Allison Kearney thinks the most determined people stand up when a team is struggling.

‘It takes a lot of determination to walk in the gym every day and practice knowing you’re 0-3 in the [Mid-American Conference],’ she said after last night’s loss. ‘Determination doesn’t happen when you’re winning; it’s when you’re losing. You can’t break off individually, and you have to stay together as a team.’

Once again for BG, it all came down to not being able to put away a ball when it mattered. After two hard-fought sets and a rocky third set, the Falcons were swept by Miami at Anderson Arena last night.

The Falcons came out strong in the first set, and it was a back and forth battle from the beginning. After the set was tied at 16 apiece, Miami went on a 5-0 run, making it 21-16.

The set was tied again at 24, and then BG went up one. After the ball went back and forth through the air for what seemed like minutes, the RedHawks finally came out on top, 26-24.

‘The first set went really well for us,’ Kearney said. ‘We just wish a couple points would have went our way. We made mistakes at the wrong time.’

After a great battle in the first set, the second one was exciting too.

BG led. Miami led. BG led. Miami led. Again, it was back and forth the entire time. But again, the RedHawks snuck in a couple fast points at the end, to win the set 28-26.

‘The first two sets were as exciting as we’ve played,’ said coach Denise Van De Walle. ‘It was very good volleyball on both sides of the net. This conference is a dogfight every night. It’s for real.’

In the third set, BG couldn’t really find their rhythm.

‘We couldn’t get an offense going,’ Kearney said. ‘The passers were doing their job. It wasn’t really anyone’s [fault], we just weren’t producing.’

They’ll have to produce this weekend, though.

Tomorrow, the Falcons will leave Anderson Arena for the first time in three weeks to take on Western Michigan, the team that got all the votes to win their conference.