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Buffalo coach Barry Clendenin talked about the quarterfinal victory.

�����Ƶ�I think getting over the nerves a little early and trying to handle the up-and-downs early, the weathered that storm,�����Ƶ� Clendenin said. �����Ƶ�Our back row did an excellent job covering, getting sets up to our big hitter [Chloe] Hale. The other hitters stepped up on the outside and and that�����Ƶ�s what made the difference.�����Ƶ�

Hale led the Bison with 17 kills.

Pendleton looked good out of the gate as the Wildcats jumped out to a 5-2 lead and it looked like the aforementioned nerves affected the Bison early.

It didn�����Ƶ�t take long for Buffalo to get over those nerves, though.

The Bison scored three straight points to tie the set, Hale�����Ƶ�s kill later in the set gave them a 10-7 lead that they did not relinquish for the remainder of the set.

Leading 11-10, Buffalo went on a 14-7 run to win the first set easily.

In the second set, it was Buffalo that got off to a good start as the Bison went on a 6-1 run to open things up and Pendleton had to call a timeout early in the set.

The timeout paid few dividends though as Buffalo went on a 19-10 tim to win the set by 14 points.

The third set was the most competitive of the match as the teams went back and forth until Buffalo pulled away toward the end.

Pendleton once again established an early lead as the Wildcats went up 4-1 to start the set but, like the first set, Buffalo came right back, eventually tying the set at 6.

The teams matched point for point for the next few minutes and Pendleton had a 15-13 lead with its season on the line.

The Bison allowed just one more point while scoring 12 more points and that gave them a 25-16 set win and 3-0 match win.

�����Ƶ�I think a little bit of experience helped, being here last year,�����Ƶ� Clendenin said. �����Ƶ�I think [Pendleton is] a good, solid young team. They were fighting for their lives. They kept swinging and put the pressure on us. Once we were able to calm down in the mid-section of the game, get a few kills, make a few plays, that kind of helped calm our nerves.�����Ƶ�

Buffalo had to have a short memory as it prepared to play in its semifinal against Ritchie on Wednesday. Buffalo was eliminated in the semifinals last season by eventual champion Williamstown.

�����Ƶ�This one is gone, be happy the way we played,�����Ƶ� Clendenin said. �����Ƶ�We have to push through and be ready for the next one. It�����Ƶ�s a challenge. Making the semis for the second year in a row is a big step. They want more out of it. Ritchie is a solid team. We�����Ƶ�re just going to have to be calm and play through our nerves.

Elsewhere in Class A, No. 5 Moorefield defeated No. 4 Greenbrier West 3-0 in the quarterfinals while No. 1 Williamstown downed No. 8 Tolsia 3-0.

Moorefield and Williamstown played their semifinal on Wednesday evening and results for that game were not available before the Gazette-Mail�����Ƶ�s print deadline.