It was a back-and-forth October for the volleyball team. Going into its month-concluding home stand this weekend, Buffalo was 5-4 in October and didn't accumulate a winning or losing streak longer than two games.
However, a pair of losses for the Bulls broke this trend during their weekend home stand.
Against Mid-American Conference East Division cellar-dweller Bowling Green (10-15, 3-8 MAC) on Friday, Buffalo was the victim of numerous errors and was swept 3-0. The next match didn't provide any alleviation as Miami (Ohio) (14-10, 9-3 MAC) came back from a 2-1 deficit and pulled off a five-set win. The duo of losses pushed Buffalo to 15-11 and 5-7 in the MAC.
The Bulls did not get off to their best start during the opening contest. Bowling Green dominated the first two sets as the Falcons continuously blocked Buffalo's attacks and exploited their errors, leading to 25-18 and 25-19 victories. Junior middle block Noelle Spittler was a huge asset to the Falcons, leading the team with 12 kills and five block assists.
But Buffalo put itself in position to make a comeback and was competitive in the third set. The team held a 24-21 advantage and held match point, but Bowling Green scored six of the last seven points to complete the sweep with a 27-25, third set win.
'We came out flat and had a lot of missed opportunities tonight,' said head coach Todd Kress in a press release. 'Bowling Green played very well and we need to regain our focus before [the next] match.'
The Falcons dominated in every statistical category. Buffalo had five service errors in the match to the Falcons' one. In addition, Bowling Green had 48 kills to the Bulls' 41, 44 assists to the Bulls' 40, and 52 digs to Buffalo's 46.
'Bowling Green put up a good fight,' said junior setter Lindsey Schlegel. 'We didn't match it the way we wanted to every night.'
Though more competitive on Halloween night, the Bulls suffered an even tougher defeat the next night. The RedHawks ensured a winless weekend for the Bulls as Miami won 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 16-25, 25-20, 17-15).
The first set was a fundamentally sloppy contest for both teams. A Miami player spiked the ball straight into the net, and Buffalo had multiple digs that landed out of play.
Both teams gradually improved over the course of the match. Momentum swayed back and forth as both teams dominated in different sets. It remained a struggle throughout and the close contest set up tense fourth and fifth sets.
The last two sets both had four lead changes. Unfortunately for Buffalo, the final lead changes in both sets were in Miami's favor as Buffalo failed to execute on given opportunities.
'I think we're disappointed because we go out every game expecting to win,' Schlegel said. 'So when that doesn't happen, we're upset.'
The RedHawks outhit the Bulls .250 to .226. Redshirted middle blocker Kelsey Lueders attacked for .450 in the match. At the other end of the court, senior Andrea Atteberry hit for .571 while recording 51 assists for the RedHawks.
Silvers again led the team with 14 kills. Junior outside hitter Marisa Hornbaker added to the effort with her 12 kills. Schlegel had 43 assists in the match.
Nonetheless, the Bulls dropped two-in-a-row over the weekend.
'[The RedHawks] played well enough to win,' Kress said. 'I thought Bowling Green played better the first time we saw them … but we knew what to expect from Miami.'
Even though the team lost, the Bulls improved over the course of the two games. They scored more points and had 18 blocks, as opposed to 12 blocks on Friday.
'Saturday we were just getting more points,' Kress said. 'We played a little better defensively, our net play was better blocking-wise. Friday we just didn't have the fight it takes to win the match. Saturday we did, but we just didn't execute.'
Both games had their share of missed opportunities. Buffalo had the match point advantage in the third set against Bowling Green, and Miami came back from losing 2-1 to taking the match in five sets.
'After every game, [there are] those plays you remember that you wish you could have back,' Schlegel said. 'So I'm sure we have all of those [plays] in our heads right now.'
The Bulls travel Friday to face Ohio at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday road contest at Kent State also at 7 p.m.
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