BUFFALO, N.Y.— The Buffalo State dropped a hard-fought five set match against Alfred University, before defeating Wells College in four sets to earn a split of the Saturday matches of the 2021 Buffalo State Bengal Challenge. The Bengals finished the tournament at 2-1 after a three-set sweep of Houghton on Friday night.
Liz Schultheis (Holley, NY/Brockport) and
Samantha Coakley (Lockport, NY/Lockport) were named to the All-Tournament Team for their performances throughout the weekend.
MATCH 1 BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Alfred University – 3, Buffalo State – 2
SET SCORES: 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-13
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS: Alfred (4-5) Buffalo State (3-6)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Schultheis had 16 kills on a .353 hitting percentage to lead the Bengals.
- Jenna Hugenschmidt (Clarence Center, NY/Clarence) had 21 digs and Maddie Hannon (Elma, NY/Williamsville North) contributed 15 digs to pace the defense.
- Myah Platler (Syracuse, NY/Solvay) had four service aces to lead Buffalo State.
- The Bengals had 12 blocks as a team for the second consecutive game, tying their season-high.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Saxons raced out to a 20-15 lead in the first set, but the Bengals closed the gap to 24-23 before Alfred won the final point to take the set.
- Buffalo State trailed 23-21 in the second set before a kill by Schultheis and a ace by Hannon tied the score at 23. The Bengals won the next two points to take the set, capped off by another ace by Hannon.
- The Bengals fell behind early in the third set, before rallying to tie the score at 19. McCartney Geartz (N. Tonawanda, NY/N. Tonawanda) had an ace to give the Bengals the lead that they would not relinquish as they won the set 25-22.
- Buffalo State fought back from a 11-2 deficit in the fourth set to as close as 21-19, but the Saxons won the final four points to force a tie-breaking fifth set.
- The deciding set featured eight tie scores, and three lead changes, but Alfred closed the match by taking three of the final four points for a 15-13 victory.
FOR THE FOES
- Jamie Chun, Sarah Raeman and Honor Edmands all had 13 kills for the Saxons, while Amanda Burns dished out 54 assists.
- Darian Ortiz had 38 digs to lead Alfred defensively.
MATCH 2 BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, Wells– 1
SET SCORES: 25-19, 22-25, 25-13, 25-8
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS: Buffalo State (4-6), Wells (3-9)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Coakley had seven kills and a .455 hitting percentage to lead Buffalo State against Wells.
- Abby Verner (Ransomville, NY/Trinity) had five aces and nine digs to lead the Bengals in both categories.
- Setter Riley Domin (Getzville, NY/Williamsville South) conducted the offense to the tune of 15 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Leading 20-19 in the first set, the Bengals had a five-point run to close out the set, including two aces by Platler.
- Wells responded by winning a back-and-forth second set that featured 14 ties and eight lead changes.
- The Bengals ran away with the third set thanks to a ten-point run with Verner serving that turned an 8-5 lead into an 18-5 advantage. From that point, the Bengals cruised to a 25-13 victory.
- The fourth set was much of the same, as Buffalo State raced out to an 11-2 advantage, and were never challenged on the way to taking the fourth set 25-8.
FOR THE FOES
- Morgan Adams had 11 kills to lead the Express.
UP NEXT
The Bengals continue their home stand by hosting Medaille on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Sports Arena.
