Bulls Stay Golden with Victory Over Kent State

Saturday, September 23

Kent, Ohio

4 p.m.

12-2,2-0MAC

Kent State

4-9,0-2MAC

Buffalo

Kent St.

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com

Bulls Stay Golden with Victory Over Kent State

9/23/2023 8:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

KENT, Ohio – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (12-2, 2-0 MAC) stay golden in MAC play with a 3-2 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes (4-9, 0-2 MAC) on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls improve to 12-2 on the season.

This marks the fourth time in program history that the Bulls started 2-0 in MAC play (2021, 2017, 2014).

Mandy Leigh picked up her ninth double-double of the season with 46 assists and 14 digs. Abby Leigh led the Bulls on the attack with a season-high 15 kills. Katrin Trebichavska had 11 kills for the Bulls. UB improved to 8-1 on the season when two Bulls have 10 or more kills in a match.

The Bulls found themselves in a 4-1 hole in the first set, but a 4-1 run of their own tied the game at 5. UB took an 11-8 lead forcing Kent State to call a timeout. This did slow the Bulls' offense down as the Golden Flashes got within one. The Bulls led the rest of the way to win the first set, 25-19.

The offenses came alive in the second set. Despite the Bulls hitting .357, Kent State outhit them at .400. In the tightest set of the day, the Golden Flashes came out victorious in a 25-23 decision. It was back and forth as there were four ties and four lead changes. The Bulls made a late run to make it a 24-23 Kent State lead, but the Golden Flashes called a timeout to ice the Bulls' server. It was successful as Kent State won the point.

The Bulls offense struggled in the third set as they only had nine kills. The six attack errors by the Golden Flashes kept the Bulls in the set, but UB scored a match low 19 points with Kent State taking the set, 25-19.

With their backs against the wall, the Bulls stormed back to win the fourth set, 25-17. After taking a 9-8 lead, the Bulls sprinted to the finish line with the lead. UB outhit the Golden Flashes .364 to .167. UB finished with 16 kills while limiting Kent State to just seven.

Down 2-0, the Bulls went on a 3-0 run to take the lead in the decisive fifth set. UB never lost the lead, but the Golden Flashes got within one at 6-5. The Bulls were rolling as the went on a 9-2 run to close the set. UB finished with eight kills to Kent State's two. Defensively, the Bulls held Kent State to a -.111 hitting percentage.

"Amazing job by the team today to really elevate their play after going down in the match," stated Head Coach Scott Smith. "I felt like Kent State was really pouring it on offensively and we needed to match that energy. Abby Leigh, in both matches this weekend, played like the experienced captain she is and executed when we needed her most. We were able to rally behind her aggressive net play and picked up our serving through the last two sets. It is great to be tested early in the season and learn how to win through adversity. These matches will be invaluable to us as we move forward."

The Bulls begin a four game home stand on Friday, Sept. 29 against the Ohio Bobcats at 6 p.m.