Bulls Win Cornell Tournament

UB sweeps all three matches of the tournament

Dani Silvers

ITHACA, NY - The University at Buffalo volleyball team won its second tournament of the season on Saturday as the Bulls won both of their matches to claim the title at the Cornell Tournament. The Bulls defeated Colgate 3-0 in today’s afternoon action and then defeated the host Big Red by an identical 3-0 score this evening. The two victories improve Buffalo’s record to 9-4 on the season.

In today’s first contest, the Bulls defeated Colgate 25-19, 25-21, 25-18 as UB hit .390 for the match, which is its season high. UB hit .500 or above in both the first and third set. Senior Dani Silvers led the way with 13 kills, helping her claim MVP honors at the tournament. Junior Marisa Hornbaker added 11 kills, while Kristin Bignell added eight kills. Three Bulls recorded six kills, including Lindsey Schlegel who also added 34 assists and six digs as she was named to the All-Tournament Team. Freshman Tori Beckman finished with 17 digs.

Kelsey Lueders

Marisa Hornbaker

The night contest also went UB’s way as the Bulls have now won seven of their last eight meetings. The Bulls defeated Cornell 25-19, 25-11, 25-21 as two Bulls recorded double figures in kills. Hornbaker had 10 kills and seven digs, while redshirt junior Kelsey Lueders had 10 kills and no errors as she hit .556 for the match. Lueders also added five total blocks on the night. Silvers added eight kills, while sophomore Abby Niekamp recorded her second straight six-kill performance. Niekamp added six total blocks, while Bignell led the way with seven total rejections. Beckman added 15 digs, while sophomore Heather Pyle recorded 12 digs. Schlegel finished the match with 32 assists, five digs and three blocks.

“This whole weekend was great team effort,” said head coach Todd Kress. “To go on the road and get three wins is a great achievement for our program. We have some things to work on before MAC play next weekend, but we know what we have to do in practice this weekend to prepare for two very good teams.”

The nine wins by the Bulls prior to conference play are their most victories before the MAC season since 2006.

UB begins MAC play this weekend as they travel to face Miami (OH) on Friday and Bowling Green on Saturday.