Life on the road can be cruel.
The volleyball team found that out the hard way over the weekend.
Buffalo (13-7, 1-3 Mid-American Conference) hit the road for the first time in conference play to face the Kent State Golden Flashes (8-10, 1-2 MAC) and the Ohio Bobcats (11-6, 3-1 MAC).
The Bulls, who could not find a way to best their conference rivals, lost both matches and are currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak.
On Friday night, Buffalo matched up against Kent State and only had themselves to blame after a tough five-set loss.
The Bulls committed 17 service errors en route to losing the match, 3-2 (23-25, 28-26, 25-27, 25-20, 9-15).
"There were far too many errors," said head coach Todd Kress. "We weren't fighting Kent State. We were fighting ourselves."
Despite the errors, Buffalo had opportunities to win in every set.
In the first set they had fought back to tie the score at 23 before giving up the next two points. In the third, they had a set point but could not finish off their opponent.
The Bulls seemed to regain their composure in the fourth set, however they could not close out the match in the fifth set.
It was the second match in a row in which the Bulls forced a fifth and final set, but could not find a way to secure a victory.
The Golden Flashes finished the match with 19 blocks compared to the Bulls' six. They also had four players record double digit digs. Even though the Bulls finished the match with 69 kills, they still came up short.
Afterwards, Kress stressed that no one player was to blame for the loss.
"It was a team loss," Kress said. "Everyone contributed. Everyone had the opportunities to help us win the match and we didn't step up as a team. It was very disappointing."
The Bulls had to get right back on the court, as they traveled to Ohio to play a tough Bobcats team the next day.
Buffalo came out flat and were no match for the Bobcats, who won in a 3-0 sweep, (25-14, 25-19, 25-16). Ohio dominated throughout, hitting .378 for the match, compared to .095 by the Bulls.
After a dismal first set, the Bulls seemed to recover and led the Bobcats for most of the second set. However, Ohio came back to tie the score at 17.
Momentum carried Ohio the rest of the way, as they went on an 8-2 run to win the set.
"I thought Ohio played very well, " Kress said. "I just felt that Ohio is better than we are right now, there's no doubt about that. That doesn't mean that we can't beat them in the future but we still have some work ahead of us and I think we all realize this."
Senior Kayla Govier led the way with seven kills and freshman Dani Reinert finished with a team-high 18 assists.
Despite some good individual efforts, the Bulls were outplayed defensively for the second straight night, as Ohio out-blocked them, 11 to five.
Traveling is always hard on athletes and is something that needs to be overcome if a team wants to have success. The Bulls, who are a young team with little experience, may have been affected by the trip going into the game.
"It's different playing on the road," Kress said. "The fight required is different. The execution is different. Things work against you on the road and we have to find that mentality that it takes to win."
The Bulls head back home to face Akron (12-4, 4-0 MAC), who is currently on a nine-game winning streak. The match is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday.
E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
