The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Buffalo
Volleyball comes up short on the road at Buffalo, 3-0
November 13 | Women's Volleyball
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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Akron posted 25 kills over the last two sets, but it was not quite enough to push the Zips past Buffalo in a 3-0 loss on the road Thursday night (25-14, 25-23, 25-20).
Julia Smagacz led UA (8-22, 2-13 MAC) with seven kills, while Amanda Bedell added six and Mary Delich had five. Ashley Holder registered 20 assists.
Buffalo (15-14, 5-10 MAC) was led by the one-two punch of Skyler Day (13 kills) and Amber Hatchett (nine kills).
Brenna Mack guided Akron's defense with 12 digs, aided by seven digs each from Holder and Anna Wenger.
Despite falling behind 5-0 to start the second set, Akron turned in a 15-kill performance in the second frame which proved to be the most closely contested of the evening. The Zips fought back to within one point of the Bulls early on, with the score at 7-6. Delich, Wenger and Kelsey Wilson teamed up for several big kills before a block from Wenger and Wilson denied UB's Akeila Lain.
A Buffalo miscue kept the margin at one (10-9) before a few unforced errors on Akron's side of the net put UB back on top by five, 14-9.
Maintaining its five-point separation at 22-17, Buffalo fell victim to a 6-2 Akron run that included four unanswered points and a pair of blocks at the hands of Delich. A kill from Bedell held Buffalo off from set point for one play, but Lain would eventually lock the set up for the Bulls.
Trailing two sets to none, the Zips knotted the score at 12 in the third thanks to a Buffalo attack error. The Bulls strung together a 6-1 run to force an Akron timeout, and the Zips could not bridge the five-point gap late in the game.
Akron concludes the regular season on Saturday when it travels to Ball State. First serve between the Zips and the Cardinals is set for 7 p.m. at BSU's Worthen Arena.
