Volleyball gets first win over Bucknell

It’s the last chance before conference play, and UB Volleyball made it count this evening, following up a pair of losses to Oakland and Cornell earlier in the weekend with a 25-22, 11-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-10 five-setter over Bucknell.

UB impressed with balanced contributions on the day; Valisha Watkins, Cassie Shado, and Megan Wernette all had double-digit kills, three players had 8 digs in addition to Hannah Watson’s 20, and five different players, led by Wernette’s 7, had 3 or more blocks.

In the final stats the Bulls don’t enjoy any advantages over the Bison, but UB managed to win the three closer sets while dropping two very lopsided frames and their hitting percentage topped .200 in a match for the first time this season.

I believe the first set was the first successful comeback for Buffalo this season, as the Bulls trailed 17-19 before capitalizing on a number of Bison errors to claim the early lead. UB lead throughout the entire fourth and fifth sets, coasting from a 13-10 lead in the fourth and jumping out to a quick 5-1 advantage in the last.

Tonight was the Bulls’ fourth five-set match of the season after losses to George Washington, St. Francis, and Georgia Southern, and the first time they’ve had a lead later than 8-6 in a fifth frame. We’re seeing some improvement in at least UB’s best showing each weekend.

Earlier in Bucknell’s invitational, the Bulls fell 3-1 to Cornell this morning and 3-0 to Oakland yesterday. Valisha Watkins finished with 31 kills on the weekend, and Cassie Shado hit above .267 in each match, finishing off Bucknell with 11 kills on 13 swings.

UB now begins MAC play with a road match at Kent State next Friday.