The Buffalo State volleyball team closed out conference play last weekend, clinching the second seed in the SUNYAC West division.
The Bengals (14-18/6-2) dropped both of their matches on Friday to Fredonia and Geneseo, but finished strong by defeating host Brockport and Oswego on Saturday. They entered the weekend boasting a 4-0 conference record, good for first place in the division.
Being in first place, the Bengals knew that they had a target on their back going into the weekend.
“Everyone is going to be out to get us. They all want us to lose,” said setter Kelsey Bashore before Friday’s matches. “We need to prove ourselves and prove that we aren’t a fluke.”
Senior captain Paige Ottaviano said that the team is confident but knows that anything can happen in SUNYAC play.
The Bengals dropped their first match to Geneseo in four sets, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25 and 25-23. Sam Parente had 12 kills in the match. Bashore added 37 assists and libero Chelsea Moore had 23 digs.
“What it came down to was nerves and added pressure that overwhelmed our girls and got into their heads,” said head coach Maria DePeters.
The team played Fredonia in the next match, a team they beat in straight sets in the last round of pool play. This time around, the Blue Devils returned the favor with a sweep of their own, beating the Bengals 25-21, 25-14 and 25-22.
“We knew Fredonia was going to come back with a vengeance against us and they did,” DePeters said. “They were mentally tough; their intensity was higher than ours and their overall drive from every single one of their players on the court was better.”
Bashore had 20 assists and had 10 digs while Moore chipped in 15 digs in the loss.
DePeters said the team maintained their composure heading into Saturday, despite dropping their first two decisions.
“We told them that this is why we push them so hard, so that they can succeed in situations like this, because these situations mean the most,” she said. “They came out (on Saturday) and decided to play volleyball.”
The Bengals beat Brockport to open their Saturday, winning 25-14, 25-22 and 27-25. Parente led the team in kills again with 10. Allyson Pierce had eight kills and three blocks. Moore had a team-high 19 digs and Bashore dished out 23 assists.
The team officially clinched second in the West after making short work of Oswego, 25-13, 25-9 and 25-23. Parente had 18 kills, while Sherrell McLean added 13 and Mary Naboi tallied 11.
The Bengals will open their postseason against Oneonta on Nov. 3 at Cortland.
“A volleyball team at Buffalo State hasn’t finished in second place in an extremely long time,” DePeters said. “It’s a huge improvement from last year. We’re breaking records and I’m really proud of the girls.”
The Bengals next match is against Pitt-Bradford at 7 p.m. tonight in the Sports Arena. The match will be a “Dig Pink” match to support the fight against breast cancer.
Dig Pink is a breast cancer awareness rally taking place this month. Collegiate volleyball programs across the nation host these matches with a common goal of raising awareness and money for breast cancer research.
In order to raise money, fans in attendance can choose to donate a base amount towards breast cancer or they can donate a certain amount per dig, which is the act of preventing the ball from hitting your side of the court after the opposing team has spiked or served the ball. Before last weekend’s pool play, Buffalo State averaged 12.4 digs per game, equating to 62 over a five set match.
“I think it’s a really good concept because you know that the money is going to go towards a really good cause,” Ottaviano said.
Fans can also purchase pink ribbons and bracelets at the match and have the opportunity to participate in promotional contests and giveaways throughout the night.
Money raised will be assisting the Side-Out Foundation in its efforts to raise awareness for breast cancer. The Side-Out Foundation has raised thousands of dollars for breast cancer research by coordinating volleyball tournaments, clinics and rallies.
Tom Gallagher can be reached by email at gallagher.record@live.com.