Execution and confidence are two of the biggest factors that can affect the outcome of any situation in life, especially the final score of a game, match or competition in sports. The Bulls volleyball team seemed to have these two factors at the start of Tuesday evening against Niagara, but soon found themselves behind.
The volleyball team traveled to the Gallagher Center in Lewiston on Tuesday evening to square off with the Niagara Purple Eagles (1-9). The Bulls (3-8) lost the contest 3-1 and were outhit by the Purple Eagles .187-.241 overall throughout four games (25-19, 20-25, 17-25, 18-25). This was the first win of Niagara's non-conference preseason play.
"You'd like to think that if you have that first win you're going to be confident and still execute at a high level and believe that you are going to succeed. So it's always good to get off to a good start," head coach Jim Lodes said.
Sophomore middle blocker Kristen Bignell, the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week, led the match with 13 kills, four blocks and a hitting percentage of .375. Senior outside hitter Claudia Neba was right behind Bignell with a hitting percentage of .304 and eight kills. Sophomore setter Lindsey Schlegel hit .375 and recorded a match-high 33 assists.
The match proved to be evenly contended through the first set as the lead changed five different times and there were six different occasions in the set that Buffalo and Niagara were dead even.
Set one started out with the Purple Eagles taking a 7-6 lead. Soon after, the Bulls appeared to have turned on their offense going on a 6-1 scoring run to put them ahead 12-8, forcing Niagara to call a timeout in an effort to try to regroup.
The timeout proved to be unsuccessful as the Bulls took the set to 19-14 when the Purple Eagles called their second timeout to once again try to cool down Buffalo's hot play and put together a strategy in an effort to turn the set around. Bulls' junior Maria Mezzadri had other plans as she delivered the set-ending kill off a tremendous dig by Neba to put the match at 1-0 in Buffalo's advantage.
The Bulls seemed to have their poise and game plan in full gear as they moved past the first set. Lodes mentioned the effect that winning the first set of a match can have on a team.
The Bulls looked to be having a difficult time maintaining their confidence throughout the rest of the match as Niagara regrouped and strung together several huge scoring runs to put the Bulls away in all of the remaining sets, the most notable being a 14-1 run for the Purple Eagles in the third set.
Lodes discussed that even after you get up early in a contest, things can often go wrong that make it difficult to maintain the same consistency. When mistakes are made, they need to be dismissed immediately and forgotten.
"As you potentially start to struggle, you want to get to the present and forget about what just happened and make that next play important," Lodes said. "I think that when we do that we're a really good team."
The Bulls put all the pieces together in the opening set and were able to keep them there through its entirety. Once that set was over, the fire seemed to fade and the Purple Eagles were able to take advantage of that situation.
"It's just a simple form of execution," Lodes said. "In set one we hit .417, which is phenomenal. We just didn't approach that again which makes it very difficult and puts you in a match where you are forced to be fighting and competing. They just need to continue to execute at a high level."
Lodes talked about how the presence of veterans on the team amongst the younger players has helped the team stay together and play at a higher level than the squad is used to.
"Our middles played well," Lodes said. "Kristen had another good match and Claudia Neba also played a strong offensive game. We are psyched to have [Neba] step up as a senior and play well."
The Bulls are finishing up their non-conference preseason play this coming weekend. Lodes talked about the strategies the team has been trying to implement throughout the opening games in Buffalo's 2008 campaign and the areas that he felt would be positive as the Bulls move into their regular season.
"We've been trying out different things throughout the preseason and trying to figure out what clicks best," Lodes said. "I'd like to think that we're learning what works best for us. Obviously we've found out that Kristen is a bright spot so we want to be able to utilize her as much as possible. We're trying to eliminate the things that us any kind of trouble and focus on things that are really benefits to us."
The Bulls will host the Hotel Indigo Classic at Alumni Arena this weekend as they take start the tournament against High Point. Game time is on Friday night at 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
