Welcome back to the Buffalo State Sports Round-up, where this week, our attention continues to shift toward the early stages of the spring sports season. Four teams were in action to begin the month of March – taking the court, field, track, and mats. How did the Bengals fare over the last seven days? Find out now.
Men’s Volleyball:
High off their eight-game win streak, the men’s volleyball team continued chasing down program history this week, spending a weekend in Pennsylvania to battle Penn State Altoona and Mount Aloysius College.
Starting in Altoona, the Bengals took the court Friday, eyeing another quick night at the office. Altoona traded with their visitors in the early-going, though a four-point rally put the Bengals in a rhythm they wouldn’t lose. The first set belonged to Buffalo State, 25-15.
Penn State Altoona jumped out in front in the second set, keeping the lead and the Bengals at bay halfway through. All of a sudden, with the score 13-14, the Bengals strung together one of their longest rallies of the season, scoring eight-straight points to gain a seven-point advantage. That was all she wrote on the second set – the Bengals won 25-18.
Again, the Bengals fell behind early in the third set, allowing two four-point runs, which put them behind 11-3. They quickly turned the tide, scoring 10 of 13 points to take their first lead of the set. To cap off the night, the Bengals scored the final seven points to secure their third consecutive shutout and ninth consecutive win.
The following afternoon, the squad traveled a half hour west for a date with Mount Aloysius College, which stumbled into the day’s contest with a 2-19 record.
The Bengals looked to make quick work of the Mounties, though at the halfway point, it was still anyone’s set. That statement was shortly outdated, as the Bengals rattled off a five-point run to balloon their lead to nine – too much for the Mounties to overcome. The Bengals won the opening set, 25-17.
Before the home crowd could breathe, the Bengals landed a five-point gut-punch to open the second set. However, the Mounties had plenty of fight in them, as they remained within five at the halfway mark. The Bengals picked up steam, building their lead to as much as eight, on the brink of a 2-0 match lead. Back against the wall, the Mounties stayed alive with a four-point rally – their largest of the set – but a kill by Buffalo State’s DeAngelo D’Aloise put the set away.
On the verge of a fourth-straight shutout, the Bengals stuck to their formula – gain an early lead and fend off any and all Mount Aloysius College comeback attempts. Despite the Mounties’ best efforts, the formula was unbeatable, which gave the Bengals the win and now puts them one win away from tying the program record for most wins in a row.
To say the men’s volleyball team is rolllling right now would make for an extreme understatement. They currently sit at 20-2 on the season and get their shot at tying history this Wednesday with home court advantage against the University of Mount Union.
Women’s Acrobatics & Tumbling:
On Saturday, the women’s acrobatics & tumbling team doubled the celebration – combining their home opener with Senior Day. In search of their first win of the season, they welcomed Calvin University to the Sports Arena for a dual meet.
The Bengals opened strong, nearly doubling Calvin’s score in the compulsory event with 26.70 points. They followed that up with 23.55 points in the acro portion and 25.55 points in the tumbling portion, closing the first half with a 72.80-53.55 lead.
The impressive showing continued in the second half, closing out the meet with a 68.040 score in the team event – their best score in the event this season.
The final score reflected the Bengals’ dominant performance, grabbing their first win 206.765-99.350, marking the first time in program history the team has eclipsed 200 points in a single meet – an incredible accomplishment, made even more special by the celebration of the seniors.
It was milestones on top of milestones for the women’s acrobatics & tumbling team this week, making them more than worthy of receiving this edition’s Buffalo State Sports Round-up Team of the Week honor. Congratulations!
Catch the squad back in action Friday, March 20, when they host the Buffalo State Tri-Match against Canisius University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Women’s Lacrosse:
Fresh off a complete and utter thrashing of Geneva College to open the season, the women’s lacrosse team jumped at the opportunity to get back on the field. In Wednesday’s home opener, they faced off with Nazareth University.
In the opening quarter, the Bengals hit the field as a team possessed. Within the first two minutes, they already held a two-goal lead – senior Vanessa Willick scoring the first and assisting on the second. Izzy Tutino added another for the Bengals at the 10-minute mark, though the Golden Flyers responded this time, scoring their first goal of the game minutes later. To combat that, the squad decided three (!) more goals would be enough, bringing the Bengals’ lead to five before the first quarter was over.
Dominance, once again.
The action took some time to ramp up in the second quarter, as Nazareth netted the first goal of the quarter just before the halfway point. Shortly following, the Bengals brought their lead back to five. Not needing much time to answer, the Golden Flyers cut the deficit back to four 25 seconds later, then nailed one more goal a minute later. At the break, the Bengals still had plenty of breathing room, leading 7-4.
Defense seemed to be the top priority of each coach in the locker room, as the two high-powered offenses couldn’t find the back of the net in the third quarter. The score remained 7-4 with 15 minutes left to play.
Senior swiss-army-knife Emilee Josker didn’t wait long to get the scoring started in the fourth quarter, already netting her ninth goal of the season just over a minute in. Nazareth battled back with two goals over a six-minute span, but with time winding down, the Bengals called game – Vanessa Willick completing a hat-trick in the process. By a score of 9-6, the Bengals improved to 2-0 in the early season, with one more game left to play for the week.
On Saturday Afternoon, just next door to the women’s acrobatics & tumbling team’s home meet, the Bengals squared off with Utica University in the team’s second of five-straight home games.
Off the bat, a penalty was given to the Bengals, handing the Pioneers a man-up opportunity they wouldn’t dare capitalize on. Trailing for the first time this season, the Bengals didn’t like the feeling, quickly tying the game up at one with a free position goal. Ten minutes ticked by before Utica regained the lead, taking it into the second quarter.
The Pioneers replicated the first quarter, capitalizing on another Buffalo State penalty to extend their lead to two. And talking about replicating the first quarter, the Bengals decided to follow suit, responding with a goal minutes later. They traded goals again halfway through – the Pioneers still hanging onto a one-goal lead. Though the lead returned to two before the half, putting the Bengals in an unfamiliar spot with the second half looming.
Like clockwork, Utica capitalized on a goal opportunity within the first two minutes of the quarter yet again, drilling a free position goal to make the score 6-3. Vanessa Willick got it back to two for the Bengals later on in the third quarter – completing a hat-trick for the second-consecutive game.
With 3:17 left to play in the third quarter, a scoring flurry broke out – Vanessa Willick scored her fourth goal to get the game to within one, and Emilee Josker followed that up with the game-tying goal. The squad was buzzing…but not for long. The Pioneers stole the Bengals’ momentum, netting back-to-back goals to regain their lead emphatically. Josker would score one more goal, ending an electric third quarter with the score at 8-7, advantage Utica.
The Bengals opened the final 15 minutes with another game-tying goal, forcing Utica to repeat their third-quarter run to create any space. And that’s exactly what they did – the Bengals’ penalty trouble continued to haunt them, allowing two more man-up free position goals. With just over a minute to go, Vanessa Willick added her fifth goal of the game, giving the Bengals one last shred of hope.
Twenty seconds to play, Bengals down one, Elona Jackson received a free position shot attempt. Jackson let it fly, but Pioneers goalie Makayla Purdy made the save to stick the dagger in the Bengals’ heart – Utica outlasted Buffalo State, 10-9.
Despite a gut-wrenching loss, the women’s lacrosse team is still locked and loaded, ready to go on a run this season. They continue their homestand with games on Wednesday and Saturday this week, welcoming Hilbert College and Grove City College to the Coyer Field environment.
Men’s and Women’s Track & Field:
The selected members of the men’s and women’s track & field teams spent their weekend in New York City, competing in the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference (AARTFC) Regionals.
The standout of the weekend was Nyla Wilson-Epps, who finished eighth in the weight throw, traveling 15.92 meters to post the Bengals’ best finish of Regionals.
The Bengals now await the results of the remaining meets around the country – if any qualify, they will take a trip to Birmingham, Alabama, this weekend to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships. And for one Bengal, she’s already IN.
Natalia Sawyer has booked her ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships for the fourth time in her Buffalo State career. This Friday, she will compete in the 60-meter hurdles, where she aims to take home her first national title. Congratulations to Natalia, we wish her the best of luck this weekend in Alabama!
The sun is shining, and the Bengals are doing just the same to kickstart the spring sports season. Thank you for reading through another edition of the Buffalo State Sports Round-up. We’ll see you next week as we cover more of the success coming from Buffalo State athletics.
