WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

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Bulls Down Akron, 3-1

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo volleyball team put forth a strong effort for four games to earn a 3-1 victory over the visiting Akron Zips Saturday night in Alumni Arena, 28-30, 30-10, 30-27, 30-23. The win was Buffalo's second in its last three matches. The Bulls (11-17 overall, 3-11 Mid-American Conference) played just seven players in the match, with five reaching double digits in kills, five reaching double digits in digs and four collecting double-doubles.

Katie Weekley

Game one was tightly contested throughout, but the Zips pulled away slightly towards to the end to steal the two-point win, 30-28. The Bulls hurt themselves with 14 hitting errors in game one, while the Zips hit .157, getting four kills apiece from Molly Rutledge and Mara Capraruolo and three kills and two blocks from Jennifer Stewart.

The Bulls came out flying in game two, building up a 12-0 lead before giving Akron its first point with an attack error. Back-to-back solo blocks by senior Katie Weekley (Dayton, OH/Chaminade-Julienne) gave the Bulls a 22-8 lead, and they later ended the game with a 6-0 run for the commanding 30-10 final. Weekley had three kills and four blocks, including three solo, in game two to lead UB's effort.

With game three tied 25-25, junior Lauren Burd (York, PA/Central York) hit back-to-back kills, followed by a kill by Rutledge and back-to-back kills by junior Jenna Mapé (Calgary, Alberta/Father Lacombe). A UB attack error gave Akron another point before a kill by Weekley ended the game at 30-27, putting Buffalo up two games to one in the match.

Akron used a 4-0 run to break a 12-12 tie in game four, but the Bulls answered with a 9-1 run to build a four-point cushion, 21-17. Like in game two, the Bulls finished with a 6-0 run to give them a 30-23 win in the game and a 3-1 win in the match.

Jenna Mapé

Mapé led all players with 19 kills while also adding 18 digs, and junior Brandie Clark (Medicine Hat, Alberta/Medicine Hat) finished with 14 kills, a career-high 20 digs and four blocks. Weekley contributed 13 kills and five blocks, and Burd added 11 kills and a match-high six blocks. Junior Nikki Morzenti (Safety Harbor, FL/Clearwater) (11 kills, 23 digs) and senior Amy Brown (Pittsburgh, PA/Mt. Lebanon) (54 assists, 10 digs) also recorded double-doubles, while sophomore libero Lizaiha Garcia (Dayton, OH/Beavercreek) tied Morzenti for the team lead with 23 digs.

Rutledge, Capraruolo and Stewart each had 11 kills to lead the Zips' attack, with Stewart adding 15 digs for a double-double. Libero Kim Horn had a match-high 26 digs, and setter Rachael Rush finished with 38 assists and 13 digs. The Zips hit just .094 in the match compared to Buffalo's .187 hitting percentage, and the Bulls had 12 team blocks compared to Akron's nine.

The Bulls are home again next weekend to close out the regular season. They host Northern Illinois at 6 pm on Friday, November 11 and Western Michigan at 7 pm on Saturday, November 12. Friday's match is a doubleheader with the UB men's basketball team taking on Gannon in an exhibition game following the volleyball match.