LOUIS ALEXANDER PALESTRA – University of Rochester Volleyball wrapped up the UR Volleyball with two more wins, edging Buffalo State in a five-set thriller, 3-2, before sweeping Penn St. Behrend, 3-0 on Saturday at the Palestra.
 
UR remains undefeated on the year at 4-0, while Buffalo State and Penn St. Behrend both head back home at 1-2.
 
For their efforts, senior Sonia McGaffigan and freshman Ruby Moore were named to the all-tournament team. McGaffigan finished second in the invitational with 43 kills and led the way with 13 blocks, while Moore finished third with 39 kills and eighth with a .231 hitting percentage.
 
GAME ONE: ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO STATE 2
Sonia McGaffigan started the Yellowjackets off with a kill in set one, as UR bounced back from an early deficit to take a 15-10 lead on Ana Cerezer's kill.
 
From there, UR and the Bengals went back-and-forth, with the Yellowjackets staying out in front by as many as seven, until a 4-0 Buffalo State-run made it a three-point game, 20-17.
 
Ruby Moore answered with a kill to put UR back up by three, and after Caroline Hoag and Erin Mergler traded kills to put UR up 22-19, the Yellowjackets scored the next three to take set one, 25-19.
 
Buffalo State and Rochester kept things close in the early goings of set two, with Gillian Reeder's kill giving UR an 8-7 lead.
 
UR then took advantage of a few Bengals' errors to go up 12-8, but Buffalo State answered with their largest run of the set, scoring seven straight to take a 16-12 lead and 16 of the next 17 to come from behind and take set two, 25-13.
 
Rochester though, responded with a flurry to open set three, opening a 9-1 advantage. Buffalo State though, came back to even the score at 11-all on Liz Schultheis' kill and took their first lead of the set, 14-13, just a few serves later.
 
Hoag answered with a kill to knot the score at 14, and after Buffalo State retook the lead, 16-15, UR rallied off four straight to take a 19-16 lead of their own.
 
The two sides then traded blows, with ties at 20-20, 21-21 and 22-all. A service error then gave UR a one-point lead, and Hoag smashed a kill forcing Buffalo State to take a timeout.
 
But the Yellowjackets made quick work of the Bengals out of the timeout, as Reeder's kill gave UR a 25-22 set three victory.
 
Rochester then looked to finish things off in set four, rallying for three-straight with the set tied at 21 to set up match point on Moore's ace. But the Bengals answered with a run, holding UR without a point the rest of the way to force a decisive, fifth set with a 26-24 victory.
 
Again though, and like in set three, the Yellowjackets rolled out to an early lead in the fifth set. McGaffigan's service ace made it 6-3, before up 8-6, UR scored four straight to put victory within reach.
 
Buffalo State made one last gasp, reeling off four-in-a-row of their own to force a UR timeout, but Cerezer quieted the run with a kill to go up 13-10 before two Bengal attack errors gave Rochester a 15-11 set five win, and a 3-2, five-set victory.
 
Four Yellowjackets tallied double-digit kills led McGaffigan, who notched 16 kills, four digs and three aces. Three 'Jackets also notched double-doubles: Cerezer with 11 kills and 18 digs, Hoag with 10 kills and 17 digs and Moore with 10 kills and 15 digs.
 
Defensively, La'I Yuen led UR with 19 digs, while Alexia Nelms tallied a team-high 47 assists.
 
GAME TWO: ROCHESTER 3, PENN ST. BEHREND 0
After a back-and-forth start between the Lions and Yellowjackets, UR inched their lead out to three on kills by Cerezer and Moore, as well as two Cerezer aces.
 
Out of a timeout, Penn St. Behrend pulled back within four, but UR slowly pulled away, taking a 17-11 lead on another Moore kill to force the Lions to use another timeout.
 
Penn St. Behrend would get as close as 19-14 before Rochester finished off the first set with six straight, including two Yeun service aces, to take a 1-0 lead.
 
The Lions took an early lead in set two, but down 6-3, the Yellowjackets reeled off four-in-a-row, the last two coming on Moore kills, to take their first lead of the set.
 
Behrend retook the lead moments later but would take their last lead of the set, 11-10, on a service error. From there, UR took a 13-11 lead on another Yeun ace and pulled out to an 18-14 lead on Reeder's block to force Behrend to use a timeout.
 
Reeder added a kill out of the timeout, as Rochester would go up 24-17, before eventually finishing off the second set, 25-20, on one of Cerezer's game-high 12 kills.
 
UR then raced out to an 8-1 lead early in the third set and led by as many as eight before the Lions cut the deficit to five on Khadijah Nickson's kill.
 
Rochester answered with the next three, and though Behrend would twice pull within four, an attack error set up match point and Cerezer finished it off with a kill from Katie Westerheim to give UR a sweep and its second win on the day.
 
Cerezer led UR with 12 kills, adding eight digs, while Moore again tallied double-digit kills with 11, to go along with six digs.
 
Nelms totaled a game-high 28 assists, while Yeun led Rochester defensively with 13 digs, adding six service aces.
 
UR next heads to Brockport, N.Y. for the Brockport Invitational, beginning on Friday, Sept. 9 with a matchup against Hamilton College at 5 p.m.