The volleyball team has struggled to find its rhythm recently and entered last weekend on a two-game losing streak. It appears that the team is just about to hit its stride after facing two strong conference rivals this weekend.
The Bulls (9-9, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) set out on an Ohio road trip this weekend and visited Miami (Ohio) (11-6, 2-1 MAC) and Bowling Green (15-2, 2-2 MAC) on Friday and Saturday. Buffalo dropped its first contest against the Red Hawks, 3-1, but bounced back to beat Bowling Green, 3-2.
Buffalo started the weekend poorly, as it dropped its first set 25-17 against the Red Hawks. The Bulls came back strong in the next set and took it, 25-19.
Senior blocker Abby Niekamp led Buffalo with a career-high 18 kills, but her performance wasn't enough. The Bulls' 26 errors caught up to them as they lost the next two sets by close margins: 26-24, 25-23.
The Bulls left behind their errors from Friday night and pushed forward against Bowling Green in a impressive five-set showdown on Saturday.
Buffalo started with abysmal play in the first set, hitting .032 in the 25-19 loss. The Bulls fell behind early again in the second set, but rallied to take a 15-12 lead. The Bulls stretched their lead to 24-18 before the Falcons went on a run to tighten the set, but sophomore hitter Dana Musil destroyed any of the Falcons' comeback hopes with a big kill to finish off the set.
The Bulls were winning 17-8 in the third set, but they failed to close it out. The Falcons brought the set to a 28-28 stalemate, before scoring three straight points to take the set 31-29.
Buffalo had no problem finishing the fourth set, however, and won 25-20 after leading a majority of the set to tie the match.
The Bulls went back-and-forth with the Falcons in fifth set until Buffalo finally broke through with an 11-8 lead. The Bulls were about to clinch the victory when Bowling Green answered back to cut Buffalo's lead to 14-13. Freshman blocker Alessandra Jovy-Heuser stepped up and made the game-winning kill to end the Bulls' losing streak.
Head coach Todd Kress was vigorous in emphasizing the importance of the win over Bowling Green, and he praised his team for taking advantage of the opportunities given to them.
"Tonight was a big conference boost and I think we understand what it takes to win," Kress said. "And now we just have to bring that intensity, that level [of play], and that will every single night."
The Bulls are now 4-0 in five-set matches this season. Kress credits the success to his team's conditioning, and he noted that such endurance is rare for a young team.
"It says a lot for about a young team when you have all freshman and sophomores out there," Kress said. "It's just about refusing to lose and knowing you have the better-conditioned team in the end and taking advantage of that."
The Bulls look to carry momentum from the victory into their four-match home stand that begins this weekend. Kress considers three of the four teams to be among the best in the conference.
Buffalo will start on Friday against Kent State (7-12, 0-4 MAC). The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
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