Bucknell University Athletics
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American Comes from Behind for 3-1 Volleyball Victory over Bucknell
11/8/2003 7:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 8, 2003
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The top two volleyball teams in the Patriot League slugged it out for nearly two hours in front of an electric crowd of 858 in Davis Gym on Saturday night, but it was league-leading American coming from behind for a 3-1 victory to sew up the conference regular-season title and the right to host the league tournament in two weeks.
The Eagles (17-9, 13-0) improved to 41-0 in Patriot League regular-season play since joining the conference in 2001. Bucknell, meanwhile, had its seven-match winning streak snapped and fell to 15-10 overall and 11-2 in the league. The Bison's only two league losses have come at the hands of American.
Bucknell will be the No. 2 seed at the Patriot League Tournament, which will be played in Washington, D.C. in two weeks.
The Eagles had to overcome a one-game deficit, then after storming back to capture the next two frames, spotted the Bison a seven-point lead in game four before mounting another comeback.
Buoyed by its boisterous crowd, Bucknell captured the opening game 30-28. After falling behind 4-1 right off the bat, Carolyn Dougherty served four straight points to spark a 6-1 Bison run. Dougherty's ace made it 7-5. American fought back to grab a 20-17 lead on Natacha Cornaz's service ace, and the Eagles still led by three at 28-25 before the Bison came up with five straight points to close out the game. Three American hitting errors and a shared block from Sarah Groman and Jessica Bissett finished it off. It was only the fifth game American had dropped in Patriot League play this season.
"I thought our crowd really got us fired up," said head coach Cindy Opalski. "Not only were they engaged throughout the entire match, but when we were behind they gave us a lift to get back into the game."
In game two, American snapped a 10-10 tie with a decisive 8-1 run, grabbing an 18-11 lead on a block by Cornaz and Cathy Fluegeman. Bucknell closed within four at 23-19 on Groman's kill but could get no closer, and the Eagles took the game 30-23.
The Eagles controlled game three throughout, sprinting to leads of 4-1 and 12-5 en route to a 30-20 decision.
Bucknell appeared poised to extend the match to a fifth frame when it took a pair of seven-point leads at 14-7 and 15-8, the latter after Jackie Leahy's kill from the back row. Trailing 18-13, American rattled off six points in a row, with setter Courtney Mulford sparking in the run with two dumps for kills.
Bucknell rallied to take a 22-20 lead on three straight kills from Brandi Trapasso, but American scored seven straight points to take control of the match. Karla Kucerkova snapped a 22-all tie with a kill, and Cutrina Biddulph followed with a service ace that caught the tape and trickled over the net for an ace. Another ace by Sabrina Vasconcelos ended the match.
"Our preparation and game plan were exactly on target," said Opalski. "The kids played an outstanding match, and a couple of plays in our favor could have made the outcome different. What impresses me about our team is that they really think they can win a championship."
Kucerkova led all players with 22 kills, while Cornaz added 10 kills for American. Leahy led the Bison with 19 kills and Brandi Trapasso added 18 kills and 12 digs. Chelsea Anderson led all players with 19 digs.
Statistically the match was very even, with American leading in kills 60-58, digs 77-74 and blocks 7-6. American did outhit the Bison .229 to .138, and the Eagles controlled the serving game with nine aces, while the Bison had only two aces against 13 service errors.
Before the contest, the Bison honored seniors Brandi and Breean Trapasso, who played in their final home contest. Bucknell will be on the road for its final two matches of the year, a non-league contest at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday, followed by a league tilt at Colgate next Saturday.
