The volleyball has been either on or off in its early matches this season. But it made sure to turn up the intensity in its home opener against its Western New York rival.
After dropping two consecutive games, the Bulls started their home stand against Niagara (5-7). Buffalo was able to overcome a slow start and win the match, 3-1.
It was an uphill battle for Buffalo from the get-go. The Bulls hit -.067 in the first set and dropped it, 25-16.
Buffalo is 2-5 after losing the first set, and head coach Todd Kress stressed that his team needs to be more consistent from the first serve.
"We're not coming out with an intensity level and sustaining it; it's unfortunately been a trend for us," Kress said. "I think it was more of a mental hurdle for us. We've got to approach the first set better."
The match was going the Purple Eagles' (5-7) way for much of the second set, as well. After trailing by two late in the set, the Bulls went on to score seven of the last eight points, capping an impressive comeback to take the set, 25-21.
The Bulls found themselves behind once again, trailing 14-11 in the third set. A strong series of serves from freshman blocker Alessandra Jovy-Heuser gave the Bulls four straight points to give the squad the lead for good. Buffalo went on to take that set, 25-23 and the fourth set, 25-16.
Sophomore hitter Dana Musil was the offensive workhorse for the Bulls, as she led the team with 15 kills. Musil was just happy to see Buffalo back in the win column."It was definitely a [good day], but I certainly couldn't have done it without my team. We had a lot of digs and some great passes," Musil said. "It was just really nice to get the win after a couple of losses, and the crowd was great, so we really enjoyed it."Musil wasn't the only bright spot for the Bulls. Sophomore hitter Christine Fritsche added 10 kills and nine digs. Sophomore blocker Carissa McKenna had nine kills of her own, and senior blocker Abby Niekamp tallied seven kills.
Buffalo was also uplifted by solid play from its backcourt. Sophomore libero Kelly Svoboda led the team with 23 digs, while sophomore setter Dani Reinert impressed Kress with her 39 assists.
"[Reinhart] played one of her better matches," Kress said. "We'd like her to come in at 12 assists per set, and if you look at the sets we won, she had 15, 13 and 13 [assists] in each. Those are quality numbers. If she can do that in every set, we are going to put ourselves in a lot of opportunities to win."
The Bulls will continue their home stand this weekend when they host the 2011 Blue and White Classic. Fellow New York teams Syracuse (8-2) and Cornell (2-5) will be making the trip to Buffalo, as well as No. 23 Dayton (4-5).
"It's a huge opportunity for us," Kress said. "Syracuse we respect a lot out of the Big East, Cornell is always good out of the Ivy League, and Dayton is a Top 25 program. We couldn't be more excited to host these three matches, and hopefully we show up ready to go right from the start every match."
The Bulls open play Friday night at 7 p.m. against Syracuse. The following day they'll square off with Cornell at 10 a.m. and Dayton at 7:30 p.m.
Email: sports@ubspectrum.com
