Women's Volleyball

Bulls Travel to Akron for Tuesday Evening Match

Preview courtesy of Athletic Communications Department

Buffalo Bulls (11-6, 3-3 MAC)
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (11-6, 3-3 MAC) will hit the road for five of their next six matches beginning Tuesday evening at the Akron Zips (7-11, 2-4 MAC). The match is set for 6 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.

The Bulls and Zips split their series last year with the road teams taking home victories. Under Head Coach Scott Smith, the Bulls are 12-3 against Akron. The Zips lead the all-time series, 31-28.

The Bulls are winners of their last two as they defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Friday and Saturday. Over the course of the matches, Manoela Forlin led Buffalo's attack with 4.11 kills and 4.61 points per set. In both matches, she recorded double-doubles. On Friday she had a season-high 23 kills and 15 digs as Buffalo won in five sets. She then followed up that performance with 14 kills and 15 digs as the Bulls took the match in four sets. She averaged 3.33 digs per set while adding 0.44 blocks per set.

Abbie Willis also had a solid weekend with 23 kills and a .281 hitting percentage. Willis tallied 30.5 points as she added seven total blocks.

Freshman Abisola Adebayo continues to make an impact at the net as she added five blocks on the weekend to bring her team leading season total to 49.


Akron Zips (7-11, 2-4 MAC)
Preview coming soon...


Kent State Golden Flashes (7-10, 1-5 MAC)
Kent State closes the first half of its Mid-American Conference slate with matches at Central Michigan on Wednesday and Thursday. Both contests will stream on ESPN+.

PREVIEWING THE FLASHES
The Golden Flashes (7-10, 1-5 MAC) proved to be a challenge in a pair of 3-1 setbacks at first-place Toledo last week. The Rockets needed a successful coach challenge on back-to-back points in the opener to avoid going to five sets for the first time in league play

Lesley Furuta continued her breakout junior campaign in the libero jersey and averaged 6.75 digs per set to earn MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Furuta tallied a career-high 34 digs in the second match of the series. In addition to being the most by any MAC player this season, only one player in Division I has topped that mark in a four-setter. For the season, Furuta ranks fourth in the conference with an average of 4.18 digs per set.

Senior Christina Vigil ranks fifth in the MAC with an average of 7.88 assists per set. Vigil is also versatile as a defender and averages 2.05 digs per set and 0.37 blocks per set.

Senior Mercedez Brown leads the team with an average of 2.49 kills per set and adds 2.03 digs per set. Sophomore Macie Moreland (2.15 kps) and junior Vanessa Imoh (1.98 kps) have increased production league play. Moreland has at least 11 kills in three consecutive matches and is averaging a team-best 2.70 kills per set against MAC competition. Imoh has a .337 hitting percentage and average of 2.28 kills per set in league play.

Redshirt junior Adalynn Ginley leads the Flashes with 48 total blocks and junior Nadia Miller is close behind with 46 stuffs. Kent State is 5-1 when recording at least eight blocks.

ALL-TIME VS. OPPONENT
Kent State is 23-39-1 all-time against Central Michigan and looks to stop an eight-match series losing streak that dates back to 2021.


Central Michigan Chippewas (0-19, 0-6 MAC)
Preview coming soon...


Miami RedHawks (12-5, 4-2 MAC)
Miami continues Mid-American Conference play by traveling to Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. and Friday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. 

RECENT ACTION: The Miami University volleyball team defeated Central Michigan in a three-set match (25-21, 25-9, 25-17) on Friday evening. Molly Creech led the RedHawks with 13 kills, and Grace Kreutz added 11 of her own. Kamryn Utley and Holland Van Deusen each produced 17 assists for the RedHawks; Van Deusen also served three aces, which led the match. Rachel Morgan had a team-high nine digs, while Michelin and Lauren Coyne both had two blocks to lead Miami defensively. The Red and White hit .441 in this evening's match. This win extended Miami's win streak to four in a row.

MAC WEEKLY AWARDS: On Monday afternoon, the Mid-American Conference announced that Miami University volleyball sophomore outside hitter Molly Creech was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week, and freshman setter Holland Van Deusen and junior setter Kamryn Utley were named the MAC Setter Pair of the Week following their performances last week. Creech recorded 4.71 kills per set while maintaining a .431 hitting percentage to help Miami take down Ball State on the road in four sets and Central Michigan at home in three sets. Van Deusen and Utley combined for 75 assists (5.36 assists/set) over the week, helping Miami to 102 kills (14.57 kills/set) with a .327 attack percentage across the two victories. The win over Ball State marked the RedHawks' first road victory versus the Cardinals since Oct. 25, 2019. In total, the Red and White have earned three weekly awards this season.


Eastern Michigan Eagles (8-10, 2-4 MAC)
Preview coming soon...

 
For more MAC Volleyball news and notes throughout the season, visit www.GetSomeMaction.com and follow @MACSports on X, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.