Drew Carey's "OHIO!" must be ringing through the ears of the Bulls volleyball team after their weekend trip through the Buckeye State, as the girls lost both of their matches to Miami (OH) and Bowling Green on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
On Friday evening, the Bulls (2-20, 1-5 Mid-American Conference) visited the Miami RedHawks (7-7, 4-1 MAC) in a match with a much-needed conference win on the line. Sadly, the Bulls could not keep up with the RedHawks as Miami rode their momentum to a three-game sweep (30-21, 30-25, 30-23), extending their winning streak to four matches. In the match, Miami served up a season-high 11 service aces and held the Bulls to a .213 hitting percentage.
In game one, the Bulls and RedHawks fought neck and neck until Miami gained the lead at 7-5 thanks to back-to-back kills by Alex Ratcliff. The Bulls fought valiantly and kept the deficit to only two points until Carli Reihman had consecutive hits, along with a service ace by Cristina Piazza, extending the lead to six points to a score of 18-12. The RedHawks kept their lead the rest of the game and a kill by Reihman and another service ace by Piazza sealed the deal and gave Miami the 30-21 game one win.
In game two, the Bulls came out very strong and started off with an 8-4 lead. Miami eventually tied the game at 10-10 thanks to a kill and a service ace from Jeanna Staun. The Bulls kept the lead until consecutive service aces by Ratcliff gave Miami their first lead of the game at 14-13. Kills by Megan Griffin and Michelle Mangina putt the RedHawks ahead to 21-16, but Buffalo fought back and closed its deficit to a three-point margin at 21-18. Piazza's strong serving proved to be the lethal blow that helped the RedHawks take game two with a score of 30-25.
The Bulls looked sharp for the start of game three as well, as they scored the first four points of the final game. However, this proved to be nothing that Miami couldn't handle as Griffin, Staun, Reihman, and Ratcliff each collected kills to bring the game to 7-5 in favor of the RedHawks. Hallie Hanks brought the lead to 28-20 thanks to three consecutive kills, and Miami would eventually drain the life out of the Bulls and win the match thanks to a game-three win of 30-23.
Junior Claudia Neba led the Bulls with 10 kills, with sophomore Kelsey Lueders not far behind with eight kills. Lueders also did not record a single error in her 23 total attempts of the evening. Freshman Kristin Bignell added seven kills and five block assists, while freshman Lindsey Schlegel added four kills. Defensively, the Bulls were led by senior Lizaiha Garcia, who had a match-high 17 digs, as well as by sophomore Ellen Robertson's eight digs.
Hoping to rebound from the tough loss on Friday, the Bulls entered Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons (13-7, 4-2 MAC) became 7-0 in Anderson Arena as they defeated the Bulls in three games (30-11, 30-19, 30-13). The Falcons achieved a record for hitting percentage in a three-game match hitting .553 for the game. Also, setter Sam Fish recorded a career high eight service aces.
Right from the beginning of game one, Bowling Green skyrocketed to a 7-0 lead thanks to Kendra Halm's initial kill. The Bulls tried to keep up, but Bowling Green was too much for them. They never let up as their lead grew to 22-8. Eventually, a service ace from Elizabeth Simon finished off the game 30-11.
The Bulls, hoping to come out strong in game two, could not get it done as Bowling Green's Stephanie Swiger scored the first four points back at the serving line. Buffalo eventually came back with a three point run, pulling the deficit to two at 6-4. Bowling Green answered back with a seven-point run, which included two of Corrie Mills' service aces, giving the Falcons the lead at 21-10. The Falcons eventually earned game point from a Chelsey Meek kill, ending the game at 30-19. The Bulls were dominated by Bowling Green's offense as the Falcons hit .567 compared to Buffalo's .115.
In game three, the Falcons sucked the remaining life out of the Bulls right from the beginning thanks to a huge kill from Halm, which gave Bowling Green a nine-point run with Fish serving. Again, Fish gave Bowling Green what they wanted, acing Buffalo four times. Alex Zlabis helped the Falcons create another four-point run, giving Bowling Green a 15-4 lead. Shari Luther's kill that followed would be all that was needed, as she helped put together a seven point run, which gave the Falcons a 26-8 lead. The game ended with a kill from Halm, giving the match to the Falcons. Bowling Green had a sensational .722 hitting percentage, while they held the Bulls to a zero hitting percentage.
Buffalo was led by Lueders' six kills, while junior Danielle Cota recorded her first kill as a Bull. Junior Kate Love and Bignell each added four kills, while Garcia had nine digs. Schlegel had 18 assists in the match.
The Bulls return home from their three-match road trip on Friday to host Western Michigan. The match will take place at 7 p.m. in Alumni Arena.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
