dj_paige Posted November 16, 2023 Share Posted November 16, 2023 (edited) 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. Edited November 16, 2023 by dj_paige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue03 Posted November 16, 2023 Share Posted November 16, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, dj_paige said: 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+). 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. One time previously, Buffalo was as high as 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. MAC website has us as the 2 seed Edited November 16, 2023 by Blue03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_paige Posted November 16, 2023 Author Share Posted November 16, 2023 (edited) 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. Edited November 16, 2023 by dj_paige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_paige Posted November 18, 2023 Author Share Posted November 18, 2023 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue03 Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 Got a tricky rematch with bowling green. Not sure if I would’ve rather had them or ball state win. Either way I hope they’re tired. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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