Toledo (7-12, 3-4 MAC) came into Saturday's match-up against UB (7-11, 2-3 MAC) volleyball having yet to post a Mid-American Conference victory.
However, the Rockets evidently felt the pressure and swept the visiting Bulls in a best of five series, 30-23, 30-19, and 31-29.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Buffalo, which entered the match riding a two-game conference win streak after defeating Miami (OH) and Bowling Green last weekend. But unlike those previous matches, the Bulls seemed flat right from the get-go.
"We really started off slow and we really didn't play our game until the third game," said Bulls head coach Sally Kus. "We're going to have to come out and play well in the first (game) if we want to have a successful season."
Playing well for UB was senior standout Alexis Bouie who led the Bulls with 11 kills, while youngsters Katie Weekley (sophomore) and Nikki Morzenti (freshman) each added nine. Weekley was also impressive at the net where she tallied three blocks. Junior Molly Schrantz and senior Lindsay Matikosh continued their consistent play, each recording a team-high eight digs, with sophomore setter Amy Brown contributing 34 assists.
The Bulls were not as in sync as they proved they could be in past, but the effort Toledo put forth on Saturday was good enough to beat many teams.
"Toledo had the best match of their life," said Matikosh. "They played completely as a team. When one player wasn't performing well, another one stepped up. It was a total team effort."
Leading the way for the Rockets was junior Rachel Mohler who tallied 18 points on 15 kills, two aces and one block. Mohler was just one of five Rocket players who notched double figures in points, while senior setter Carrie McCaw recorded 43 assists, effectively running a Toledo offensive attack that averaged a season-high 413 team attack percentage.
"It was good for us to win this match in three games," said Toledo head coach Kent Miller. "We came out and played focused and didn't let Buffalo get on track. Our effectiveness on offense was really nice to see and hopefully we can carry our momentum from this weekend's matches into next week."
The Bulls, on the other hand, will look to put this match behind them with the heart of their conference schedule coming up. Hoping they never again surrender a team attack percentage as high as Toledo's, UB will travel to local foe Niagara on Wednesday before kicking off a stretch of ten MAC games on Friday at Akron.
The Bulls next home game will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, in Alumni Arena against Ball State.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
