Central Michigan University
Buffalo
Volleyball Falls in Four Sets at Buffalo
10/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Inconsistency has hindered the Central Michigan volleyball team's effort in making up ground in the Mid-American Conference standings.
And after an admirable performance in their three-set sweep of Akron Friday night, the Chippewas once again fell victim to inconsistency as they came up short in Buffalo Saturday night, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Bulls.
"I did not like the way we competed tonight," head coach Erik Olson said after the match. "Not to take anything away from Buffalo, but we were out of system. We didn't pass well at all throughout the night and that really hurt us.
"We don't have an excuse for our performance. Yea, we had a long drive, but every team has to go through that at points in a season. We were fresh and ready to go. We came off a win Friday night. Our execution just wasn't there (Saturday)."
CMU dropped the first set to Buffalo, 25-16, before taking the second, 25-19. The Bulls went on to take the third, 25-21, and the fourth, 25-15, to seal the victory.
The loss dropped CMU's record to 9-13, 4-6 in the MAC.
The Chippewas totaled 34 errors on the night and allowed Buffalo to record 15 blocks in four sets.
"We have to pass the ball better than we did (Saturday)," Olson said. "That was a huge drop off from Friday night. We focus a large amount on our passing in practice and it's uncharacteristic of us to execute this poorly in matches. It led to a lot of mistakes."
Senior outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre led the Chippewas in kills with 17, while adding six digs and one service ace.
"(McIntyre) was an offensive monster for us this weekend," Olson said. "She had her ups and downs, more so (Saturday) than Friday night. But overall, she was great. We're excited to have her back in the lineup after missing last weekend."
Junior middle blocker Angelique White recorded eight kills and a .386 hitting percentage. She also added 3.5 digs in the match.
The Chippewas continue their road stretch this week with a match-up against Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 30, and then Kent State on Saturday, Nov. 1.
"I've told the team before that we can't live in the past," Olson said. "This match is over. There's nothing we can do about it. Now we have to focus on getting better in practice this week and gear up for Thursday."
