Buffalo Volleyball falls 3-0 to Wake Forest despite strong first set

We weren’t sure coming into Volleyball’s final match of the weekend what sort of challenge Wake Forest would bring. The Deamon Deacons came to Georgia at 1-3 and fell to Georgia Southern 3-1 Friday, but only after pushing undefeated South Carolina to a fifth set earlier in the afternoon.

Saturday the Bulls led Wake for much of the first set before fading, and then rarely threatened in the second and third sets en route to a 21-25, 13-25, 19-25 defeat.

The first frame was encouraging, with UB holding a lead early and carrying it deep into the set. Scout McLerran had two early aces and Valisha Watkins was firing at top form with five kills. Through much of the set Buffalo was outhitting Wake Forest, but from a 16-12 lead only got two kills — both from Cassie Shado — the rest of the way and faded, ultimately not scoring from 21-21.

UB was less competitive in the second and third sets, as Watkins only added one more kill to finish with six in the match and the Bulls at times dropped to a .000 hitting percentage before bouncing back. Cassie Shado ultimately led UB with 8 kills and 4 blocks, as the team had 10 total blocks in the match.

UB returns to Western New York, but not Alumni Arena, this week with a Tuesday match at Niagara. The Purple Eagles are 1-8 prior to matches against Dartmouth and Army today.