BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bulls volleyball team (6-9, 3-3 MAC) defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas (4-13, 1-5 MAC) in four sets on Friday evening, 28-26, 25-22, 17-25, 25-20. The Bulls have now won three straight matches as they moved to sixth in the MAC standings.
Emerson Matthews was electric on the evening. She tallied match highs in kills (20), points (25.0) and solo blocks (4). She added 10 digs as she is now up to three double-doubles on the season. Manoela Forlin earned her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 13 digs.
Sydney Bell saw her first action in six matches as she finished with eight kills and two block assists.
Maddie Mitchell recorded her team leading sixth double-double of the season with 38 assists and 12 digs. Keira Kleiden had a match-high 23 digs.
From the service line, Eve Adams had a pair of aces as Matthews, Kleidon and Mitchell each had one.
Ava Kanj continued to be a force at the net as she finished with two solo blocks and three block assists. As a team, the Bulls had 11 blocks to Central Michigan’s seven.
The Chippewas bested the Bulls on the attack as they finished with a .173 hitting percentage to the Bulls’ .162.
SET 1
Matthews set the tone of the evening from the beginning as she had nine of the Bulls’ 19 kills in the first set. After taking an 11-10 lead, the Bulls did not trail the rest of the set. Central Michigan chipped away, but it wasn’t enough. The Chippewas tied the set at 24 after fighting off set point. They managed to do so again to tie the set at 25 and 26. The Bulls won the set off a setting error and Matthews spiking down a kill, 28-26.
SET 2
The Bulls and Chippewas duked it out as there were 14 ties and four lead changes in the second set. Central Michigan led 15-14 at the media timeout, but a 3-0 run forced a Buffalo timeout at 18-14. The Bulls regrouped out of the timeout and went on an 11-4 run that closed out the set for a 25-22 win.
SET 3
It was a tough go for the Bulls in the third set as they hit -.065 with just six kills. Fortunately, the Chippewas had 11 errors that kept Buffalo in the set, but it wasn’t enough. Central Michigan denied the Bulls their sweep with a 25-17 set win.
SET 4
Both squads hit above .200 in the fourth set with the Bulls in front, .265 to .211. Buffalo only tallied 12 kills with Central Michigan finishing with 15. However, the Chippewas totaled 13 errors to the Bulls’ six. Following a Kleidon ace, the Bulls regained the lead at 12-11 and it was a lead that stuck with the Bulls the rest of the match. Buffalo won the final set of the night, 25-20.
“It was great to see our defense really come alive tonight,” stated Head Coach Scott Smith. “Our block started off strong and created great opportunities for the back row to shine. Central is a tough opponent and at times they really disrupted our attack, but we were able to maintain momentum throughout most of the match, recover when our play started to slip, and ultimately secure the win. I was very proud of the fight and resiliency we displayed. It will undoubtedly be another hard-fought match tomorrow and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
UP NEXT
The Bulls are back at home tomorrow against the Chippewas at 4 p.m. Tomorrow will be Buffalo’s Pink Game and Block Out Cancer Night.
For all the latest on UB Volleyball, follow @ubvolleyball on Twitter/X, @ub_volleyball on Instagram and like the UB Women’s Volleyball Facebook page.
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