Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball Opens 2006 Campaign at Fairfield Tournament
8/24/2006 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 24, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell volleyball team, picked third in the Patriot League preseason poll, will begin its 2006 season this Friday with a 7 p.m. match against Fairfield on the road at the Fairfield Tournament. The Bison, who are coming off a 2005 campaign in which the squad made its 15th Patriot League Tournament appearance in 16 seasons, have a 1-0 record all-time against the Stags.
Bucknell volleyball head coach Cindy Opalski feels that 17 will prove to be a lucky number for her Bison this year. Beginning her 17th year as the steward of a very successful program Opalski believes that 17 players will lead the Orange and Blue to another Patriot League championship. All 17 student-athletes have terrific potential and there is excellent leadership from an experienced senior class. With these key ingredients, the Bison hope to make a run for a title in the highly competitive Patriot League in 2006.
"We're picked third in the league's preseason poll, but it's not where you start, it's where you finish that matters most," says Opalski. "I have never put much stock in or dwelled upon preseason polls for very long. What I do look at is the potential of this year's team. I see incredible team chemistry, a tenacious work ethic and good internal mentoring. Our seniors have really taken everybody under their wing and have done a terrific job of teaching, talking, and problem solving."
This season, the Orange and Blue return five starters and enter the year extremely motivated after a tough 3-2 loss in the Patriot League semifinals to American, which has now captured the last five league titles.
"I think there's incredible motivation, but clearly American is not the yardstick we use to measure our success," comments Opalski. "We're trying to win a Patriot League championship and there is more than one team standing in the way of us. We are not the only team that's wants to be photographed holding the Patriot League cup on November 18."
"The competitiveness of that match and the fact that we were two points away from knocking them off certainly put a lot of fuel on our fire for this year, but we still need the catalyst to start the fire. I think our senior leadership is going to be the thing that really fuels us and determines how intense and how long the fire is going to burn. The question is, not only can we keep that fire going and the motivational level high, but can we do it from start to finish."
Among the Bison returning are senior middle hitter Amanda Grossmann and senior right side hitter Sarah Groman, who both led the team with a .239 hitting percentage last season. Groman also added 81 total blocks in 2005, while Grossmann contributed 61.
Middle hitter Jennie Smith, another member of Bucknell's veteran senior class, led the squad with 96 blocks last year and posted 2.26 kills per game. Smith has spent the last three seasons etching her way into the Bison record books. Her totals in block assists for 2003 and 2005 rank fourth and fifth, respectively, on Bucknell's top-five single season list. In the career records, Smith is currently fourth in block assists (191) and fifth in total blocks (223).
Outside hitters junior Jenna Henderson and senior Kristen Sydlowski powered the Bison offense in 2005 as the squad's top two leaders in kills per game. Henderson, who also aided the team defensively with 298 digs (2.66 per game), averaged 3.04 kills per game while Sydlowski posted 2.53 kills per game. Sydlowski's total of 436 digs (3.86 per game) was second to only Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and 2006 graduate Chelsea Anderson's 440, and Sydlowski's total is currently fifth on the Bucknell single season list. She also ranked just behind Anderson in service aces with 42 on the year.
Shannon Pitsch returns for her sophomore season after splitting time at setter with Jessica Le last season. In her rookie campaign, Pitsch averaged 5.38 assists per game and logged 38 service aces.
While Bucknell may have lost two key players in Anderson and Le, Opalski says the team has made the adjustments needed to make up for these losses.
"We have two sophomores who have amnesia when it comes to the best defensive player in the gym last year and we have two freshmen that don't even know Chelsea Anderson," comments Opalski. "The four of them have the potential to be excellent defensive players. We're filling that void very quickly and I don't even know if we really see it as a gap anymore. We're excited about the fact that we have our entire starting front line returning and we're looking at the glass as being more than half full, than half empty. I think that's an important mindset that we need to maintain throughout the course of the season. One person doesn't make a team and one individual doesn't define your success. We have 17 women who will put us in a position to play for a championship. That's our goal."
The Bison face a challenge in their 2006 schedule, spending the bulk of August and September on the road. Aside from a mid-week match against West Chester, the team's home opener, on Sept. 5, and the Bucknell Invitational on Sept. 15 and 16, the Orange and Blue will play 16 matches away from Davis Gym before coming home for eight of the squad's last 10 contests of the regular season.
"The end of August and the beginning of September is always the time to challenge yourself with non-league competition," says Opalski. "It is the time to get out and play some really strong non-league teams to better prepare you for league play. It just so happens for the first time in a couple years, we start Patriot League play on the road for two weekends in a row. That, added to the traditional time on the road in September, certainly gives us a lot of opportunity to fine tune our skills before we come back home to play in Davis Gym. That's very positive in my estimation. In order to get better you need to be tested, so clearly we've tried to schedule tough but reasonable early in the season. When you talk about the meat of your schedule being home, the most important part of our season being played in Davis Gym, you've got to get excited about that. Having the opportunity to bring all those lessons learned back to our home court and show people how we've improved is just terrific."
Overall, Opalski sees experience as the team's biggest asset in 2006.
"Five women who played in that league tournament match against American are back. When you give someone a little taste of something good I think it enhances the motivation level for the next year. This is an experienced team, it's a big team, and there is great energy and enthusiasm. I feel really good about where we are. I think one of the key factors in our success is we need to sweat the small stuff. We have to take our talents and put them in a positive direction towards reaching our goals. We have to pay greater attention to detail and make the tactical adjustments that are going to create opportunities to be successful."
