October wasn't kind to the volleyball team. The squad won just two matches last month and stumbled into Alumni Arena over weekend in hopes of finally getting back on track.
On Friday, it seemed that the new month marked a new beginning for the Bulls (11-17, 4-10 Mid-American Conference). Buffalo defeated Bowling Green (18-9, 5-8 MAC) with a convincing 3-0 sweep. However, the Bulls dropped their next match to Miami (Ohio) (14-14, 5-9 MAC) on Saturday.
Friday's match marked the Bulls' first sweep since their season opener.
The Bulls had lost six of their last seven matches, but they were nothing short of impressive against the Falcons. They dominated Bowling Green in nearly every statistical category. The highest statistical difference was found in hitting percentage. Buffalo hit a solid .277, while Bowling Green finished with a season-low .026.
Buffalo only had four games left going into the weekend, and head coach Todd Kress applauded his team for playing with poise at such a crucial point of the season.
"We had our backs against the wall," Kress said. "We knew what was ahead of us and we knew what we had to do to get into the conference tournament. The difference was our defensive and blocking game."
Buffalo routed Bowling Green in the final set. The Bulls went up 18-9 in the third set, and ended the match with a 25-15 win bookended by a powerful shot by freshman Liz Scott. Buffalo smothered the Falcons in the set and held them to an abysmal -.088.
"I loved the look in our eye tonight," Kress said. "It was a look of determination. They were accountable for one another, they fought for one another, and it was a look that wasn't here for a huge part of the season. That's huge for us."
Buffalo's victory over Bowling Green marked a major milestone for Kress, as he now has 300 collegiate wins under his belt. Kress doesn't place an emphasis on the achievement, however, as the success of his team remained his number one priority.
The Bulls looked to carry that momentum into a Saturday night showdown with Miami (Ohio), a match filled with postseason implications. Both the Bulls and the RedHawks were battling for the eighth and final spot in the MAC Tournament, and neither team showed the slightest desire to give in during a dramatic five-set thriller.
Despite playing in front of a raucous home crowd on a night when the squad honored lone senior Abby Niekamp, Buffalo took a step back in its postseason pursuit as Miami won the hotly contested match, 19-25, 25-16, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12.
The Bulls came firing out of the gates, as they looked as good as they have all season in the first set. Spurred by an 8-3 run, the Bulls proved victorious, 25-19. They led by as much as eight during the set.
The second set, however, would take on a much different feel, as the RedHawks held the Bulls to an underwhelming -.029 hitting percentage en route to a 25-16 victory. Miami continued its dominance in the third set, dropping the Bulls, 25-20.
Kress attributed his team's sudden collapse to its lackadaisical approach.
The win allowed one team to continue dreaming of postseason glory, while the other was left to find solace in what could have been.
Unfortunately for the Bulls, they were once again on the short end of that stick.
Kress believes that his team beat itself.
"We definitely made some errors down the stretch, errors that I hope we can correct on the court when we're juniors and seniors," Kress said.
Now with two matches remaining on their schedule, the Bulls will need to win out in order to have a chance at the MAC Tournament. Kress feels that consistency will prove to be the determining factor in his team's fate this season.
"We need to cut down on unforced errors, and we need to put a different product on the court consistently," Kress said. "We can play at a high level at times but we have a hard time backing it up, from not just match to match, but even set to set and point to point. We're just struggling right now with consistency. If we find that, we'll have an opportunity this weekend when our backs are against the wall."
With their season hanging in the balance, the Bulls will begin the ever-important stretch at imposing Ohio (19-9, 11-3 MAC) on Friday night, before concluding their regular season schedule on Saturday at a slightly less intimidating opponent, Kent State (10-19, 3-11 MAC).
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