Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball Plays Host to Lafayette and Lehigh This Weekend
10/27/2006 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 27, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell volleyball squad will play two of its final three regular season home matches this weekend when the Bison will take on Lafayette on Friday, Oct. 27, before facing Lehigh on Saturday, Oct. 28. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m. Friday's contest with the Leopards will be broadcast live by Doug Birdsong on WVBU 90.5, and on www.sportsjuice.com.
Prior to the start of Saturdays match against the Mountain Hawks, Bucknell will honor the team's five seniors, Allison Brady (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep), Sarah Groman (Hollister, Calif./San Benito), Amanda Grossmann (Allentown, Pa./Parkland), Jennie Smith (Roanoke, Va./Patrick Henry) and Kristen Sydlowski (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), with a Senior Day ceremony.
Coming off wins in two five-game matches last weekend, the Orange and Blue currently hold a record of 15-10 overall and are tied for third in the Patriot League with Lafayette as both squads sit at 6-3 in league play. The Leopards are 14-7 overall and trail the all-time series with the Bison, 17-27, despite picking up a 3-0 victory the last time the squads met, back on Sept. 30, in Easton, Pa.
Lehigh enters the weekend still in search of its first win of the year as the Mountain Hawks are 0-23, 0-9 in the Patriot League, prior to facing Colgate on Friday evening. In the all-time series with Bucknell, Lehigh holds the advantage at 34-17, but suffered a 3-1 setback to the Bison in the teams' first meeting of 2006.
Current Patriot League Player of the Week, junior Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) leads the Bucknell offense with 3.72 kills per game and also adds an average of 2.44 digs per game. Henderson, who has eight double-doubles on the season, matched a career high with 23 kills last Saturday against Holy Cross.
As team enters the final stretch of the 2006 schedule, several Bison are closing in on milestones. Sydlowski, who just moved into the program's top-five in career digs with 978, is 50 digs away from breaking the Bucknell single season digs mark as she has 479 on the year. Sophomore setter Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) is 48 assists from ranking among the top-five single season leaders in Bison history and Cindy Opalski's next victory will be her 250th as head coach of the Orange and Blue.
Bucknell will close out the home portion of the regular season schedule next Saturday, Nov. 4, with a 7 p.m. match against Colgate.
