It's been a tough month of October for the volleyball team. After an impressive start, they have been unable to maintain the momentum they took into conference play and are flatlining.
The Bulls (14-12, 2-8 Mid-American Conference) held two matches against conference opponents in Alumni Arena over the weekend. They hosted the Eastern Michigan Eagles (21-6, 8-2 MAC) on Friday night and the Central Michigan Chippewas (11-11, 5-5 MAC) on Saturday evening.
The Bulls could only claim one set over the course of the entire weekend. Eastern Michigan defeated the Bulls 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-8), and Central Michigan took the Saturday match in straight sets 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-17).
The MAC has been hard on the Bulls this season. They have now lost eight of their last nine matches and have only one win in October.
The Eagles came into Buffalo on a hot streak, beating their last two opponents in straight sets, and the Bulls could not avoid the same fate.
"We just didn't play well," said head coach Todd Kress. "After an opportunity to win in set three, to come out how we did in set four is unacceptable."
The first two sets were closely contested, but the Eagles came out on top in both. The third set was where the Bulls really stepped up their offensive output. They switched their formation to give themselves a more powerful attack. The decision proved to be very effective, as the team won the third set soundly.
The fourth set showcased a very different Bulls squad; they looked nothing like they had in the previous set. The Eagles closed out the Bulls with ease en route to taking the match in four sets.
"We killed ourselves with errors," said senior middle blocker Kristin Bignell. "We were only fighting ourselves. They really didn't do anything to get those points."
Despite the loss, the team was confident going into the next night's match against Central Michigan. However, Saturday night's contest turned out to be more difficult than the Bulls had imagined.
The Chippewas came into Alumni Arena riding a three-game win streak. Although the team has not been very dominating this season, the momentum they brought with them proved to be too much for the Bulls to handle.
Central Michigan won the match quickly, as they defeated the Bulls without dropping a set.
Even though the Bulls could not outscore the Chippewas, there wasn't a lack of effort. Junior defensive specialist Heather Pyle was all over the court, at one point diving into the media table in an attempt to save a point. She led the Bulls with 11 digs.
The Bulls decided to use the same offensive style that had given them success the previous night. However, the team could not find the points it was looking for and wasn't able to overcome its conference rivals.
"We didn't play well in a lot of areas," Kress said. "We've definitely got some things to do next week in practice."
The results of this weekend's matches extended the Bulls' losing skid to four matches. As the season winds down, the team is trying to recapture the mindset that they had earlier in the year.
"We want to play as a team again," said freshman outside hitter Christine Fritsche. "We want to have fun again and bring that positive energy to the court."
The Bulls will be on the road next weekend as they look to rebound against Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio).
The trip begins Friday night at 7 p.m. in Bowling Green's Anderson Arena.
Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
