The UB volleyball team ended its regular season with a road loss to Bowling Green (16-13, 8-8 MAC) on Saturday night to bring Buffalo's record to 8-21 overall and 1-15 in the Mid-American Conference for the 2004 season.
Victory was crucial for Bowling Green to ensure that the first-round of the MAC Tournament would be played in Anderson Arena, BGSU's home court. The Falcons wasted no time in securing the victory, sweeping the Bulls in three games by scores of 30-24, 30-24, and 30-28 thereby sending the Bulls back to Buffalo to prepare for their own playoff opener.
The Bulls got off to a slow start in game one. UB committed eight errors over a span of eleven points after the game was tied at 11-11, allowing Bowling Green to capture a 19-14 lead. The Falcons never lost their thunder, resulting in a 30-24 win for Bowling Green.
The thunder from game one carried over to game two for Bowling Green. The Bulls stood idle as the Falcons rallied to a 10-2 lead early in the second game. Unfortunately, by the time the Bulls were able to counter the early lead with some aggressive offense, the Falcons had recorded a 30-24 win.
"That's been our problem this year, somebody gets a couple of points on us and we just zone out. That's exactly what happened here," said UB head coach Sally Kus.
Game three redeemed some lost hope in the Bulls, as they rallied towards victory. The front line was blocking effectively, and the Bulls held the lead through most of the game. But Bowling Green had other plans in mind.
The Falcons responded with 18 kills and a .333 hit percentage to overwhelm the Bulls by a marginal 30-28. Nikki Morzenti shared her thoughts on the team's effort in game three.
"In the third game we definitely pulled through. Everybody was really working hard and everybody wanted it. Granted, we did get to 28 and didn't finish it off, but I think everyone did well in that game and sometimes it just doesn't happen."
Kus echoed Morzenti, adding, "We got to 28 but we forgot the score was to 30, and as a result they got there before us."
The Bulls were led by Morzenti, with 12 kills and five digs and senior Molly Schrantz with eight kills and 10 digs. Junior setter Amy Brown recorded 31 assists and 10 digs, while freshman Lizaiha Garcia turned in a team-high 13 digs.
Following the loss, the Bulls are the 13th seed in a field of 13 teams at the MAC Tournament. Buffalo traveled to No. 4 Western Michigan last night to play a late-night first-round match.
The Broncos (17-10 overall, 11-5 MAC) defeated the Bulls in four games (30-17, 26-30, 30-22, 30-22) on Sept. 24 in a match that served as a MAC opener for both teams. The prior match was the only meeting of the regular season between the two squads. Buffalo is 0-1 in its MAC Tournament history, losing 3-0 as the 11th seed at No. 6 Northern Illinois in the first round in 2003.
UB's lone senior, Molly Schrantz also had a chance to make team history. Schrantz is 10 kills away from recording 1,000 kills in her career. If she reaches the mark, Schrantz will become only the fifth volleyball player in UB history to record over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
