September 9, 2009

Bulls Roll Past Niagara, 3-0

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo volleyball team put forth a dominating performance on Wednesday night as the Bulls defeated Niagara, 3-0, at Alumni Arena. The Bulls trailed just once, early in the first set, as they improve to 4-3 on the season.

 

UB took the contest 25-17, 25-11, 25-14 as the Bulls outhit Niagara, 287 to .041. The Bulls used strong serving throughout the match. In the first set with the Bulls leading 4-3, senior Lauren Fensten led UB to six straight points and gave the Bulls a commanding 10-3 lead. The Purple Eagles cut the lead to 12-8, but got no closer in the set. Sophomore Heather Pyle served UB to three points in the set, including one by service ace.


The second set was UB's strongest as Niagara hit just -.054 in the set. The Bulls scored the first four points of the set on the serving of juniorMarisa Hornbaker. The Bulls went on to score seven of the first nine points of the set and at 9-4, UB went on a 12-5 run to take a commanding lead. Hornbaker again contributed from the service line as did junior Lindsey Schlegel, who served UB to the final three points of the set. 

 

Both the Bulls and Purple Eagles had their best hitting performance in the third set, led by UB's .321 mark. The Bulls got off to a quick lead again scoring the first three points and five of the first eight. Niagara trailed just 10-8 when the Bulls embarked on a 10-2 run. Coming off the bench to give the Bulls a spark during that run was junior Kayla Govier, who contributed her first service ace of the season.


The Bulls were led by 16 kills from Dani Silvers, who hit .500 for the match with just three errors on 26 swings. Hornbaker added eight kills, while junior Kristin Bignell added five. Freshman Tori Beckman had a team-high 15 digs, while Fensten added 12. Schlegel added eight digs, four kills and had a match-high 32 assists. 

 

As a team, UB recorded eight service aces, led by two from Schlegel and Hornbaker. Chipping in one apiece was Pyle, Fensten, Beckman and Govier. On the blocking front, UB had four total team blocks, including solos from Govier and Abby Niekamp.


Niagara was led by seven kills from Kathy Bibler and six from Amanda Wilken. Sam Morgan had a match-high 18 digs, while Michele James added 18 assists. 

 

The Bulls are back in action this weekend when they host a two-match series with Youngstown State. The first match at Alumni Arena will be at 7:00 pm on Friday, while the two teams will meet for a second time on Saturday at 4:00 pm.