The volleyball team traveled to Queens, NY this past weekend for the St. John's Classic to complete a nine-match road trip to start the season.
The Bulls (4-5) opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over Brown (2-5) on Friday night. However, the Bulls could not carry any momentum into Saturday. They were swept by Northeastern (7-2) in the morning and then fell to St. John's (6-4), 3-1, in the latter half of the doubleheader.
Head coach Todd Kress said he uses non-conference games to prepare his team for conference play, and right now he believes they are not playing at a level that will make them successful.
"We're going to [use] different people at different times and see what they are going to do," Kress said. "We are just worried about the team right now."
The Bulls, who have only one upperclassman – senior Abby Niekamp – will have to figure out a solution.
Buffalo's long trip down the thruway left the squad sluggish in the first set against Brown.
The only first-set lead they mustered was three to two. After exchanging points, the Bears put together a few runs and took the set, 25-21. The Bulls would bounce back quickly by taking the second set, 25-19. Sophomore Carissa McKenna led the way with two blocks and two kills in the set.
The Bulls continued their strong play as they jumped out to early leads in the final two sets, winning those by margins of 25-15 and 25-20, respectively. Freshman Liz Scott and Niekamp led the offensive attack, as they both attained double-digit kills in the match.
The second match saw the Bulls get off to a slow start yet again. However, Northeastern would not be as accommodating as Brown. The Huskies took an early lead in the first set and had 16 kills to outmuscle the Bulls 25-14.
"We got off to a slow start and we put ourselves in an adverse situation…and we had to dig ourselves out of a hole," Kress said. "We really need our leadership in the program to step up and make a statement out of the gate."
The second set saw the two teams exchange points before Northeastern went on a 7-0 run. The Bulls would answer with a 10-2 run of their own. However, that would not be enough, as Northeastern took the set, 25-23.
The Huskies started the third set on a 5-1 run with the help of four kills by the Huskies' frontline. Buffalo battled back to tie the game on eight separate occasions, but eventually lost the set and the match, 25-23. Sophomore Dani Reinert had 32 assists, three aces and eight digs in the losing effort.
Following the defeat, the Bulls rested up for their evening affair with host St. John's Red Storm. In the nightcap, the Bulls continued to struggle with first set woes as they failed to reach double-digit kills for the first and only time all weekend, resulting in a 25-10 shellacking.
The second set was much more competitive. The Bulls struck first, but the Red Storm came back to tie it at 14. The two teams exchanged points before a pair of Red Storm aces put the exclamation point on a 4-0 run to put them up 21-17 and put the game out of reach. St. John's would go on to win the set, 25-21.
The Bulls finally got the best of the Red Storm in the third set. Sophomore Christine Fritsche led the way with six kills, as the Bulls put together 13 in the set to power their way past the Red Storm 25-21.
Despite eight attacking errors, the Red Storm proved to be too much for the Bulls as they finished off the set and the match with a 25-23 win. Freshman Alessandra Jovy-Heuser had a well-rounded match for the Bulls with five kills, two aces, two digs and four blocks.
The Bulls will be at Alumni Arena for their home opener this Tuesday night at 7 p.m against cross-town rival Niagara. The young core hopes to learn from their mistakes and start strong to play a complete match.
"We're still forgetting that there's a long way to go," Kress said. "It's not about where you start; it's about where you finish."
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Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
