Bulls Secure First Program Road Win at Ball State

Saturday, October 12

Muncie, Ind.

4 p.m.

10-10,6-1MAC

Ball State

10-8,3-4MAC

Buffalo

Ball St.

Photo by: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics

Bulls Secure First Program Road Win at Ball State

10/12/2024 7:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Buffalo remains in first place in the MAC

By: Zach Monell

MUNCIE, Ind. – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (10-10, 6-1 MAC) earned their first ever road win against the Ball State Cardinals (10-8. 3-4 MAC) on Saturday evening in a four-set thriller (25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23). With their win, the Bulls have won six in a row and stay atop the MAC standings.

Headed into the match, Buffalo was 0-15 all-time against the Cardinals in Worthen Arena. In the 2022 MAC Tournament, the Bulls defeated the Ohio Bobcats in the quarterfinals as Ball State was the host.

Katrin Trebichavska led all players with 23 kills and 17 digs as she recorded her eighth double-double on the year. Abby Leigh continued to be a dominant player at the net as she had 12 kills and seven total blocks. Manoela Forlin added 10 kills and three total blocks.

Mandy Leigh had 50 assists in the match, good for 12.50 per set. The Bulls had 64 kills to Ball State's 51.

The Bulls jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set as Ball State had three consecutive errors. Buffalo held the lead until Ball State tied the set at 9. Buffalo rattled off a 6-2 run as they led 15-11 at the media timeout. Down the stretch, the Cardinals ended up taking a 20-19 lead. Buffalo was able to win the set, 25-22 as they went on a 6-2 run. Tehya Shaw had the set winner.

Ball State tied the match with their own 25-22 set win. Despite the Bulls outhitting them, .250 to .229, the Cardinals had 22.0 points to Buffalo's 19.0. Ball State held a 12-6 lead, but the Bulls managed to go on an 8-2 run to tie the set at 14. The tides turned in favor of the home team as a 4-0 run caused Buffalo to call a timeout at 18-14. The Bulls were never able to get in a rhythm to take the set.

Both squads struggled to get the offense going as the Bulls hit .154 to the Cardinals' .119. Both teams had four service aces. Ball State soared to a 6-2 and maintained the lead until the Bulls took a 17-16 lead. With Ball State leading 21-19, the Bulls called a timeout. Buffalo closed the set on a 6-2 run to win, 25-23.

Throughout the match, there were 28 ties and 11 lead changes. In just the fourth set, there were 14 ties and four lead changes. The largest lead came at the end when the Bulls had match point at 24-20. Ball State stopped the Bulls on three-straight points to make it 24-23, but Trebichavska closed the match with a kill.

"I am incredibly proud of the focus and resilience of the team as they fought back and forth all night and closed out very tight sets with great play," stated Head Coach Scott Smith. "As strong as our offense was tonight, I felt it was our defense that really made the difference and got us the win. Ball State is a great team that didn't give us much which makes earning the win even better!"

The Bulls are back in action on Thursday when they host the Bowling Green Falcons (10-8, 5-2 MAC). The match will start at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

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