Women’s volleyball (12-7, 5-12 MAC) dropped back-to-back matches against the Northern Illinois Huskies in Dekalb, IL on Friday and Saturday. The Huskies won by a score of 3-2 on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday.
UB pushed the Huskies to five sets but were unable to pick up the victory on Friday night. The match produced scores of 25-21, 24-26, 25-22, 13-25 and 15-11. Despite UB’s loss, the hitting percentage between the two teams were close with NIU at .273 and UB at .271. The Bulls served an impressive nine aces during the match, with junior middle blocker Courtney Okwara and freshman outside hitter Maria Futey earning three each. Okwara also led the Bulls with 17 kills.
Saturday’s match saw a similar result as NIU won by a score of 25-18, 25-21 and 25-16. The Bulls came close to the Huskies in the second set and trailed a mere four points but couldn’t capitalize. There was a significant gap in the hitting percentage between the two teams in the second matchup, with NIU hitting at a .177 clip while UB fell flat with a .087. Sophomore right side hitter Emma Gielas led the Bulls with a team-high 11 kills while Futey followed with seven.
The Bulls will have a chance at redemption in their final regular season game of the season against the Akron Zips (10-19, 4-12 MAC) Wednesday, Nov. 17 at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
