University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: October 5, 2006

Soccer

MEN'S

UB 1, IPFW 0

UB defeated its first Mid-American Conference opponent of the season, downing Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Friday night, 1-0, in its fifth shutout of the season.

The Bulls (7-3-1) dominated in the shot category, 14-3, in the first half of play against the winless Mastodons (0-10-0). The game remained scoreless heading into the 85th minute when senior Brian Knapp hammered home the game-winner to earn the Bulls their fourth straight road win. Junior Dan Stevens found Knapp after a group of Mastodon defensemen flooded the box, seeking to create a turnover in their end. Knapp found the back of the net for his third goal of the season.

The Bulls will play their second MAC game of the season tomorrow at Bowling Green.

WOMEN'S

UB 3, Eastern Michigan 2
Central Michigan 1, UB 0

UB picked up its first MAC victory of the season on Friday night, downing Eastern Michigan University, 3-2. The Bulls' second-half comeback was sparked by two goals from sophomore Andrea Vescio and a single goal from junior defender Amanda Corteau.

The Bulls then dropped a MAC contest Sunday afternoon, falling to the Central Michigan Chippewas, 1-0.

An evenly played first half concluded with neither team able to score. The second half played out differently, however, when freshman Stephanie Martin snuck the ball past outstretched Buffalo goalkeeper Amy Coron to get the Chippewas on the board. The Bulls were unable to find space between the pipes, despite finishing the contest with a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.

UB (4-7-0, 1-2-0 MAC) will return to action at 4 p.m. tomorrow at Western Michigan.

Volleyball

UB 3, Akron 0
Ball State 3, UB 0

Senior Nikki Morzenti became just the fifth player in UB volleyball history to reach the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig mark as she notched her 14th dig on the match-clinching point during the Bulls' 3-0 victory over Akron, Friday night in Alumni Arena. The win eclipsed last season's total of 11 victories.

UB coasted to a victory in the first game, recording seven service aces en route to a 30-16 victory, then completed the match with victories of 30-28 and 30-21, respectively. Morzenti led the Bulls with a match-high 14 kills and completed the double-double with her 14 digs.

UB ended its four-match home stretch with a 3-0 loss to the Ball State Cardinals on Saturday night. The loss drops UB to 12-8 on the season and 1-3 in Mid-American Conference play.

UB was led by Morzenti and Jenna Mapé with a team-high 12 kills each. Morzenti added 10 digs on the evening for her third straight double-double. Lizaiha Garcia led UB with a team-high 17 digs.

UB now hits the road for five straight matches, beginning tomorrow night at Miami (OH). The Bulls then head to Bowling Green the following day for a contest with the Falcons.

Cross Country

Bulls finish in middle of pack at Paul Short meet

The UB men's and women's cross-country teams raced against their strongest competition so far this year at the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University. The UB women scored a team total of 487 points to place 18th in a field of 35 schools from throughout the Northeast. The UB men finished with 710 points for a 26th-place showing in the 42-team field.

In the women's 6K race-the first time the UB women have competed at the distance-the Bulls' top finisher was sophomore Mary Veith, who placed 14th overall in a field of 237 racers with a time of 21:14.

The men competed at 8K with senior Andy Leonard claiming 48th place as UB's top finisher with a time of 25:14. The time was Leonard's fastest of the season, bettering his 25:55 time two weeks ago when he won at the Toledo Invitational.

The Bulls are off next weekend, and next will compete on Oct. 14 at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester.

Tennis

WOMEN'S

UB rolls at Niagara Regional Tournament

The Bulls completed a nearly flawless weekend at the Niagara Regional Tournament with 24 victories in 27 matches. St. Bonaventure, Detroit and host Niagara joined the Bulls in the hidden duals format competition. UB's lone losses were a pair of singles defeats to St. Bonaventure on Saturday and a doubles contest against Niagara on Sunday.

Six UB players were undefeated in singles play, with a pair of Bulls winning all three matches against their opponents and four others going 2-0. Finishing 3-0 were senior Natalie Dean and freshman Denise Harijanto.

Finishing 2-0 were senior Miglena Nenova, senior Katrin Fischer, sophomore Smaranda Stan and freshman Diana Toia.

UB dropped just one doubles match in nine contests over the weekend. The top UB duo was Nenova and Harijanto, who completed a perfect 3-0 mark, including an 8-0 shutout against St. Bonaventure.

Basketball

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S

2006-07 schedules announced

A visit from perennial power Pittsburgh will highlight the 2006-07 men's basketball schedule released last week. The Bulls' challenging schedule also features clashes with Temple, Tulane, Miami (Fla.) and South Florida.

The Bulls will open the season against Canisius on Nov. 10 and host Iona in their home opener on Nov. 21.

Pitt will take on the Bulls in Alumni Arena on Dec. 9. Pitt returns four starters and eight of its top 10 players from a team that finished 25-8, advanced to its fifth straight NCAA Tournament and a fifth Big East Championship title game appearance in the last six years.

UB will open conference play on Jan. 7 at Bowling Green.

The UB women will play 13 nonconference games to kick off their schedule.

For the second straight season, UB will open against cross-town rival Canisius in a doubleheader with the men's team on Nov. 10-one of four doubleheaders with the men's program.

UB will play Holy Cross in its home opener at 7 p.m. on Nov. 24 following the football team's home finale that afternoon.

The Bulls will open conference play by hosting Miami (OH) on Jan. 3.