BEREA, OH – The Buffalo State women's volleyball team fell, 3-1, to host Baldwin Wallace University in their opening matchup of the 2026 Marcia French Invitational.
GAME BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Baldwin Wallace – 3, Buffalo State – 1
SET SCORES: (18-25, 25-17, 21-25, 21-25)
LOCATION: Ursprung Gymnasium – Berea, OH
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 2-3 (0-0 SUNYAC), Baldwin Wallace: 6-0 (0-0 OAC)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Ella Wittman (Cheektowaga, NY/Springville-Griffith) led the Bengals attack with 14 kills, while Alex Arroyo (Nesconset, NY/Smithtown East) led the facilitator department with 19 assists.
- Outside of Wittman and Arroyo, Anel Acosta (North Tonawanda, NY/North Tonawanda) finished the night with eight kills, while April Jakubowski (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) finished with 12 assists.
- Defensively, Delaney McCarthy (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) led the Bengals with five total blocks, while Hailey Kulniszewski (Elma, NY/Iroquois) led the Bengals with 14 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Heading back to the road after partaking in the 'Gettysburg Invite' last weekend, the Bengals looked to add another "W" in the win column as they took on host Baldwin Wallace University for day one of the 2026 Marcia French Invitational.
- In the first set, the Bengals would fall behind early as the Yellow Jackets found some early offense. The Bengals would stay on the Yellow Jackets' heels, stacking up points as they could throughout play, but the early set advantage by the Yellow Jackets would keep the Bengals at bay. A late surge by the Bengals would fall short, as the Yellow Jackets would rip off five-straight points to take the first set win over the Bengals.
- The second set would see the Bengals find their footing in this bout, jumping out to an early lead. As the Yellow Jackets attempted to find their way back into the set, the Bengals would respond with back-to-back three-point runs to hold off their foe. This would be just enough, as the Bengals would glide past the Yellow Jackets, picking up the second set win.
- In the third set, the Bengals would start off strong once more, rattling off three-straight points to take the early advantage over the Yellow Jackets. However, the Yellow Jackets would respond with a five-point rally, staying within arms' reach of the Bengals, before taking the lead in the set with a four-point rally. With the Bengals in a fight to the finish, both sides would continuously trade points late into play, before a four-point rally would give the Yellow Jackets the set.
- The fourth set would be a competitive set of runs, as the Bengals looked to force a fifth set in this bout, while the Yellow Jackets looked to close out the matchup in four sets. After trading points throughout the set, the Yellow Jackets and the Bengals would trade back-to-back three-point runs, with the Bengals trailing. This pace of play would lead to a seven-straight point run by the Yellow Jackets, with the Bengals responding with a five-point rally. However, this run from the Bengals would fall just short, as the Yellow Jackets would win the race to '25', with the Bengals falling in their first outing of the Marcia French Invitational.
FOR THE FOES
- Lyla Nash led the Yellow Jackets with 13 kills, with Anna Stankard leading all players with 23 assists.
- Defensively, Maddi Crea led all players with 16 digs.
UP NEXT
The Bengals will look to rebound tomorrow morning, as they return for day two of the Marcia French Invitational with a battle against the SUNY Geneseo Knights at 11:00 AM.
