September 10, 2010

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo volleyball team was able to overcome a late second-half deficit sandwiched by two dominant performances as UB defeated Binghamton, 3-0, in the opener of the Blue and White Classic on Friday evening.  The Bulls got a total team effort as they improved to 7-2 on the season.

The Bulls hit an impressive .419 in the opening set, staking an early 7-2 lead.  Freshman Dana Musil had three kills during the opening run.  The Bulls increased their lead to 16-9 in the opening set before Binghamton pulled within four following three straight points.  The Bearcats got even closer, getting to within one at 20-19, but Musil served the Bulls to the final four points of the match.  The set-clinching point came on monster kill from junior Abby Niekamp.

The second set looked like it would be all Binghamton early on as the Bearcats led by as much as seven, with a 17-10 advantage.  UB turned to its veterans to turn things around and they responded.  With UB still down by seven at 20-13, UB rattled off three straight points and pulled within 20-16.  Following a Binghamton side out, UB crept back with another 3-0 run and trailed by just 21-19.  A kill from Binghamton gave it a 22-19 advantage, but the Bulls responded with a 5-0 run and took their first lead of the set.  Senior Kayla Govier had three kills in the final six Buffalo points, including the one that sealed the set.

With a 2-0 advantage, the Bulls cruised to victory in the third set, hitting .452 in a final set they won 25-11.  UB jumped out to an early 8-1 lead and never looked back taking leads of 15-4, 22-8 and the final margin of 25-11.

"It was nice to get both setters in to the match and I thought they both did a nice job running the offense," said head coach Todd Kress.  "Dani got our middles involved early and Lindsey and some of our other veterans were able to come in and right the ship in the second set.  I thought Lindsey did a nice job running our offense in the third set, as we hit .452.   Overall, I thought it was a great team effort to come out and beat a quality team in Binghamton that went to the NCAAs last season."

Niekamp led the way with 12 kills and just two errors as she hit .556 on the night.  Govier added 11 kills and just one error, while Musil and senior Kristin Bignell each had seven kills.  Schlegel had two kills and a team-high 21 assists, while Reinert added 17 assists.

Junior Heather Pyle shattered her career high in digs with 24, while freshman Kelly Svoboda added 10.

UB returns to action tomorrow as it completes play at the Blue and White Classic with a pair of matches.  Buffalo meets Hampton at 11:00 am and St. John's at 7:00 pm.  St. John's defeated Hampton 3-0 in today's other match.