In an attempt to snap a seven-match losing streak, the women's volleyball team traveled to Mid-American Conference foes Toledo and Akron over the weekend. The Bulls managed to earn a split against their opponents as they lost on Friday and won on Saturday.
On Friday night, Buffalo (14-17, 3-11 MAC) was defeated by Toledo (7-19, 4-9 MAC), 30-21, 22-30, 30-28, 30-26.
The Bulls were able to out-block the Rockets in the match by a margin of 13-6. Buffalo was only able to hit .170 percent while Toledo hit .231. Buffalo also had seven serving errors.
Senior Jenna Map?(c) led Buffalo in kills with 14. Senior Nikki Morzenti also reached double digits in kills with 13. Both women recorded double-doubles with Map?(c) totaling 12 digs and Morzenti finishing with 10.
Sophomore Alyssa Fitchette was the match-leader in blocks with seven, including one solo. Another notable player was sophomore Colleen Egan, who finished with five blocks. Senior Brandie Clark totaled 40 assists to go along with six blocks.
Junior Lizaiha Garcia and freshman Lauren Fensten led Buffalo's defense. Garcia came away with 15 digs and Fensten had 11 digs in the match.
The Bulls dominated the second game of the match. They were down 7-4 early but regrouped and jumped ahead to a 12-9 lead. Buffalo would extend their lead to by as many as 11 points and eventually secured a win in the game.
The third and fourth games were close throughout. The Bulls nearly came back from a 29-25 deficit in the third game, but couldn't claim the tying point. The fourth game was tied at 17-17 before the Rockets went on a four-point run. The closest Buffalo would come after that was 23-21.
"Overall, I am disappointed in the outcome of this game," said head coach Jim Lodes. "We had many opportunities to win the game but found ways to make mistakes that they were able to earn points from. Serving errors played a major role in the outcome of this game."
Saturday night against Akron fared differently for Buffalo. The Bulls were able to earn a win against the Zips (7-21, 1-13 MAC), 3-0, by the scores 30-23, 30-21, 36-34.
Buffalo was led in this game by their two outside hitters, Morzenti and Map?(c), who both finished with 15 kills. Clark, though, was the most effective hitter in the match. Her final stats were six kills and no errors on 11 swings that led to a match-high .545 efficiency. Clark also led the Bulls in blocks and assists with four and 47 respectively.
Sophomore Claudia Neba also played well in the match. She recorded nine kills on 18 swings. She only had two errors and also totaled two block-assists.
The third game of the match was a back and forth battle between the Bulls and the Zips. Both teams had the chance to claim the game, but the Zips did not take advantage of the opportunity and Buffalo captured the match.
Buffalo went ahead 29-28 and had four opportunities to win the game. Yet the Zips fought off the match points until Neba took a set from Clark and hammered the ball to the ground for the win.
Garcia played spectacular defense in the match, as she accumulated 15 digs. Morzenti had 12 digs, giving her a double-double and also served two aces.
"We need to be consistent when it comes to crunch time," Lodes said. "We cannot make mistakes and lose ball control. If we were aggressive and going for the win, the mistakes would be more tolerable. But this has not been the case recently."
Lodes hopes this win can give them momentum heading into the final weekend of the regular season and the beginning of the MAC Tournament.
"These next two games will be like a playoff atmosphere and we need to play with a high amount of intensity," Lodes said. "On paper, we can play with anybody in the conference. It all depends upon the way the team comes out on game day and executes."
The Bulls will conclude the regular season this weekend with road matches against conference opponents. Buffalo's first game will be Nov. 10 against Western Michigan followed by Northern Illinois on Nov. 11. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
