It has been a tough year for Buffalo's volleyball team. After starting off the season with five early wins, the Bulls went through Mid-American Conference play struggling to win any matches.
Their regular season came to an end this past weekend as Buffalo (6-25, 1-15 MAC) traveled to Ohio to take on Bowling Green (24-8, 12-4 MAC) and Miami (OH) (18-10, 12-4 MAC). When crunch time came and left, the Bulls could not end their season with a win as they lost both of their games 3-0.
Head coach Jim Lodes felt that there are a few issues with their play, but one thing stuck out the most.
"Obviously, I would say one of the biggest things is the quality of our first contact," Lodes said. "If we do not have a good first contact, we struggle."
In their two weekend games, the team struggled to get solid first shots to set up better kills. In the first game against Bowling Green, the Bulls dropped each of the three games by the score of 19-25. Junior outside hitter Maria Mezzardi led the team with nine kills, and senior outside hitter Claudia Neba came in a close second with eight.
The second game against Miami showed more of the same with the Bulls losing 16-25, 18-25 and 11-25. Again, Mezzardi led the team with 10 kills, followed by sophomore outside hitter Marisa Hornbaker with six. In both games, sophomore setter Lindsey Schlegel led in sets with 25 and 24, respectively.
Lodes knows that injuries are a key reason why the team has been down all year.
"We have had to persevere, and I am glad we have been able to compete," he said.
Tuesday night, the 12th-seeded Bulls traveled to Bowling Green, Ohio for a quarterfinal matchup against the No. 5 Falcons. Hoping to open eyes to those in the MAC, the Bulls fought for victory but fell in four games, 15-25, 25-20, 18-25, 14-25.
See Friday's issue of The Spectrum for complete coverage of the MAC tournament loss to Bowling Green.
Additional reporting by Stephen Marth, Senior Sports Editor.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
