University of Rochester women's volleyball saw their 18-game non-conference win-streak snapped, as they fell in a five-set thriller to the Buffalo State Bengals in their regular-season finale, 3-2, on Saturday inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
The 'Jackets would fall behind early, with Buffalo State taking the first two sets to jump out to a 2-0 match lead. However, UR would battle back, scoring 16 kills in the third and hitting .278 in the fourth to send things to a decisive, fifth set, but the Bengals held on, winning the fifth set, 15-12, to finish off the victory.
 
Neither UR nor Buffalo State was able to build much of a lead early on in the opening set, with kills from Sonia McGaffigan and Myla Nover-Estes knotting the score at seven-all. Two-straight attack errors though, gave the Bengals the lead right back, and Buffalo State would open up a 14-9 lead, scoring five of the next six points to force the Yellowjackets to spend their first timeout.
 
Ruby Moore smashed another kill out of the UR timeout, but the Bengals kept on rolling, extending their lead out to 19-12, before three from Rochester pulled the 'Jackets within four, 19-15 on a block by Bri Jones.
 
Buffalo State then made it a six-point lead, scoring the next two, and while Jones again answered, this time pulling Rochester within five, the Bengals tallied the last four points of the set to take it, 25-16.
 
Rochester responded to open up the second set, starting things off with a 6-2 run, highlighted by two more kills from Jones and an ace from Moore, but the Bengals would make their way back, knotting the score at 12-all on a service error.
 
The Bengals hit .242 in the opening set, compared to just .024 for UR, and then .265 in the second set, with the 'Jackets improving their hitting to .158.
 
With the score tied at 12, Rochester went back up three with a kill from Moore and Areti Tsirikaki's ace, forcing a Buffalo State timeout, but the Bengals would keep things close and again tie the score, this time at 18-all, on Ella Whittman's kill.
 
Rochester called a timeout and went up 19-18 on the ensuing serve, but four-straight from the Bengals gave Buffalo State a 22-19 lead. After another timeout, UR answered back with Moore's kill, pulling within two on an attack error, but the Bengals brought up set point, going up 24-21 on a UR attack error.
 
The 'Jackets though, once again responded, with back-to-back kills from Nover-Estes leveling the set at 24 before Moore smacked another kill to give UR its first lead since 18-16.
 
However, after the Bengals called a timeout, Whittman's kill made it 25-all, before Samantha Coakley helped Buffalo State retake the lead, and Whittman's service ace finished it off the set, 27-25.
 
After Rochester again took an early lead in set three, the Bengals looked to finish things off with a sweep, using a 5-0 run to take a 14-12 lead and force a Rochester timeout midway through the third.
 
Buffalo State would hold onto their lead until down 21-19, UR made a run. Kills from Moore and Nover-Estes, as well as McKenzie McDonald's ace, gave Rochester a one-point lead. Buffalo State would level the score out of the timeout, but the 'Jackets would answer back with the final three points of the set.
 
Kills from Moore and Jones brought up set point, and an ace from Moore gave UR the set, 25-22, sending things to the fourth.
 
This time, Buffalo State would surge out to an early lead, opening the set on a 6-0 run after Jones' kill started things off. The Bengals led much of the early goings until a 4-0 run from UR, with three points coming on McDonald's serve, tied the set at 12.
 
UR then scored four of the next five, including a pair of kills from Nover-Estes, but the Bengals battled back to take a 17-16 lead of their own.
 
The 'Jackets had another answer in them though, responding with four in a row to go up 20-17 following three attack errors and Megan Cahall's kill. And while the Bengals kept things close, the 'Jackets would lead the rest of the way, adding two more points on McGaffigan's kills, before the Bengals called a timeout down 23-19.
 
Riley Domin's kill pulled Buffalo State within three, but an emphatic block by Jones and McDonald brought up set point, and Moore sealed it and sent the two sides to a fifth set with another kill, giving the 'Jackets the set, 25-20.
 
After hitting below .200 in both of the first two sets, Rochester hit .267 in the third and .278 in the fourth, while holding Buffalo State to just 15 kills and a .037 hitting percentage.
 
But the Bengals would take control early in the fifth set, leading by three before three-straight kills from UR tied it at 9-9. Buffalo State would answer with two of their own, taking an 11-9 lead on Erin Mergler and Eden Harrison's block, and the 'Jackets would take a timeout.
 
Moore pulled UR within one with a kill, but a service error gave Buffalo State the serve, and the Bengals would extend their lead to 14-11 and bring up match point on another Whittman kill. And while UR held off match point once, cutting the deficit to 14-12, Coakley finished things off for the Bengals with a kill, to give them the set, 15-12, and the match, 3-2.
 
Rochester wraps up the regular season at 18-9 with the loss, their first at home during the 2023 campaign, while Buffalo State moves to 16-11 with the win.
 
Individually, four 'Jackets tallied double-digit kills, led by Moore's 14, to go along with a team-high 11 digs and four aces. Nover-Estes and Jones each added 13 kills, while McGaffigan tallied 10, and McDonald notched 46 assists, a new career-high. McDonald also added four aces, to join Moore with a team-high, as well as 10 digs.
 
Defensively, Ashley Cook added nine digs and Lydia Weeks notched eight, with Jones tallying a team-high three blocks.
 
As a team, Rochester outhit Buffalo State, .193 to .177, tallying 61 kills to just 48 for the Bengals. But UR tallied 17 service errors, compared to just 10 for Buffalo State.

The Yellowjackets next head to Atlanta, GA for the 2023 UAA Championships, hosted by Emory University, where they'll face the host and No. 1-seeded Eagles on Friday, Nov. 10 at 12:00 p.m.