After losing their last three matches, the University at Buffalo women's volleyball team will look to get back to the .500 mark for the first time in three weeks.
The streaky Bulls (7-8 overall, 0-2 MAC) start their longest home stand of the year tonight at 7 p.m. against the Northern Illinois Huskies (4-10 overall, 0-2 MAC) and continue their schedule on Sunday at 2 p.m. against the 2003 defending MAC champion Ohio Bobcats (10-2 overall, 2-0 MAC) in the friendly and newly redesigned confines of Alumni Arena.
The undermanned Huskies will be first up on the list of weekend opponents for the Bulls. NIU will seek to spoil any hopes of a Buffalo resurgence, relying on senior and all-time NIU kills leader Tera Lobdell. Lobdell averages 5.69 kills per game, good for sixth in the nation.
The tandem of Lobdell and sophomore middle blocker Kate McCullagh will give Buffalo a lot to handle, as McCullagh is tenth in the MAC in kills per game with 3.56.
To counter these offensive weapons the Huskies garner and for the Bulls to string together some more wins to climb out of the MAC East Division cellar, UB will need to go back to the basics of volleyball. The Bulls need to rely not just on their offense, but also on their defense and ball control to win games.
"If you have ball control, you can do anything," said Buffalo coach Sally Kus. "You have to have the heart to keep the ball off the floor and the calmness not to panic."
To do this, the Bulls will look to junior outside hitter and co-captain Katie Weekley, who ranks fourth in the nation in blocks per game with 1.29.
To help Weekley out, Buffalo will need a big weekend from freshman libero Lizaiha Garcia. Garcia's 3.58 digs per game are good for 12th in the MAC, and Garcia will be instrumental for a solid Buffalo defensive match.
The defending MAC champion Bobcats should pose a much greater threat to Buffalo, as the last three MAC players of the week have all worn the OU green and white. Junior setter Briana Adamovsky is tops in the MAC in assists per game with 13.33, and junior outside hitter Julia Winkfield, who is in the MAC top five in hitting percentage, kills, and points, will look to rain on the Bulls' parade.
However, Ohio coach Geoff Carlston knows his team is still far from perfect.
"One of the things about this team, we're young, but we have to play better as a team," said Carlston. "We've been lucky and have had a couple of players who have stepped up and done well for us."
Katie Weekley knows that with all of Ohio's offensive weapons, it will be important for Buffalo to keep their edge by keeping their heads in the game and not making mistakes.
"Ohio has strong outside hitters," said Weekley. "We're working on defending the outside and avoiding mental breakdowns, so we can focus on winning these games."
To avoid these mental errors, Buffalo will need to rely on their team leaders to provide the fundamentals of solid play throughout the rest of the contest. Players such as Weekley, junior setter Amy Brown, sophomore outside hitter Nikki Morzenti, and senior right side outside hitter and co-captain Molly Schrantz will be instrumental for the Bulls to achieve success.
Schrantz is coming off a 17-kill performance on Saturday, Oct. 25th in a loss against the Eastern Michigan Eagles (7-6 overall, 3-0 MAC).
The Bulls play this weekend at Alumni Arena on Friday at 6 p.m. against Northern Illinois, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday against the defending MAC champion Ohio Bobcats.
