???During the regular season, the Bowling Green Falcons had the Buffalo Volleyball team's number in both matches played between the two.
???In the playoffs, the outcome was no different.
???Tuesday night, the 12th-seeded Bulls (6-25, 1-15 Mid-American Conference) clashed against the fifth-ranked Falcons (24-8, 12-4 MAC) with the hopes of moving closer to a conference title. Bowling Green had other plans in mind, defeating the Bulls in four games, 15-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-14. The win propelled the Falcons into the second round of the tournament, while the Bulls were sent home after another disappointing season.
???"Obviously...we're frustrated that we lost," said Bulls head coach Jim Lodes.
???In the game, sophomore middle blocker Kristin Bignell led the Bulls with 12 kills as well as only committing three errors on 24 swings. Bignell also became the first player to hit over .300 in a season since the team joined the MAC by finishing with a .307 hitting record.
???"We weren't sure that [Bignell] was going to be able to play," Lodes said. "For her to have 12 kills was awesome. She's been great on the year for us."
???In her last game as a Bull, senior outside hitter Claudia Neba had 11 kills on the night.
???Lodes feels that both seniors on the team, Neba and outside hitter Kate Love, have made impacts on the Bulls that the program will feel for years to come.
???"Kate and Claudia are both wonderful ladies," Lodes said. "They are both leaders and they work hard. They understand we're trying to be a successful program so they did the best on the court as well as with stuff off the court."
???Returning players for the Bulls also made noise during the match. Sophomore middle blocker Kayla Govier had seven kills and two service aces, while sophomore setter Lindsey Schlegel had a team-high 35 assists. Junior libero Lauren Fensten had a match-high 17 digs while freshman libero Heather Pyle had a career-high 10 digs.
???Lodes feels that the team, minus Neba and Love, are getting better with every game they play. He expects that the team, with 14 returning players, should benefit from a year of experience as a whole.
???"I think that right now, if we can get our injured players back as well as the other twelve, we can get going," he said. "I like the nucleus we have and they work hard. I think they'll be better with a year of experience. We have to beat more teams to keep improving."
???Meghan Mohr's 18 kills and Corey Domek's 12 kills led Bowling Green. Sam Fish added 50 assists for the Falcons while Chelsey Meek contributed to the victory with 15 digs.
???Compared to last year, the Bulls earned four additional non-conference victories. While it is a small dent compared to a complete turnaround, Lodes feels that it is only the beginning for the program.
???"The core is here," he said. "We're going to get much better later down the road."
