Bulls Get Defensive In Epic Comeback Versus Troy

Saturday, September 4

Tuscaloosa, AL

11:00 am

3-3,0-0MAC

Troy

2-3,0-0Sun Belt

Buffalo

Troy

Bulls Get Defensive In Epic Comeback Versus Troy

9/4/2021 1:47:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

TUSCALOOSA, AL – The University at Buffalo volleyball team came all the way back from a 2-0 deficit on Saturday morning, recording 17.0 total blocks as the Bulls defeated Troy, 3-2. With the victory, Buffalo evens its record at 3-3 on the year.

Buffalo took the contest 16-25, 15-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-6 as UB hit a season-high .299 opposed to Troy's .263.

The Trojans hit over .300 in each of the first two sets as they took a big 2-0 lead in the contest, but the Bulls answered in a huge way over the final three sets.

UB had just 5.0 total blocks over the first two sets but erupted for 12.0 blocks during the remainder of the match, paced by Olivia DeBortoli, who came off the bench and had nine blocks.

Buffalo trailed by four early in the third set and continued to trail 13-11 when the Bulls scored three straight points, including back-to-back kills from sophomore Emma Gielas. Back-to-back blocks from Mandy Leigh and DeBortoli extended the Buffalo lead to 19-15 and a kill from Milla Malik put UB ahead, 23-18. A kill by Courtney Okwara clinched the set for the Bulls.

UB again trailed early in the fourth set at 10-7, but from there the Bulls went on a 10-3 run, taking a 17-13 lead. Troy would come back and tie the set up at 20-20, but a kill from Malik started a stretch of three straight Buffalo points. A block from Okwara and Gielas clinched the fourth, to send the match to a fifth set, UB's third five-set match of the young season.

The Bulls saved some of their best work for the fifth set as UB hit .700 in the fifth, with seven kills on 10 swings and no errors. UB also added 4.0 blocks in the fifth set alone. They raced out to an 8-1 lead in the fifth set, the final four points all coming from blocks and DeBortoli was involved in all four of them. Troy never made a serious threat in the fifth set as the Bulls coasted to the 15-6 win.

Three UB players finished in double figures in kills, led by Malik who had 18 kills, as she hit .359 for the match. Gielas added 13 kills and Okwara finished with 12 kills and just one error, as she hit .500. Freshman Maria Futey added eight kills.

Mandy Leigh had 46 assists in the match, to go along with three kills, six digs, and four blocks. As a team, UB finished with six aces, led by three from Malik.

Defensively, Buffalo outblocked Troy, 17.0-4.0. In addition to the nine from DeBortoli, Gielas and Okwara each had six total blocks.

Freshman Hannah Jacoby led Buffalo with 15 digs, while Futey added 13 and Malik had eight.

After spending the first two weeks on the road, the Bulls will return to Western New York for the first time next weekend as the host the WNY Invite. UB will host Duquesne on Friday at 6pm and then West Virginia at 10am on Saturday and Canisius at 4pm.