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Dartmouth
Bucknell Volleyball Tops FDU, Takes Second at BU Invitational
9/13/2003 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 13, 2003
Bucknell-FDU Box Score | Bucknell- Dartmouth Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell volleyball team earned a solid four-game win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, but the Bison just missed capturing the Bucknell Invitational crown after suffering a tough five-game loss to Dartmouth earlier in the day.
The Big Green (3-0), who came from two games down to defeat the Bison in what proved to be the most closely contested match of the tournament, garnered the team championship with a perfect 3-0 record.
Bucknell (4-5), which defeated Howard on Friday night to open the tourney, finished second overall with a 2-1 mark, while Howard took third and FDU fourth.
In the victory over FDU, Bucknell captured the first game 30-22, only to see the Knights even the match with a 32-30 decision in game two. The Bison righted themselves with a 30-20 win in game three and finished off the match with a 30-23 verdict.
In the pivotal third game, the score was knotted at 20-20 until Sarah Groman's kill ignited a 10-0 run to finish off the frame. Three blocks at the net keyed the late surge, and Brandi Trapasso's service ace brought the Bison to game point. A hitting error by the Knights gave BU a 2-1 edge.
In game four, Bucknell used an early 5-0 run, capped by a Brandi Trapasso put-away, to stretch to a 9-4 lead, and the Bison led comfortably the rest of the way. A shared block by Breean Trapasso and Jennie Smith gave the Herd its largest lead of 10 points at 21-11.
Jackie Leahy led the Bison with 13 kills, while Brandi Trapasso notched a double-double with 12 kills and 18 digs. Smith, who broke the school single-match record with 10 block assists in the Dartmouth match, tacked on five more against FDU to go along with 10 kills and solid .292 hitting percentage. Breean Trapasso had 46 assists as 14 digs.
Michelle Feiser led the Knights with 10 kills, while Sharon Becker had 25 digs.
Bucknell appeared to be in good shape in its first match of the day against Dartmouth after prevailing in two see-saw games by identical 30-28 margins. There were 20 ties and nine lead changes in those two frames alone. Two late kills by Smith helped close out game one, and game two was knotted at 28 until back-to-back put-aways by Courtney Clark and Brandi Trapasso gave the Bison a two-game cushion.
But an early 10-5 run helped Dartmouth break open game three, and the Bison could not hold on to a 19-18 lead in the fourth stanza, as the Big Green pulled ahead for good on Lindsay Sheffield's kill.
Dartmouth never trailed in the fifth and deciding game. Bucknell battled back from an early 3-0 deficit to tie at 7-all on Smith and Leahy's block, but Sarah Nadler and Nadine Paris blocked Smith on the very next points to give the visitors the lead for good.
Leahy finished with 22 kills to lead all players, while Brandi Trapasso pocketed 16 kills and 21 digs for Bucknell. Libero Chelsea Anderson finished with a career-high 31 digs, one shy of the Bucknell match record.
Smith's 10 block assists broke an 18-year-old Bucknell record. Kristen Colbert had nine against Saint Francis on Sept. 9, 1985.
Nadler led Dartmouth with 20 kills, while tournament MVP Kainoa Fialkowski added 15 kills and 27 digs.
"I'm pleased to come away from this weekend 2-1 without some key players in the lineup," said head coach Cindy Opalski. "However, I would have been even more pleased had we found a way to prevail in the Dartmouth match. The key for us is going to be to minimize the unforced errors and come right back with a tough attitude. I thought we received excellent play from our seniors, Jackie Leahy had an aggressive weekend on the outside, and Jennie Smith just keeps getting better every day."
Bucknell's Leahy and Smith joined Dartmouth's Diana Szczepanski, Howard's Kollin Hoskins and FDU's Feiser on the all-tournament team.
Bucknell returns to action next Friday and Saturday at the Morgan State Invitational. The Bison will face Stony Brook, UNC-Asheville and Youngstown State, in addition to the host Bears.
Bucknell Invitational Volleyball Tournament
Davis Gymnasium - Lewisburg, Pa.
September 12-13, 2003
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS:
1. Dartmouth (3-0)
2. Bucknell (2-1)
3. Howard (2-1)
4. Fairleigh Dickinson (0-3)
MATCH RESULTS:
Friday Match 1: Bucknell 3, Howard 0 (30-27, 30-23, 30-27)
Friday Match 2: Dartmouth 3, FDU 0 (30-18, 30-23, 30-15)
Saturday Match 3: Howard 3, FDU 0 (30-27, 30-27, 30-28)
Saturday Match 4: Dartmouth 3, Bucknell 2 (28-30, 28-30, 30-25, 30-27, 15-12)
Saturday Match 5: Dartmouth 3, Howard 0 (30-15, 31-29, 30-21)
Saturday Match 6: Bucknell 3, FDU 1 (30-22, 30-32, 30-20, 30-23)
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
MVP: Kainoa Fialkowski, Dartmouth
Diana Szczepanski, Dartmouth
Jackie Leahy, Bucknell
Jennie Smith, Bucknell
Kollin Hoskins, Howard
Michelle Feiser, FDU
