Bulls Take Pair On Opening Day Of UB Invitational

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo volleyball team improved to 5-1 on the season with a pair of wins on Friday during the first day of the University at Buffalo Invitational.  The Bulls opened the day with a 3-1 victory over Navy and then swept Delaware State, 3-0, in the evening competition.  The Bulls were the only team to go 2-0 on the opening day of the tournament.

After dropping the first set to Navy, the Bulls came back to dominate the Midshipmen the rest of the way, winning, 23-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-15.  The Bulls hit .248 in the opener, opposed to just .008 for Navy.

Senior Kayla Govier began her huge day with a career-high 15 kills and just five errors, hitting .303 for the match.  Govier was just one of three players in double figures in kills against Navy as junior Abby Niekamp finished with 10 kills as well as freshman Dana Musil.  Senior Kristin Bignell and freshman Christine Fristche each finished with nine kills in the opener.

Freshman Kelly Svoboda had a match-high 19 digs, while Musil added 12.  As a team, the Bulls had 12 total team blocks, including nine block assists from Niekamp.  Govier and Fristche each had four block assists.  Senior Lindsey Schlegel finished with 44 assists and seven digs.

In the nightcap, the Bulls swept past Delaware St., 25-19, 25-16, 25-21 as UB hit .259 for the contest.  For the second straight match, Govier led the way for the Bulls with 12 kills, hitting .474 for the match.  Senior Marisa Hornbaker had 10 kills on 21 attempts.  Bignell had eight kills, while Musil added seven.  Musil added four services aces and now has a team-leading 19 on the season.

Freshman Dani Reinert had a career-high 22 assists in the contest, while Svoboda added 14 digs to lead the team.

The Bulls were the only team to win both of their matches today as Central Connecticut State defeated Delaware State in five and Navy took a three-set contest from the Blue Devils.  Tomorrow's action begins at 2:30 as Delaware St. faces Navy and then the Bulls will go for the tournament title at 5:00 pm against Central Connecticut State.