
Bulls Win Season Finale At Akron, 3-1
11/17/2021 10:07:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, OH – The University at Buffalo volleyball team ended the 2021 season on a high note Wednesday evening as the Bulls went on the road and defeated Akron, 3-1. The Bulls finished the season 13-17 and 6-12 in MAC play.
Buffalo took the contest 25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 26-24 as UB outhit Akron, .253 to .200. Buffalo scored seven of the first 10 points in the first set and ultimately led 16-9. Buffalo led 19-11 when Akron would score the next five points to pull within three. Akron got even closer at 21-20, but the Bulls ended the set on a 4-1 run as a kill from Maria Futey gave Buffalo the 1-0 lead.
The Bulls again got out to a quick start in set two as back to back kills from junior Courtney Okwara put Buffalo ahead, 10-4. The Bulls continued to lead 19-13 when Akron pulled within two following a 6-2 run. However, UB would score the final four points of the set, finished off by a Mandy Leigh service ace.
The Zips stayed alive with a 25-22 win in set three, but the Bulls would close it out in the fourth. Akron led late in the set at 20-19, but a pair of kills from Okwara put the Bulls in the lead. Akron fought off one Buffalo set point as the match was tied at 24-24, but a kill from Emma Gielas and an Akron attack error clinched the set and the match.
Gielas tied her career high with 21 kills as she had just one error in the match, hitting .488. Okwara added 11 kills and just one error as she hit .357, while Milla Malik and Futey each finished with 10 kills.
Leigh dished out 50 assists on the night, giving her 1,186 for the season, which puts her in fifth place all-time on UB's single-season assist list. Leigh also had four kills and three aces.
Defensively, five players finished in double figures in digs led by 21 from junior Jenna Sonnenberg. Malik had 15 digs and senior Kyndal Bacon, playing in her final match, had 13 digs. Both Futey and Leigh chipped in 11 digs. UB finished with 7.0 blocks, led by four from Stacia Gollogly, including a pair of solo blocks.
This will be the fifth time in the last seven years since head coach Scott Smith has been on staff that Buffalo has won at least six MAC contests. Prior to that they had done it just twice in their first 16 seasons.
In addition to Bacon, Wednesday's contest was the final one in the career of Paige Beck, who played in 337 sets in her Buffalo career.
Buffalo took the contest 25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 26-24 as UB outhit Akron, .253 to .200. Buffalo scored seven of the first 10 points in the first set and ultimately led 16-9. Buffalo led 19-11 when Akron would score the next five points to pull within three. Akron got even closer at 21-20, but the Bulls ended the set on a 4-1 run as a kill from Maria Futey gave Buffalo the 1-0 lead.
The Bulls again got out to a quick start in set two as back to back kills from junior Courtney Okwara put Buffalo ahead, 10-4. The Bulls continued to lead 19-13 when Akron pulled within two following a 6-2 run. However, UB would score the final four points of the set, finished off by a Mandy Leigh service ace.
The Zips stayed alive with a 25-22 win in set three, but the Bulls would close it out in the fourth. Akron led late in the set at 20-19, but a pair of kills from Okwara put the Bulls in the lead. Akron fought off one Buffalo set point as the match was tied at 24-24, but a kill from Emma Gielas and an Akron attack error clinched the set and the match.
Gielas tied her career high with 21 kills as she had just one error in the match, hitting .488. Okwara added 11 kills and just one error as she hit .357, while Milla Malik and Futey each finished with 10 kills.
Leigh dished out 50 assists on the night, giving her 1,186 for the season, which puts her in fifth place all-time on UB's single-season assist list. Leigh also had four kills and three aces.
Defensively, five players finished in double figures in digs led by 21 from junior Jenna Sonnenberg. Malik had 15 digs and senior Kyndal Bacon, playing in her final match, had 13 digs. Both Futey and Leigh chipped in 11 digs. UB finished with 7.0 blocks, led by four from Stacia Gollogly, including a pair of solo blocks.
This will be the fifth time in the last seven years since head coach Scott Smith has been on staff that Buffalo has won at least six MAC contests. Prior to that they had done it just twice in their first 16 seasons.
In addition to Bacon, Wednesday's contest was the final one in the career of Paige Beck, who played in 337 sets in her Buffalo career.
Team Stats
UB
UA
Kills
59
57
Errors
17
23
Attempts
166
170
Hitting %
.253
.200
Points
70
70
Assists
56
51
Aces
4
4
Blocks
7
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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