Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
New Hampshire (Fairfield Tournament)
Bucknell Volleyball Comes up Short Against New Hampshire, 3-1
8/26/2006 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Sophomore Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) totaled 21 assists, 12 digs and four block assists on her way to an all-tournament team selection, but the Bucknell volleyball team came up short in a 3-1 loss against New Hampshire at the Fairfield Tournament on Saturday evening. The Bison dropped to 0-3 on the season following the setback, while the Wildcats moved to 1-2.
"We're in the process of working out some lineup changes and some systems that are different from last year," said Bucknell head coach Cindy Opalski. "It's a learning process. I think overall we had a weekend where we showed a lot of improvement from start to finish. Most importantly, I think we have good energy and good enthusiasm. We wanted to have a really difficult first test and I think as the games went on today, we improved. Especially in the New Hampshire match, we played some of our best volleyball."
Against UNH, sophomore Liz Hazuka (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain) posted a team-best 10 kills for Bucknell while senior Jennie Smith (Roanoke, Va./Patrick Henry) and sophomore Emilie Hardinge (Darien, Conn./Darien) tallied five kills apiece. Senior Kristen Sydlowski (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), who made the move to libero for the match against the Wildcats, led the Orange and Blue with three service aces and 18 digs. Pitsch followed with her 12 digs and finished the weekend with nine kills, 73 assists (7.3 per game) and 26 digs (2.6 per game) and was Bucknell's lone representative on the all-tournament team.
Emmy Blouin headed up the New Hampshire offense with 25 kills, hitting .426 over the four games with four service aces. Sarah Rehn recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs, while also contributing four service aces, and Jessica Compton finished with 10 kills. Setter Kate Uitti tallied 49 assists and chipped in defensively with 10 digs. Alyse Lahti paced the Wildcats with 17 digs.
UNH began the match with an 18-4 lead and cruised to a 30-12 game one win. However, the Bison battled back in the second game, steadily building to a 21-13 advantage. The Wildcats managed to close the gap to one at 28-27, but after a timeout, Bucknell responded with a kill by junior Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) and went on to take the game, 30-27.
Then New Hampshire started strong in games three and four, never trailing after the Bison tallied the opening point in game three, and iced the match with 30-16 and 30-20 decisions.
Bucknell will return to action next Friday, Sept. 1, when the team will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for the La Salle Invitational and open with a match against UNC-Wilmington at 7 p.m.
