Bulls Remain Undefeated with Friday Night Victory Over Montana

Friday, September 1

Buffalo, N.Y.

6 p.m.

University at Buffalo

5-0,0-0MAC

Montana

1-4,0-0Big Sky

Montana

Buffalo

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com

Bulls Remain Undefeated with Friday Night Victory Over Montana

9/1/2023 9:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (5-0, 0-0 MAC) closed day two of the UB Invite on Friday evening against the Montana Griz (1-4, 0-0 Big Sky). The Bulls came out victorious against the Griz with a four-set victory, 25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20.

The Bulls had a season-high .345 hitting percentage on the evening with 55 kills. Leading the charge was Katrin Trebichavska with a match-high 16 kills. Courtney Okwara continued to be on the best hitters in the country as she had eight kills on 14 attempts, finishing with a .429 hitting percentage. Emma Gielas got in on the party as she had nine kills on 19 attempts with no errors.

Mandy Leigh continued where she left off adding 41 assists to her career total. As a team, they racked up 10 service aces, a season high. Manoela Forlin had a match-high four aces. Maria Futey finished with a match-high 17 digs and 20 receptions.

Just like last night against DePaul, the Bulls dominated the first set. They had an attack percentage of .440 to Montana's .160. It was a back-and-forth set as the Griz led 6-5, but that would be their last lead of the set. The Bulls went on a 10-4 run leading to a Montana timeout. Leading 15-10, the Bulls took advantage of the Griz's errors, to make it 21-12 in the set. Abby Leigh finished the set off with a kill off an assist from her sister, Mandy Leigh.

It was a fairly even set on the attack, as the Bulls had the .333 to .306 edge. The second set finished with nine ties and seven lead changes, the most on the night. Down 2-0, UB went on a 5-0 run after great serves from Forlin, including two aces. Montana tied the set at five before taking a 9-8 lead. They extended their lead to three, leading 12-9. However, the rest way, the Bulls outscored the Griz, 16-8. It was wash, rinse, repeat, as A. Leigh closed the set out with another kill.

It was a dead even third set with both squads hitting at .333. Montana had a slight edge in the service department as thy had four aces to UB's one. It looked as though the Bulls would sweep the Griz, as they led 10-7, but the Griz had other plans. The Griz were then out in front 12-11, but the Bulls battled back to lead 14-12. Tied at 19, a kill from Montana's Paige Clark gave the Friz a 20-19 lead. A mental mistake by the Bulls on a serve extended the Griz's lead to 21-19. The momentum swung the Griz's direction as it forced the Bulls to call a timeout. Montana won the set, 25-23.

The Bulls defense stepped up in the fourth set as they limited Montana's attack to a .077 hitting percentage, forcing six errors. The offense was clicking for the Bulls as they started off with a 7-0 lead before Montana called a timeout. Mantana, however, went on a run of their own. A 4-0 run made it a 7-4 game, but the Bulls got hot and went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-4 lead. The Griz called their final timeout. The confidence started to sway toward the Griz as they got within two, with the Bulls leading 19-17. Down the home stretch, the Bulls capitalized on three Montana attack errors before Forlin called game.

"Again, we had steady contributions from the entire team in key moments to secure the win," stated Head Coach Scott Smith. "Montana's serving really picked up as the evening wore on and I thought we managed things well despite having some difficulty getting in-system at times. We kept our unforced errors low and that gave us the opportunities we needed to finish things. I want to highlight a few standout performances tonight as well. Maria [Futey] had her best defensive performance of the season, with Katrin Trebichavska and Emma Gielas really shined on offense!"

The Bulls are back in action tomorrow at 3 p.m. against Binghamton (3-2, 0-0 AEC). Day three of the UB Invite will open up with DePaul facing Montana at 11 a.m.