The Time is Now

To put it lightly, the month of October was not very friendly to the UB women's volleyball team (10-18, 4-10 Mid-American Conference).

The Bulls went 4-7 and the team was left with a bad taste in their mouths heading into the season's final games and the ominous MAC tournament, which starts this Tuesday.

Buffalo hopes to muster up some momentum heading into the tournament when it wrap up the season against Marshall Friday night, and Ohio the following evening.

Locking up with Ohio will be especially tough. At one point this season, USA Today ranked the Bobcats No. 29 in their Division I poll and deservedly so, as they are coming off a 21-game winning streak that was just snapped last Saturday by Akron. If anything, OU deserves more credit.

The last time UB and Ohio met was last Friday, when the Bobcats shut the Bulls out with a 3-0 victory. The score was deceiving, however, as UB played all three games very closely.

This time around, the Bulls will have to face off with the Bobcats without senior Alexis Bouie, who is out with a sprained ankle.

This weekend also marks the end of seniors Lindsay Matikosh's and Bouie's careers here at UB. Matikosh is having a standout year, as she is ranked 11th in the MAC in kills per game and service aces per game, and she rounds out the top 10 in points per game. Bouie's presence will be sorely missed in the middle, as she leads the team in blocks and is eighth overall in the MAC.

While Matikosh feels pensive about these being her last games as a UB Bull, she is also very excited about the upcoming week.

"It's sad but at the same time it's a great chance to get to the MAC championship, so it's mixed," said Matikosh.

Undoubtedly, these are bittersweet times for her.

Friday's game against Marshall should also be interesting, as Buffalo will look to redeem themselves from the last meeting the two had on October 24. The story from that game was very similar to the last Ohio match; it was a tough loss for the Bulls, who lost all three sets by only five points or less.

"I think we all know we should have beaten Marshall," said head coach Sally Kus. "It should have been a win but we let it slip away."

As far as preparation goes, Kus says she has her players studying video footage of the two losses on top of practice to maximize their opportunity at victory.

"We have to try and exploit weaknesses and use our strengths," said Kus. "Marshall is a team we can beat and Ohio, we just have to shut them down. We shut down the number one player in the conference, Laura Hageman, so we know what we're going to do."

This years' MAC tournament is an interesting one, as all 13 teams will pitch their shot at victory instead of the usual eight. The first three seeds will get a bye into the second round. UB will not know their opponent until Sunday, and then they will open play Tuesday. The offense will be conducted through sophomore setter Amy Brown who leads the Bulls with 11.15 assists per game.