill and a block to give the Bulls the lead and a kill from freshman Maria Futey clinched the set.
Buffalo played its best set in the third, hitting .378 against the Cardinals. Buffalo scored eight of the first 10 points of the set and a kill from Emma Gielas put the Bulls ahead, 17-11. Ball State never really made a serious charge in that set as a kill from Milla Malik clinched the set and gave UB a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Bulls led 11-7 early in the fourth set, but the Cardinals came back and tied it up at 13-13. The two teams were tied 12 times in the fourth set as neither school held more than a one point lead from 13-13 all the way to 21-21. However, from there Ball State scored the final four points to clinch the set and send the match to five.
The Cardinals drew first blood in the deciding set as Ball State led 8-5. But the Bulls responded by scoring the next four points, taking a 9-8 lead. A block from Okwara and Mandy Leigh put the Bulls ahead 13-10 and the Bulls took a 14-12 lead with the chance to close the match out. The Cardinals fought off two match points and Marie Plitt for Ball State recorded the final three kills as BSU won the set, 16-14, taking the match 3-2.
Malik and Gielas each had 17 kills to lead the way, while Okwara finished with 16 kills, hitting .483. Futey had another strong match for the Bulls as she had 15 kills and just two errors, hitting .382. Leigh dished out 56 assists, to go along with three kills. Olivia DeBortoli had six kills and just one error, hitting .455.
Defensively, Futey led the Bulls with 15 digs to complete the double-double, while Malik and Leigh each finished with 14 digs, both also finishing with double-doubles. Junior libero Jenna Sonnenberg and senior Kyndal Bacon each finished with 13 digs.
The Bulls had 11.0 total blocks, led by seven from DeBortoli and five from Gielas. Okwara added four, including a solo block.
Buffalo remains home on Wednesday night when it hosts Akron at 6pm at Alumni Arena.
Team Stats
BSU
UB
Kills
71
74
Errors
20
22
Attempts
174
182
Hitting %
.293
.286
Points
84
88
Assists
68
67
Aces
6
3
Blocks
7
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballRS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
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