Bulls have Historic Weekend with Series Sweep Over Ball State

Saturday, October 21

Buffalo, N.Y.

4 p.m.

University at Buffalo

19-4,9-2MAC

Ball State

12-10,9-2MAC

Ball St.

Buffalo

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com

Bulls have Historic Weekend with Series Sweep Over Ball State

10/21/2023 9:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

UB reaches 19 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in Division I history.

By: Zach Monell

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (19-4, 9-2 MAC) defeated the Ball State Cardinals (12-10, 9-2) in a five-set thriller, 33-35, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22, 15-12. The Bulls earned just their third victory over Ball State in program history. UB sits at 9-2 in MAC play and is second overall in the standings while leading the MAC East Division.

With tonight's win over the Cardinals, the Bulls earn their first back-to-back 19-win seasons in Division I history. The last time it happened in program history was in 1989 (34) and 1990 (28).

It was a thrilling atmosphere at Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon. The day was highlighted by Stacia Gollogly's performance as she had a career-high 24 kills on 46 attempts and just three errors (.457). Mandy Leigh finished with a career-high 74 assists. This also marks the most assists in a five-set match in every level of the NCAA.

Yesterday was the first time on the season that four Bulls had at least 10 kills, today five Bulls had 10 kills. Katrin Trebichavska had a stellar performance with 19 kills, followed by Abby Leigh (16), with Courtney Okwara and Manoela Forlin finishing with 11 kills each. Maria Futey had 21 digs and a match-high three aces.

The first set was a rollercoaster as the first to 25 wasn't high enough. UB led at 28-27 but couldn't close the deal. They were within set point six times down the stretch. The Cardinals won the set, 35-33. In the set, 26 of UB's 33 points came off of kills. The Bulls hit .306 to Ball State's .315. The Cardinals had 21 kills in the set and capitalized on the Bulls' five service errors.

After dropping the first point in the second set, the Bulls led the rest of the way. A key strength with the Bulls roster is spreading the wealth on the offensive attack. Six different player recorded a kill in the set while hitting .324 with just three errors. The Bulls led by as much as eight and won the set, 25-19.

Ball State's offense could not be stopped in the third set. They recorded 18 kills on 27 attempts with no errors. UB had a respectable .250 hitting percentage but recorded six errors. With the Cardinals up 15-13 at the media timeout, the Bulls didn't have answer slowing down Ball State. The Cardinals finished the set on a 10-4 run.

The Bulls answered back in the fourth set with a dramatic comeback. The Cardinals led 21-18, but Stacia Gollogly and the Bulls had other plans. UB closed the set on a 7-1 run with Gollogly having five straight kills for the Bulls. UB took the set 25-22 as both teams would play the fifth set in back-to-back nights.

UB's offense continued to click in the fifth set as they racked up 13 kills. Both teams traded points until the Bulls reach the 8-point mark at 8-6. Two aces gave the Bulls the momentum along with Gollogly adding four kills. Abby Leigh finished it off with a kill off an assist from her sister.

"After last night's big win we knew this was going to be even tougher," stated Head Coach Scott Smith. "A team like Ball State doesn't back off and we were prepared for another tough match. We had great contributions from all of our hitters and the consistency was incredible. We focused a lot on trusting our defense and preparation with the scouting report and that really centered us when things were not going our way. It was a big team win and a historic weekend for UB Volleyball."

The Bulls are back in action on Friday at Western Michigan (21-2, 11-0 MAC) who remains undefeated in conference play.