Central Michigan University
Buffalo
Chippewas Fall In 3 Sets To Buffalo
10/20/2017 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Lindsay Gerber, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Team unity and execution: two of the components of the Central Michigan volleyball team's three-set loss to Buffalo on Friday in McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas (10-11, 2-7 MAC) will entertain Akron on Saturday (7 p.m.). The Zips are 6-15, 2-7 following a 3-1 loss to Eastern Michigan on Friday.
Buffalo topped Central Michigan 25-19, 25-21, 25-18. The Bulls improved to 12-8, 5-4.
"There are elements of tonight's game that we're really proud of," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "One of them is not the final score. But I thought our team chemistry and unity, a focus of ours coming into tonight's game, was really good. I never doubted our fight for a second."
While limiting some of the Bulls' best hitters, the Chippewas weren't able to pick up momentum on the offensive end. CMU finished with a .033 hitting percentage.
"Our execution tonight was all over the place," Gawlik said. "It wasn't from lack of effort or lack of heart, it just wasn't good enough. On the offensive side there were a lot of forced errors.
"We came in with a certain game plan and looking at the stat sheet, we accomplished some of those goals. The frustrating part is even when you nail parts of your game plan and still find yourself on the losing end."
Andrea Mitrovic led Buffalo with 13 kills on a .385 attack percentage. Polina Prokudina added 10 kills.
Senior Jordan Bueter had a team-high nine kills for Central Michigan. She also added nine digs. Kalina Smith added seven kills.
"What do we have to lose?" Bueter said. "(We need to) fight hard, stay aggressive and do things well."
