The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (7-6, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) concluded play at the James Madison/Days Inn Invitational on Saturday, with two wins and one controversial loss.
They began play in Harrisonburg, Va. on Friday with a decisive victory over Campbell (2-7) in three games. Game scores were 30-19, 30-19, and 30-16.
UB continued play on Saturday morning against North Carolina A&T (4-6), sweeping their opponent by scores of 30-20, 30-8, 30-13.
Later that evening the team took on host school James Madison (8-2) and fell after a controversial match point call in the final match. The game ended with match scores of 30-17, 20-30, 23-30, 30-26, 14-16.
In day one of the James Madison/Days Inn Invitational, sophomore outside hitter Nikki Morzenti set the pace for the Bulls' victory over the Campbell University Camels, by posting a match-best 11.5 points with nine kills, one ace, a solo block, and a block assist.
Middle hitter Lauren Burd recorded eight kills and two blocks.
"We played really solid. Everyone played consistently strong and we played our game which is really important. I thought everyone put in a great effort," Burd said.
The Bulls kicked off play on the second day on Saturday morning with a game against North Carolina A&T. Buffalo posted an easy victory with eleven players contributing to the attack. Junior Katie Weekley and sophomore Wendy Haskell recorded seven kills apiece, while senior Molly Schrantz posted a career high five service aces. The Bulls played against host team James Madison later in the evening and lost after a controversial call by the line judge.
"We like to say one call doesn't determine a game but unfortunately in this match it did," said head coach Sally Kus.
Buffalo had almost certainly clinched a victory as they scored the match point to win the game, but due to a call by the line judge, the point went to James Madison.
"It was such a controversial call we didn't keep our composure and fell when we should have won," said Kus. "It really let down the team's morale."
Lauren Burd also commented on the call saying, "It hurts when stuff like that happens. We played hard and it's sad to lose a game on one call but it shouldn't have come to that. It was a huge letdown but at the same time if we had carried a larger lead that call wouldn't have mattered."
Despite the loss, the team remained positive about their play, having four players who reached double digit kills. Nikki Morzenti led the team with sixteen kills while freshman Tammy Jul?(c) added 13.
"Our team did outstanding all weekend long," commented Morzenti. "Everybody that came off the bench did a great job and I was really happy with the way we all played."
Junior setter Amy Brown and freshman Lizaiha Garcia were named to the All-Tournament Team.
"I had confidence in all my hitters," said Brown, "I think we put in a great team effort."
Brown added that despite the loss, the team did gain valuable experience from the tournament.
"We played consistent over the weekend as a whole and that's important. I think this prepared us a lot more by building confidence in our team's ability and that's something that we needed at this point," she said.
The tournament concluded Buffalo's out of conference play for the season. The remainder of the games will be played against MAC opponents.
"This team has been really hungry for some action over the past week. The past three weeks have prepared them for conference play," Coach Kus said.
Morzenti had similar sentiments, "We learned a lot off of this weekend and I am confident that we are ready for MAC play in the coming week."
The Bulls begin their conference play at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24 when they will be traveling to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on the Western Michigan Broncos.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
