Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Volleyball Plays Host to Bucknell Invitational This Weekend
9/15/2005 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 15, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's volleyball team will play host to the Bucknell Invitational this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16 and 17, in Davis Gym. The tournament will feature Coppin State, Canisius and St. John's along with the Bison.
The invitational opens on Friday with a match between St. John's and Canisius at 6 p.m. followed by Bucknell vs. Coppin State at 8:30 p.m. Saturday's matches begin with St. John's vs. Coppin State at 10 a.m., followed by Canisius vs. Bucknell at 12 p.m. Coppin State vs. Canisius at 2 p.m., and St. John's vs. Bucknell at 4:30 p.m.
Bucknell has hosted an invitational tournament in every year since 1982, and the Bison have an all-time record of 49-42 (.538) in the event. Last season, Bucknell defeated Niagara, 3-1, fell to Cornell 3-0 and suffered a 3-1 setback against Duquesne.
Bucknell has played in two tournaments thus far -- at La Salle and Stony Brook -- and enters this weekend with a 3-3 record in tournament play. The Bison opened the La Salle Tournament with a 3-1 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson, but rebounded by closing out the weekend with a 3-0 victory over Providence and a 3-1 win over the host Explorers. Sarah Groman earned All-Tournament honors after averaging 3.55 kills per game and hitting .412 over the three matches. Last weekend, Bucknell played three matches at the Stony Brook Invitational and came away with a 3-1 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) but fell to Siena and Stony Brook by 3-1 counts.
The Bison have a 6-1 all-time record against Canisius since the series began in 1991. The teams last met on Aug. 30, 2002, when Bucknell suffered a 3-2 setback against the Golden Griffins at the University of Buffalo/Hampton Inn-vitational. Canisius enters the weekend with a record of 3-4 and is coming off a 3-1 win over Colgate. Mary Boller leads the Golden Griffins with 3.72 kills per game and is hitting .336 over the team's seven matches. Jess Stackhouse is averaging a team-high 4.72 digs per game, while setter Lauren Lackovich has 10.86 assists per game.
Friday marks the fourth meeting between the Bison and Coppin State. The Bucknell is undefeated against the Eagles, with a 3-0 record in the series that began in 1995. Coppin State comes to the Bucknell Invitational winless at 0-5. Shauniece Steward leads the Eagles' offense with 2.60 kills per game, while Grace Lyon is averaging 4.00 assists per game and Andrea McGant has 2.80 digs per game.
The Bison have faced St. John's three times in program history and have a 2-1 record against the Red Storm. Coming into the weekend, St. John's has played 11 matches and sits at 8-3 on the season. The Red Storm dropped its last match by a 3-0 margin at William and Mary on Sept. 9. Shameka Mitchell has a team-high average of 3.31 kills per game and is hitting .274. Setter Lisa Tedder is averaging 7.14 assists per game and Kathleen Yee leads the defense with 4.08 digs per game.
