dj_paige

The UB Volleyball team's season ended with a 3–0 loss against South Florida in the first round of the NIVC Tournament. The season saw Buffalo achieve many program firsts, which should not be overlooked despite the loss. Buffalo lost a very close first set 25–23, in which there were 14 ties, and neither team could ever produce a lead bigger than three points. Buffalo took an 11–9 lead on an ace from senior defensive specialist Julianna Lopez, but the lead wouldn't last, and Buffalo played mostly from behind the rest of the set. The second set began similarly, with Buffalo opening an early 2 point lead at 8–6, but eventually South Florida took the lead, and the Bulls would not lead again. South Florida broke the set open, when at 13–13 they ran off 5 straight points and were never threatened, winning 25–19. In the third set, the teams were tied 9–9 and then South Florida went on an 11–2 streak. Buffalo never got their offense going during the match, only once scoring three points in a row. The Bulls hit over 0.200 in each of the first two sets, but each time South Florida attacked more effectively. In the third set, Buffalo hit negative, and finished the match at 0.147, while USF finished at 0.329. At many times during the match, Buffalo could not seem to make good passes, which led to ineffective attacks. There were only a few situations during the match where Buffalo got off a strong attack, where the attacker could run up to the ball and have her momentum add to the power of her swing. It also seemed like most of the match USF was attacking in system. Only senior outside hitter Katrin Trebichavská was able to reach double digits kills with 11. The next best attacker was fifth year middle blocker Courtney Okwara with 7 kills. A partial list of program firsts for the Bulls in 2023: Co-MAC-East Champions #2 overall seed into the MAC Tournament two straight years in the MAC Tournament semi-finals two straight years in the NIVC Tournament 13 MAC wins Five players selected for All-MAC honors RPI as high as 66 First ever win over an SEC team (Buffalo defeated Missouri on September 8 ) First ever sweep of a Power-5 Conference team (Missouri) Other Stuff UB Women's Basketball attended the match against South Florida (which was held at St. John's), on their way to a game against Stony Brook the next day. Missouri would eventually qualify for the NCAA Tournament as a #8 seed. They advanced to the second round. In Buffalo's win over Missouri, the Tigers never scored 20 points in any set. Colgate, whom Buffalo defeated in an exhibition match, also advanced to the NCAA tournament, losing in the first round. MAC Champion Western Michigan swept Auburn in the first round of the NCAA tournament (Auburn didn't score 20 points in any set), in which MAC Player of the Year Logan Case had 45 assists and MAC Defensive Player of the Year Andalyn Simkins had 26 digs and 6 aces, all huge numbers for a three set match. WMU lost to #2 Louisville in the second round.

FloSports will stream the match. I assume you all know the drill, $29.99 for one month, if UB wins the first match, you can watch the second match as well on the subscription!

The UB Volleyball team has earned an automatic berth into the women's NIVC post-season tournament. In the first round, Buffalo will face South Florida, a Bulls vs Bulls matchup! The first round match is Friday, December 1 at 4 pm, at St. John's University in Queens, NY. When I get the streaming details, I will post them. RPI: Buffalo 95, South Florida 99 Massey Rankings: Buffalo 109, South Florida 119 The other two teams in the regional bracket are St. John's and Howard. If Buffalo faces St. John's in the second round, it would be a re-match of an early season match when Buffalo defeated St. John's 3-1.

Chryssi Gouzelou is sitting out the year because of shin splints, and so she is one of the team managers this year. I wouldn't be surprised if Ella Take does red-shirt this year. Did you read the bio on the ubbulls.com for Ella Take? If the bio isn't omitting something, how does she even make a D1 roster? I don't know why Katie Burton wasn't on the bench against St. Bonaventure. In the previous game against Stonehill, Burton subbed in and then was going to replace the wrong player, the coaches yelled no no no, and so then the right sub was made. After she played a few minutes and came out, she received a lecture from assistant coach Brooks. Now, I didn't think the coaches were out of line there, and it didn't seem like Brooks was yelling or screaming at Burton, but you never know, a little thing like this sometimes is enough to push a player over the edge.

Forlin named to All-Tournament team.

The UB Volleyball team was swept in the MAC Semi-Finals by Bowling Green. The Bulls had lost to the Falcons twice the previous weekend in the regular season; and Buffalo had also been swept by Bowling Green in last year's MAC Semi-Finals. The Bulls were the #2 seed this year, while Bowling Green was the #6 seed, but that didn't seem to matter. The MAC Semi-Final this year was eerily similar to the two regular season matches between these two teams a weekend ago, when the Falcon's first team All-MAC right side, Lauryn Hovey, simply was unstoppable. She had 26 kills in 4 sets against Buffalo in the first game a weekend ago, and 20 kills in three sets in the second game against Buffalo a weekend ago. In the MAC Quarter-final, Hovey score 28 kills in five sets against Ball State, and then against Buffalo in the MAC Semi-final, Hovey had 20 more kills and hit 0.571. It seemed as if the Bulls were ready for Hovey in the MAC Semi-finals. Buffalo was able to put well-formed double blocks in front of Hovey almost every time she attacked, but it simply didn't make a difference. Hovey went around the block, or over the block, or through the block, committing just 4 errors and scoring the aforementioned 20 kills. The Falcons were able to hit 0.434 as a team. It seemed as if they were passing in system 90% of the time, and that helped Hovey and all the other attackers. Buffalo struggled to take Bowling Green out of their offense. In the first set, Buffalo never led and lost 25–17. Buffalo passed poorly and hit 0.107 while the Falcons hit 0.550. Buffalo would pass and attack better in the next two sets, hitting over 0.300 in each, but the Falcons had a higher hitting percentage in each set. One of Buffalo's few leads of the night, and one of the only times Buffalo's serving took Bowling Green out of their offense, was in the second set when with BG leading 7–6 a kill from freshman outside hitter Manoela Forlin pulled the Bulls within one point; and then strong serving by junior setter Mandy Leigh pushed the Bulls to a 9–7 lead. After Leigh served an ace, another tough serve by Leigh was passed poorly by the Falcons, and that resulted in one of Hovey's few errors of the night. Another tough serve led to a block by senior right side Emma Gielas and fifth year middle blocker Courtney Okwara, which finished the run, and Bowling Green called time out. Buffalo would stay ahead at 13–11 but then Bowling Green pulled away and won the set 25–21. Despite Buffalo hitting 0.355 in the third set, they never led and lost 25–21. Senior outside hitter Katrin Trebichavská had 13 kills to lead the team, while Forlin had 10. Mandy Leigh had 33 assists. Fifth year middle blocker Abby Leigh had a team high 3 blocks. Buffalo's record is still a program best since joining Division I at 23–8, and 13–6 in the MAC. Buffalo appears to be in line for an automatic bid to the upcoming NIVC tournament, which they played in last year as well. Here are part of the selection rules for the NIVC tournament: "A team that is offered an automatic berth by the NIVC shall be the team that is a.) the highest-finishing team in its conference’s regular-season standings, and b.) is then not selected for the NCAA Tournament. The team’s overall record is not a criteria. For the automatic qualifying berth, the NIVC believes that a team’s conference record is a more fair comparison among teams within their own conference, and that the conference record should pre-empt overall records among teams from the same conference. The automatic qualifying team is rewarded with the AQ spot for its in-conference play." If I am understanding that properly, Western Michigan is the regular season conference champion, and if they get selected to the NCAA tournament (which seems very likely), then Buffalo is the highest finishing team in the regular season standings that is not selected to the NCAA tournament. The NIVC selection show will be on Sunday, November 26. Other Stuff Buffalo placed five players on All-MAC teams, the most ever for this program. First-team All-MAC: Abby Leigh, Mandy Leigh, Courtney Okwara, Katrin Trebichavská. All-MAC freshman team: Manoela Forlin.

Five Bulls selected to All-MAC teams First team All-MAC: Abby Leigh, Courtney Okwara, Mandy Leigh, Katrin Trebichavska ALL-MAC Freshman team: Manoela Forlin

Yes I see that this morning. I didn't realize Ball STate losing would throw the three-way tie with 13-5 records to Buffalo. Kind of an odd thing, we start the day in fourth place, one of the two teams ahead of us loses, and we wind up in 2nd place.

The UB Volleyball team finished their historic regular season by sweeping Akron, their 23rd win of the season, the most wins for Buffalo since they joined Division I. Their 13 MAC wins is by far the most wins in the MAC. The Bulls finish 4th in the MAC and will play Saturday at 4pm in Kalamazoo (ESPN+). CORRECTION: Because Ball State lost, Buffalo finishes in a 3-way tie for second place, and they hold the tiebreakers, so the Bulls get the #2 seed and a first round bye. They play Sunday at 6:30pm. Buffalo broke open a close 1st set when at 10–10, the Bulls ran off four straight points, two coming on kills from senior outside hitter Katrin Trebichavská, only to see Akron fight back to tie the set at 18. But from there Buffalo took control winning 7 of the next 10 points, finishing with a kill from senior right side Emma Gielas. Buffalo pulled away from a 10–10 tie in the second set, with a strong serving run by senior defensive specialist Julianna Lopez to take a 15-11 lead. J-Lo had an ace in that run, and the Bulls never surrendered the lead, winning 25–17. Buffalo's strong serving and blocking held Akron to a –0.036 hitting percentage. Gielas and freshman middle blocker Tehya Shaw had two double-blocks in that set, one of them at set point. Akron took a 16–12 lead in the third set, but then Buffalo went on a 7–1 run to take a 19–17 lead. Gielas and sophomore outside hitter Lauren Otten each had two kills in that run. Akron would take the next three points, before Buffalo took control of the set. After a kill by Gielas, junior libero Maria Futey stepped to the service line, and picked up 3 aces in the next four points (the one serve that wasn't an ace was nearly an ace), which put Buffalo at match point. After an Akron kill, Trebichavská ended the match with a kill down the line. Gielas, who didn't start, had a very strong match, with 7 kills and one error, hitting 0.429. She added 4 blocks. Trebichavská led the team with 10 kills (the 17th consecutive match in which she has had double-digit kills) plus 4 aces. Fifth year middle blocker Abby Leigh had 8 kills and zero errors, for a 0.727 hitting percentage. Junior setter Mandy Leigh had 30 assists. Futey led the team with 12 digs. Senior right side Emma Gielas (9) and fifth year middle blocker Abby Leigh (5) blocking Other Stuff Play of the Match™ — at 15–12 in the second set, a tough serve by Akron's Faith Johnson nearly hit the floor, but Buffalo's grad defensive specialist Maurine Calande barely got under the ball, and made a perfect pass, nearly at the speed of light, to Mandy Leigh, who had no trouble getting the ball to Abby Leigh for a slide kill. Buffalo's best previous finish in the MAC was the number 4 seed in the MAC Tournament. This was in 2018 when the Bulls went 10–6 in the MAC, but lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. Buffalo played without fifth year middle blocker Courtney Okwara, who is currently first in the MAC in hitting percentage and first in the MAC by a wide margin. Okwara, is the only UB player since joining Division I to hit over 0.400 for a full season, when in 2022 she hit 0.420. This year she is hitting 0.450. (In 2016, Cassie Shado hit exactly 0.400). Buffalo also played without senior defensive specialist Hayley Montoya.

Ubbulls.com says we are in fourth place, so apparently my understanding of the tie-break procedure is wrong.

My understanding of the tie-breakers for the Tournament seeding: The tie breakers for tournament seeding have nothing to do with record in the East, or record in the West. Head-to-head is the first tie-breaker. Ohio and Buffalo split two matches, so we go to the 2nd tiebreaker. I believe the 2nd tiebreaker is each team's win percentage* against the top team in the MAC. Since no one defeated WMU, both Ohio and Buffalo are equal there. Next is each team's win percentage vs the 2nd best team in the MAC. That would be Ball State, Buffalo defeated them twice, while Ohio has at least one loss (I didn't look it up, but Ball State's only 4 losses are two to UB and two to WMU). This would seem to give the #3 seed to Buffalo and the #4 seed to Ohio. * — I am not 100% sure if percentage is the right word, but I think it is, 0-1 vs WMU is the same percentage as 0-2 vs WMU. If the actual wording says "record" and not "percentage" then I think 0-1 vs WMU is better than 0-2 vs WMU. Of course, all this depends on Ohio and Buffalo both winning or both losing on Wednesday, and it also depends on my ability to remember the tie-breaker procedure properly and that the MAC hasn't changed it.

The UB Volleyball team dropped two matches at Bowling Green this weekend, making their record 12–5 in the MAC and 22–7 overall. Buffalo entered the weekend in second place in the MAC, but after the two losses they are tied for third place with Ohio, with one game remaining in the regular season. In the first match, Buffalo got off to a good start, taking the first set 25–23, as the Bulls looked sharp in most phases of the game, particularly blocking. The Bulls picked up four blocks in the first set, and a number of important block touches to slow down the Falcon's attacks. The Bulls managed to hit 0.353 and held Bowling Green to 0.207 hitting. The Bulls passed well and didn't make a lot of attack errors. The one weakness for the Bulls was serving, where the Bulls picked up five service errors, which allowed Bowling Green to keep the score close. But then the Bulls failed to do anything well in the second set, hitting 0.000 and losing 25–12. In the third set, Buffalo fell behind 15–11, but then ran off five consecutive points with senior defensive specialist Julianna Lopez serving. Buffalo still led 18–17 but Bowling Green scored the next 8 points to take the set. In the fourth set, Buffalo won the first point, but never led again and lost 25–19. Senior outside hitter Katrin Trebichavská led the Bulls with 14 kills. Fifth year middle blocker Courtney Okwara led the team with 5 blocks. Junior libero Maria Futey had 13 digs. Junior setter Mandy Leigh had 29 assists. The Bulls finished with 14 service errors and just 4 aces. Serve receive was poor for Buffalo, and the Falcons picked up 12 aces. In the second match, weak passing by the Bulls were just one reason why Buffalo dropped the first set 25–16. But Buffalo's serving failed to take Bowling Green out of their offense, the failed to pick up even one block, and the Falcons hit 0.538. The Falcons scored the first 7 points, and the set was never close. Lauryn Hovey scored 8 kills for the Falcons in the first set. Buffalo played better in the second set, and took a 23–22 lead, but the Falcons scored the last three points of the set, the last one coming when Buffalo's senior right side Emma Gielas's attack was ruled out of bounds. Buffalo challenged that there was a block touch, but the call was upheld. In the third set, the Bulls led 17–13, but Bowling Green scored the next four points to tie the set. Buffalo still led 20–19, but again the Falcons put the pressure on, scoring the next four points, eventually earning a 25–22 victory. Trebichavská again led the Bulls with 10 kills (the only UB player with double-digit kills in either match). Futey had 12 digs. Freshman middle blocker Tehya Shaw led the team with 4 blocks (her career high), while sophomore outside hitter Lauren Otten had 3 blocks (also a career high). Buffalo will play at Akron on Wednesday, November 16 at 6pm (ESPN+) to finish the regular season. Buffalo swept Akron at Alumni Arena earlier in the season. Other Stuff Buffalo played the second match without Okwara, who was in street clothes. As a result, Shaw got her first career start. Also absent from the Bulls lineup was senior defensive specialist Hayley Montoya. And freshman outside hitter Manoela Forlin didn't play until the third set; possibly due to an injury she had in the first match when she slid into the scorer's table trying to save a ball. These personnel issues forced Buffalo coach Scott Smith to use more of his bench players than he usually does. In addition to Otten and Shaw getting extended playing time, freshman defensive specialist Chloe Brown made only her fourth appearance of the season, and her first appearance in a MAC match. Brown picked up 4 digs and 2 assists, both career highs. The MAC Tournament begins at Western Michigan with first round matches on Saturday, November 18. Seedings will be known after Wednesday's games.

The UB Volleyball team clinched a MAC Tournament berth by defeating Miami 3–0 on an emotional senior night. The Bulls would be the #2 seed in the tournament if the season ended today. The team now has a 22–5 record, and 12–3 in the MAC. The Bulls will say farewell to nine players at the end of the season. This team has accomplished more than any other team since joining Division 1, with an RPI in the top 100 for the first time ever, tying the program record for the most wins, and setting the record for the most MAC wins, with three matches left. The post-match celebration for Senior night also produced a lot of emotion, as each player was recognized for their contributions. Those nine are: Courtney Okwara, Abby Leigh, Emilie Davis, Julianna Lopez, Hayley Montoya, Katrin Trebichavská, Maurine Calande, Emma Gielas and Stacia Gollogly. In the post-match interview with ESPN, Trebichavská announced that she would be returning for another year. The emotion began in the pre-game introductions, when it was announced that Miami coach Carolyn Condit would be retiring at the end of the season. She has coached for 44 years, the last 40 at Miami, and has won over 680 matches. Nine times Condit coached her team to an NCAA playoff berth. Condit received a large round of applause from the fans at Alumni Arena. There was actual volleyball as well. On the previous night, Buffalo did not allow Miami to score 20 points in any set, but on this night it appeared as if Miami was determined not to roll over and play dead. The Redhawks cranked up their offense to scary levels, hitting over 0.700 throughout most of the first set. They did not commit an attack error until 19–17 in the first set, but then three straight kills by the Redhawks gave them a 22–17 lead. After a kill by Abby Leigh to cut the lead to four, Lopez stepped to the line. Lopez has been one of the Bulls best servers all year, as her float serve gives defenders fits. Two strong serves took Miami out of their offense, resulting in kills from Abby Leigh and Trebichavská. Lopez followed this with the Play(s) of the Match™, back-to-back aces and another tough serve which led to an overpass that Abby Leigh turned into a kill. The Bulls led 23–22. One more point by Miami tied the set, and then Abby Leigh picked up another kill and then Abby Leigh and her sister Mandy combined for the Bulls first block of the night to win the set. Both teams had eye-popping numbers in the first set, with Miami finishing at 0.552 and Buffalo at 0.484. The offenses slowed down just slightly in the second set, as both teams hit close to 0.400. However, in the second set the roles were reversed, with Buffalo opening a big lead at 22–16. Miami scored the next five points to cut the lead to one. A kill from Gielas was the Bulls' 23rd point, and two more Miami points tied the set at 23. Another kill from Trebichavská, followed by a kill from Abby Leigh on an overpass after a strong serve by Trebichavská ended the set in Buffalo's favor. The third set was one in which Buffalo never trailed, opening a 14–7 lead on a strong serving run from Calande, and Buffalo was not threatened, winning 25–17. In case you get the feeling that serving was a strong point for the Bulls, you would be right. Buffalo had 8 aces and only three service errors. In fact, it has been a strong point for the Bulls all season, and especially in recent matches. And while the high velocity serves from Trebichavská get all the attention, the serves from Lopez are slower but just as effective. Trebichavská led the team in kills with 15. Trebichavská, a year ago, struggled quite a bit and finished the season hitting 0.109. Her consistency has improved dramatically this season, in which she is hitting 0.195, and usually leads the team in kills and attacks. KT's hitting percentage the last three matches has been over 0.300, and has 14 straight matches with double-digit kills. Abby Leigh had 11 and hit 0.625. Okwara, leading the nation in hitting percentage, had five kills and zero errors. Freshman outside hitter Manoela Forlin had 6 kills. Abby Leigh led the team with 3 blocks. Junior libero Maria Futey had 10 digs. Mandy Leigh had 38 assists. Other Stuff Buffalo plays at Bowling Green this upcoming weekend, Friday, November 10 at 6pm (ESPN+) and Saturday, November 11 at 6pm (ESPN+). Western Michigan will host the MAC Tournament. They remain undefeated with a 15–0 record in the MAC. Attendance at Alumni Arena was 789, the highest of the season. Other photos from Senior Night: Head coach Scott Smith Julianna Lopez serves Blocking by Abby Leigh and Emma Gielas KT serving, Buffalo's front line protects the back of their heads Trebichavská attacking

The historic season for UB Volleyball continued last night at Alumni Arena, as the Bulls defeated Miami (OH) 3–0 (25–19, 25–13, 25–19). It was their 11th MAC win, breaking the previous high of 10 wins in the MAC regular season. The win moved Buffalo back into second place in the MAC, and if they can maintain that position, they will receive a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament. Buffalo is now 21–5 for the season and 11–3 in the MAC. The Bulls overwhelmed the Miami defense, picking up 47 kills and just 6 errors, a hitting percentage of 0.451, their season high. In the first set, Buffalo hit an even 0.500, scoring 21 kills. They opened a 15–6 lead and never were threatened. In the second set, Buffalo hit 0.462 while holding to Miami to a zero hitting percentage. After taking an 8–3 lead, Buffalo cruised to a huge win. Miami took their first and only lead of the match, scoring the first point of the third set, and again Buffalo's sizzling offense took over and opened a big lead. The Bulls cooled off (if you can consider a 0.387 hitting percentage "cool") but still won easily. In the second and third sets, the Bulls recorded just one hitting error each. In the third set, Buffalo coach Scott Smith went deep into his bench, and players who haven't seen much playing time this season got to play regularly. Senior serving specialist Emilie Davis, appearing in just her second MAC contest this season, served at 6–5 in the third set, and almost (but not quite) came up with the Play of the Match™. Her tough serve was poorly played by the Redhawks, and it looked like the ball would land for an ace, and Davis and the Bulls began to celebrate, only to see Miami make a great recovery and send the ball over. Senior defensive specialist Hayley Montoya also appeared, just her second MAC appearance of the year. Senior serving specialist Emilie Davis (L) and senior defensive specialist Hayley Montoya (R) Senior outside hitter Katrin Trebichavská led the team with 14 kills and a 0.522 hitting percentage (her career high). Freshman outside hitter Manoela Forlin had 8 kills with just 1 error for a 0.412 hitting percentage. Fifth year middle blocker Courtney Okwara had 6 kills and hit 0.357, and led the team with 3 blocks. Senior right side Emma Gielas had 6 kills and just one error, plus two blocks. Fifth year middle blocker Abby Leigh had 6 kills and just one error. On a night when the offense got all the attention, junior libero Maria Futey was extremely effective on defense picking up 12 digs. So let's give the actual Play of the Match™ to Futey, on serve receive, at 7-4 in the first set. A serve by Miami came directly to Futey about shoulder high. This is a very difficult ball to play, it's too high to bump and it's difficult to pass with her hands about shoulder high. It looked like Futey hesitated a second, but got her hands up, and made a perfect pass to junior setter Mandy Leigh, who then had no problem making the set to Forlin for the kill. Futey and senior defensive specialist Julianna Lopez each had 2 aces. Mandy Leigh had 41 assists, a pretty big number for a three set match, but certainly she was one of the major reasons why the team attacked so well. Other Stuff Okwara entered the match leading the NCAA in hitting percentage. The ESPN announcers also pointed out that Okwara leads the MAC in hitting percentage. Buffalo now has the same record as Ball State at 11–3, but because Buffalo owns the tie-breaker, the Bulls are in second place, with four matches left in the season. Buffalo faces Miami again on November 4 (that's today as I write this) at 4pm at Alumni Arena. It will be senior night for the Bulls, who have nine players who will make their last appearance at Alumni Arena. Gielas hadn't played much recently. Her six kills and two blocks came in less than two sets. She ended the match with a right-side kill against one Miami blocker. Video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzNKuhLskuk/ Freshman middle blocker Tehya Shaw had 1 kill on one attack, and sophomore outside hitter Lauren Otten had 2 kills on 2 attacks. Shaw is hitting 0.333 this season in limited playing time, while Otten is hitting 0.417 for the season in limited playing time.

The box score appears to have been fixed, I dunno what happened.