UB volleyball had a sad end to its season in the Mid-American Conference championships this week.
The Bulls came out at full force and swept Akron 3-0 in the opening round of the tournament on Thursday night. This was the Bulls’ first MAC Tournament win since 2009.
The Bulls were strong in the first set as they cruised to a 25-15 victory.
After only leading 13-11 in the first set, a kill by senior Rachel Sanks ignited a 5-0 run by the Bulls to secure the lead and the first set for UB.
In the second set, an ace by freshman Jenna Sonnenberg gave UB a 6-5 lead, and the Bulls then remained in the lead for the remainder of the set.
Akron was able to come back and cut the Bulls lead, but Buffalo answered right back with a 7-2 run. Buffalo won the second set 25-20.
The Bulls trailed for the first time in the third set and had to fight through to come out victorious.
Three straight kills then gave UB a 20-19 lead.
Redshirt sophomore Monika Simkova secured the win with a kill to finish it for UB.
Buffalo won the third set 25-21.
Sanks led the Bulls with 13 kills and senior Scout McLerran led with 28 assists.
With this win, UB moved on to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament to face the third seed, Bowling Green.
The Bulls saw their season end as they took on Bowling Green in the MAC Quarterfinals on Friday night.
Bowling Green took the match 25-16, 25-21, and 25-16.
The Bulls’ own mistakes were their downfall, with six service errors in the match.
Bowling Green finished with 10 aces as Buffalo finished with zero.
In her final match as a Bull, senior Polina Prokudina led UB with 13 kills for the night.
On the defensive side, sophomore Paige Beck led the Bulls with 11 digs.
Buffalo had 7 blocks on the night, from Simkova and senior Kristina Nieves.
UB ends their season with a 13-17 overall record.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
