Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Fairfield (Fairfield Tournament)
Bucknell Volleyball Suffers 3-0 Setback to Fairfield in First Match of 2006
8/25/2006 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Bucknell volleyball team began its 2006 season with a 3-0 loss to Fairfield at the Fairfield University Tournament on Friday evening. The match was also the first of the year for the Stags, who took the games by the scores of 30-20, 30-24 and 30-18, moving their record to 1-0 while the Bison fell to 0-1 on the year.
"Fairfield is a very strong team and clearly we've jumped right into the fire by beginning our season with such challenging competition," said Bucknell head coach Cindy Opalski following the match.
Junior Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) led the Bucknell offense with 10 kills and added six digs, while senior Amanda Grossmann (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) followed with eight kills. Sophomore Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) chipped in with seven kills, hitting .375 with one error in 16 attempts and posted 29 assists and nine digs. Senior Kristen Sydlowski (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) had seven kills as well and led the squad with 11 digs. Sophomore Sheena Czipri (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) and senior Allison Brady (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) contributed eight digs apiece.
Lindsey Lee helped Fairfield to victory with her 16 kills and 15 digs, hitting .361 for the match. Karlie Urbaniak tallied 12 kills and hit .407 (12-1-27), Jazmin Pa'akaula had eight kills and 16 digs, Barbie Thistle aided the offense with 47 assists and Kiana Kauwe led the Stags with 16 digs.
In game one, Bucknell led briefly at 2-1, but Fairfield notched the next five points on four kills and a service ace and went on to lead for the rest of the frame, hitting .528 as a squad.
The Bison battled in game two, matching the Stags virtually point-for-point before going ahead at 12-11. However, service errors proved to be costly as the Orange and Blue committed four of their seven total service errors in the second game. "We needed to do a better job of coming out and serving tough," commented Opalski. "Our lack of aggressiveness really hurt us."
After a kill by Grossmann opened game three, Fairfield went on a 7-0 run, closing out the match with a 30-18 decision.
The Bison round out their weekend at the Fairfield Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 26, with matches against Saint John's and New Hampshire at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
