September 3, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, IN – The University at Buffalo volleyball team was unable to hold on to the momentum of a first-set victory, falling to Southeast Missouri State, 3-1, Saturday morning at the IU Volleyball Classic.

The Redhawks took the match 19-25, 26-24, 25-21, 27-25 in what was statistically a very even affair.

The Bulls trailed 6-1 early in the first set, before a 6-1 run pulled them even.  UB would go on to hit .394 in the opening set, taking it, 25-19.  Sophomore Christine Fritsche recorded kills on four of her five attacks to lead to the offense in the opening set.

The Bulls had a lead in the second set, but were unable to hold on, dropping it 26-24.  Sophomore Dana Musil tried to keep the Bulls in it with eight kills in that second set, but UB hit just .095 as a team.

The Redhawks also took the third set, 25-21 as the Bulls offensive struggles continued, hitting just .028 in the set. The Bulls had their chances in the fourth set, but 10 hitting errors, including two on set points, were the difference in the match.

Musil led the way with 16 kills, while freshmen Liz Scott and Alessandra Jovy-Heuser each had 10 kills.  Musil and setter Dani Reinert each had two aces, while Reinert added 46 assists.

Defensively the Bulls had three players in double figures in digs, led by 17 from sophomore Kelly Svoboda.  Musil and Scott completed the double-doubles with 15 and 12 digs, respectively.  Jovy-Heuser led the way in the blocking department with a career-best seven blocks, including one solo.  Scott added four total blocks and Carissa McKenna and Abby Niekamp each had two.

The Bulls will conclude play at the IU Volleyball Classic tonight when they play the host Hoosiers at 7:30 pm.