BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Capital University volleyball team traveled to Buffalo, New York this weekend for a three-game tournament hosted by Buffalo State. The Comets opened play against the hosts, and despite five players hitting double-digit kills, Capital fell to Buffalo State in five sets, 3-2 (22-25, 25-14, 24-26, 25-23, 14-16).
Capital is now 5-8 on the year, while Buffalo State improved to 6-5.
The Comets seemed to have the upperhand for much of the match and forced each of their three set losses to close scores – two of which went past the usual 25 points.
Overall, the story for the Comets proved to be a strong offensive night that was foiled by untimely errors that allowed the Bengals to capitalize. As a team, the Comets, out-hit Buffalo State, landing 68 kills to their 56, and connecting on a higher percentage of attempts – .174 vs. .148. Despite this, Buffalo State found a way to tack on extra points to overcome the Comets' attack to win the match.
Overall for Capital, five players landed double figure kills, led by
Simone Daniel who recorded 16 kills. She was followed by
Sophia Sobota and
Samaree Perkins with 12 each and
Larissa Smith and
Chloe Preocanin with 10 each. Smith (.400), Daniel (.382) and Perkins (.308) all had strong efficiency rates on the night, attacking at .300 or better.
Facilitating the offense was a nice combo of
Bryn Whitmer and
Kenadee Winters. Whitmer ended with 35 assists, while Winters dished out 18 helpers – a season-high for the latter.
In defense,
Abby Brunner and
Olivia Spillers combined for 50 digs, with Brunner recording 28 and Spillers finishing with 22. The total for Spillers marked a career-high and the first time with more than 20 digs in a match. Brunner's 28 digs was a season-high.
In service, three players landed one ace each – Spillers, Daniel and Perkins.
At the net, Capital recorded six blocks – five of which came as solo stops. Smith had three solo blocks, while Daniel recorded two solo swats and was in on a third block with Perkins. Notably,
Larissa Smith now has 18 solo blocks on the year which sits in a tie for second most in NCAA Division III as of Friday, September 20th.
UP NEXT
Capital will return to action tomorrow, September 21st, as they take on St. John Fisher and Pitt-Bradford to round out their time in New York. Game one is slated to get started at 11:30 a.m.
