The Bulls have lost that winning feeling.
Over the weekend, the volleyball team went to both Akron and Toledo hoping to gain a pair of victories in their second-to-last weekend of play before the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament. Come Saturday evening, the Bulls came home with empty pockets.
"Both the players and the staff were not pleased with our performance," said head coach Jim Lodes. "We expected to play better after doing well last weekend. We had a tough ball control match and we were really not crisp in defense either."
According to Lodes, there were many things the team did during the previous weekend that they weren't able to do this weekend. One specific area Lodes mentioned was defense; because the Bulls couldn't defend well, they couldn't go on the attack.
On Friday, the Bulls (6-22, 1-13 MAC) visited the Zips of Akron (10-14, 4-9 MAC), hoping to win a vital MAC game on the road.
In the match, sophomore setter Lindsey Schlegel had nine digs and 18 assists, while sophomore middle blocker Kristen Bignell and sophomore outside hitter Marisa Hornbaker had six kills. Senior outside hitter Claudia Neba earned five kills while sophomore middle blocker Kayla Govier had a kill in her first game back after an injury.
Junior Lauren Fensten, however, had a match high 14 digs. The Bulls recorded four blocks in total; Bignell had three.
Akron dominated the entire match, with outside hitter Brionna Patterson earning 11 kills for the Zips. Setter Kara Smith contributed to the victory with 30 assists, while middle blocker Jess Antosz had five blocks. Outside hitter Jennifer Stewart had 10 digs, a team high.
Hoping to split the road trip, the Bulls traveled to Toledo (13-14, 5-9 MAC) on Saturday. Showing a little life, the Bulls were victorious in one game, but lost the match in four games, 22-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-13.
Junior outside hitter Maria Mezzardi led the Bulls, bringing in nine kills. Neba showed another strong performance, contributing eight kills to the Bulls' loss. Bignell brought in seven kills and earned three total blocks. Schlegel had 23 assists, while Fensten had 11 digs.
Lodes said that the Bulls had a game plan, but couldn't stick to the basics.
"I don't think preparation was a part of it," Lodes said. "I think we knew what they were going to do and we understood what they were going to do, but we didn't handle the ball well."
Toledo had four players who stood out in the match. Freshman outside hitter Amber DeWeerdt led the Zips, contributing 14 kills to the victory. Senior outside hitter Shannon Strachan had 13. Freshman setter Kassie Kadera had 44 assists on the night while senior defensive specialist Lori Ruth had a match-high 13 digs.
"We expected to go out there, compete really well and hopefully come back with a win," Lodes said.
The Bulls have one more road trip before the MAC tournament begins. They take on Bowling Green on Friday at 7 p.m. and then travel to Miami (OH) to take on the RedHawks on Saturday.
