The Big Picture

Buffalo finished 6–10 in the MAC a year ago, good for 8th in the MAC, which was their best finish ever in the MAC. Then the coach that guided them left unexpectedly and their best player, junior Tahleia Bishop, chose not to return for her senior year. Bishop was a two-time First-Team All-MAC selection (the only person so honored in UB volleyball history), who averaged over 4.1 kills per set in an injury-plagued season, while no one else on the team averaged over 2.3 kills per set. Every front-line player is going to need to improve their productivity now that Bishop is gone, or it would seem that an 8th place (or better) finish this year is a remote possibility.

Buffalo has hired Blair Brown Lipsitz to be their next coach. Lipsitz has never been a head coach or assistant coach at the collegiate level. She is a four time National Champion at Penn State and three time All-American, and she played for Hall of Fame coach Russ Rose at Penn State, winner of 7 National Championships. So Lipsitz has the name recognition and pedigree to recruit high-level athletes and coach this program to new heights in the future (but as we implied earlier, we think this is unlikely in 2015).

The Schedule

Buffalo opens the season at defending National Champion Penn State, and also plays at perennial Pac-12 power Washington, a Sweet 16 team last year. I don't expect Buffalo to take a set from either of those opponents. In fact, if Buffalo gets 20 points in any set against those two, I think they should declare victory and go home with a smile.

Buffalo plays at Ole Miss, a team they lost to a year ago. The Bulls played well against Ole Miss last year, and were competitive in two of the sets, losing a deuce set and another set by three points. But in that match, UB got 16 kills from Bishop, and it's safe to say that's not going to happen this year. Buffalo also plays at Syracuse, a team that finished last in the ACC with a 2–16 record last year. So if Buffalo has a realistic chance to defeat a major conference team, Syracuse is the one. The last time Buffalo played Syracuse, in 2012, the Bulls swept the Orange in front of an Alumni Arena then-record crowd of 1,010, and in a very memorable moment, after the match the fans came down from the crowd and danced "The Wobble" with the entire team and coaching staff.

Your @ubvolleyball and all the fans celebrating with a little #wobble #UBBulls #oneteam so much support tonight! pic.twitter.com/5V4kQOnr

— UB Athletics (@UBAthletics) September 16, 2025

In the past few years, Buffalo has played two home non-conference tournaments, but this year they have none. Instead of 12 or 13 home games in the past few years, including some around Labor Day, this year Buffalo has only 8 home games, all MAC conference games, beginning on September 24 against Akron.

The 2015 Bulls, Position by Position

Setter

Buffalo has the rare luxury of having four setters on the team. With two experienced setters and two incoming freshman setters, we expect to see a lot of the two-setter offense. However, the problem with having four setters on the roster is that at least two of them aren’t playing at any one time; and you don't have much depth at other positions, as we shall see.

During the non-conference season last year, and for about half of the MAC season, Buffalo used a one-setter offense, and then switched to a two-setter offense. Senior Marissa Prinzbach, a very athletic player who stands 5-11, was the preferred setter last year in the one-setter offense when she was healthy, and was leading the MAC in assists per set before injuries and the switch to a two-setter offense lowered her numbers.

Junior setter Megan Lin, who stands 5-8, also saw lots of playing time last year, in the one-setter offense when Prinzbach was injured, and also in the two-setter offense. Lin showed some great improvement during her sophomore year after getting almost no playing time as a freshman. Lin led the Bulls in aces last year. She also played defensive specialist last year, and we expect her to see some time there. Both setters had trouble at times setting the ball to Buffalo’s right side hitters, and Lin seems to have had more trouble with that skill than Prinzbach, so there’s a lot of room for improvement on this aspect of their game.

Freshman setter Kelly Fitzpatrick, who stands 5-11, comes from Port Jefferson, NY, where she guided her team to the championship in the Catholic High School Athletic Association as a senior, and was named second team All-Long Island. Her father John played basketball at UB from 1979–1983.

The freshman I'm most excited to see is setter Madison Clark, who is listed at 6-2. Buffalo has not had a 6-2 or taller setter in at least a decade (and possibly not since Millard Fillmore was Chancellor, records are hard to find). Her height gives Clark the ability to do things that shorter setters cannot do as well. She was a strong blocker in high school at Williamsville South, and also was able to attack extremely effectively from the setter position. We expect to see a lot of that from Clark at Buffalo. Then, add to the mix Clark's dazzling float serve, and you conclude she has all the skills. As a high school senior, Clark was selected to the All-Greater Buffalo team, and she led the Billies to the New York State Class B Championship, where she was named MVP of the tournament.

Right Side

As mentioned, Buffalo had trouble at right side hitter last year, not because the players there had poor seasons, but because Buffalo struggled to get the ball to the right side. Sable Staller, now graduated, was 2nd on the team in hitting percentage last year, but only took 3.25 attacks per set as the full-time right side hitter. Coach Lipsitz, when she played, was a right side hitter and one year she averaged over 4 kills per set. Looking at Buffalo's recent history, right side hitter Liz Scott averaged over 3 kills per set and over 8 attacks per set in 2012. So, greater productivity from the right side is possible and we hope coach Lipsitz makes getting the ball to the right side hitters a point of emphasis.

Senior Akeila Lain returns as right side hitter, a position she played parts of the last two seasons, after beginning her career as a middle blocker. Lain, who stands 6-1, averaged over 2 kills per set last year, and has been a very consistent blocker throughout her career, averaging over 1 block per set for her career so far.

Another right side hitter on the roster is freshman Megan Wernette, from Naperville, IL. Wernette stands 6-3 making her the tallest player on the roster, and one of the taller players in the MAC. Although Wernette's bio at UBBulls.com says she hit 0.369 as a senior, newspaper articles say she hit a stunning 0.440 as a high school junior and 0.429 as a senior, and was twice was named to the DuPage County All-Area team. If Buffalo chooses to use a two-setter offense, two right side hitters will be needed in the rotation, and so Wernette could see a lot of playing time as a freshman.

Yet another option at right side is freshman setter Madison Clark, who has played right side hitter in the past. Why limit that 6-2 height to the setter position? I can certainly envision a hybrid two-setter offense where Clark plays all the way around; when she is in the front row, she is the right side hitter and Prinzbach/Lin/Fitzpatrick play setter in the back row; and when Clark is in the back row, she plays setter while either Lain or Wernette plays right side.

And don't be surprised to see freshman outside hitter Valisha Watkins play right side. (More about Watkins below.)

Middle Blocker

Amber Hatchett returns for her senior year. She stands 5-11 and has put up some good blocking numbers during her career, averaging 0.86 blocks per set as a junior and over 1.2 blocks per set as a sophomore. Her kills per set doubled from her sophomore year (1.12) to her junior year (2.25).

Sophomore Cassie Shado stands 6-1 and led the team in hitting percentage (0.272) a year ago, and in blocks per set at 1.15 per set. Shado didn't play much early in the season last year, but she came on strong starting about mid-way through the season, and wound up on the MAC All-Freshman team.

Since any team needs two middle blockers in the starting lineup, veterans Hatchett and Shado are the likely regulars, with freshman Wernette as backup, and possibly even the multi-talented Clark could play here, as she has done in the past.

Outside Hitter: Senior Megan Lipski is the only outside hitter on the roster with collegiate experience. Lipski stands 5-10, plays both front row and back row, and is an extremely athletic and versatile player (even once playing libero last year). Last year she also displayed a very effective short serve. During her junior year, she put up by far the best numbers of her career in both hitting percentage and kills per set, but her hitting percentage last year of 0.170 needs to jump a lot higher since Lipski is likely to be put into the role that Bishop was so effective at last year. Buffalo will need a big year from Lipski to be competitive in the MAC.

Two freshmen join the team at outside hitter. Raven Jordan stands 5-9 and hails from Ashburn, VA. She is the daughter of former NFL player Randy Jordan. She was All-Conference as a senior in high school and helped lead her team to the state championship. Jordan has a very effective float serve.

Freshman Valisha Watkins, from Beechwood, OH, stands 6-1, and was first team All-Conference and first team All-District as a senior in high school. She had a career high of 27 kills in one match. Watkins has also played right side in her career.

Both freshman should get some playing time at outside hitter. Clark also is a possibility at outside hitter.

Libero/Defensive Specialist

Sophomore Niki Bozinoski returns as the incumbent libero. Bozinoski played libero on opening day as a freshman, and played in every set last year, almost entirely as libero, a very impressive accomplishment for a freshman. She finished 10th in the MAC in digs per set (3.68), and we look for that number to go up this year.

Freshman Abby Beecher, from Penfield, NY, originally signed with Syracuse, then decided to play for Buffalo. She holds the Penfield career record for digs and had a career high of 38 digs in one match in high school, and was named first team All-Greater Rochester and first-team All-State. Beecher could challenge Bozinoski for the starting libero position. (Historical trivia: Yes, there was a song written about someone named Abby Beecher, the 1964 Top-20 tune by Freddy Cannon named "Abigail Beecher")

Sophomore Tessa Ooyama played in every match last year, almost exclusively as a serving specialist for UB last year, finishing fourth on the team with 18 aces. We expect her to see more time at defensive specialist this year.

Pre-Season Depth Chart

We present our Pre-Season Depth Chart, based on absolutely no inside information at all, and published before the first day of practice. I don’t present this depth chart because I think I’m right, I present it because it’s fun, and it gives you a chance to point out how wrong I am.

Players I think will have a spot in the regular rotation are shown in italics, while substitutes are not italicized, and subs appear in the order that I think they’ll get playing time at that position.

Setter: Prinzbach, Clark, Lin, Kirkpatrick

Right side: Lain, Clark, Wernette, Watkins

Middle blocker: Hatchett, Shado, Wernette, Clark

Outside hitter: Lipski, Watkins, Jordan, Clark

Libero: Bozinoski, Beecher, Ooyama

Defensive Specialist: Beecher, Bozinoski, Ooyama, Lin

Serving Specialist: Ooyama, Lin