Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball Takes to the Road for Matches at Lafayette and Lehigh
10/18/2007 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 18, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Coming off a split at home last weekend against Holy Cross and Army, the Bucknell volleyball team will take to the road this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19-20, for matches at Lafayette and Lehigh. The Bison, who enter the weekend with a record of 9-12 (3-4 PL), will face off against Leopards at 7 p.m., while their match against the Mountain Hawks is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., the following day.
BISON VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK
About the Bison
- Bucknell is currently 9-12 (3-4 PL) after a win and a loss last Friday and Saturday, defeating Holy Cross, 3-0, but falling to Army, 3-1.
- Senior Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) currently leads the Bison in kills with an average of 4.64 per game. As of the most recent Patriot League and NCAA statistical reports, her kills per game average ranked second in the Patriot League and 36th nationally. She began the week 11th in the league in hitting percentage, as well (.269).
- Freshman Heidi Kamp (Springfield, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) is Bucknell's blocks leader with 57, with an average of 0.78 per game to rank 10th in the league in that category. She ranks second among Patriot League freshmen in hitting percentage (.278), 10th overall, and is averaging 2.51 kills per game.
- Junior setter Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) leads the league in assists with an average of 11.46 per game.
- Sophomore Jennifer Rupp (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa) holds a team-best average of 3.35 digs per game, good for eighth in the Patriot League.
- Kaitlin Segal (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) is tied with Pitsch for the team lead in service aces with 25. Her average of 0.36 per game ranks first among freshmen in the league and is 10th overall. She ranks among the league's best in hitting percentage, as well, at .238, fourth among freshmen in the PL.
Bison Milestones
- Cindy Opalski coached in her 500th match as head coach of the Bison on Sept. 1 at Duquesne. Then when Bucknell topped Morgan State, 3-1, on Sept. 5, it gave Opalski her 350th career victory. She is currently 355-280 in 21 seasons as a head coach. Bucknell's win over Lehigh on Sept. 21 gave Opalski her 100th Patriot League victory, which leads all active coaches in the league.
- Henderson tallied her 1,000th career kill in game three of Bucknell's match at Air Force on Sept. 25. Now with 1,310 to her credit, Henderson is 68 kills away from breaking Melissa Wharton's record. - Pitsch is third on Bucknell's career assist list with 2,605. She is now 133 assists away from passing Whitney Williams for second on the all-time list and is 467 shy of breaking the program record, currently held by Amy Tunshek.
Scouting the Lafayette Leopards
- Lafayette enters the weekend with a record of 10-13, 2-5 in the Patriot League and is coming off a pair of 3-0 losses to American and Navy last weekend.
- The Bison lead the all-time series with the Leopards 29-17, since the teams first met in 1978. Earlier this season on Sept. 22, Bucknell defeated Lafayette, 3-0, at home in Davis Gym. Henderson paced the Bison offense with 18 kills in that contest and hit .394. Rupp totaled a match-best 18 digs.
- Kayly Elmer holds a squad-best average of 3.10 kills per game.
- Megan Carter has an average of 8.74 assists per game, while Ashton Rossi is averaging 6.91 per game.
- Michaela Donohue has posted a 3.54 per game digs average, Katrina Racibarskas leads the team in service aces (25) and Maura Kelly and Ainhoa Barturen are tied with a team-high 36 blocks on the year, Barturen holds the higher average at 0.51 per game.
Scouting the Lehigh Mountain Hawks
- Prior to playing host to Colgate on Friday, Lehigh enters the weekend with a record of 4-15, (1-6 PL).
- Friday will mark the 55th all-time meeting between the Mountain Hawks and the Bison. Bucknell trails Lehigh 19-35 in the series, but the Orange and Blue have come away with the victory the last eight times the teams have squared off, dating back to a 3-0 setback in the Patriot League seminal on Nov. 22, 2002.
- Last month on Sept. 21, Bucknell defeated Lehigh, 3-0, in Lewisburg. Henderson totaled a team-high 14 kills in the contest.
- Shannon Spafford paces the Mountain Hawks with an average of 2.94 kills per game and also leads in squad in blocks with 58 (0.89 per game).
- Danielle Pimental holds a team-high average of 2.92 digs per game.
- Setter Brittany Dickinson is averaging 6.18 assists per game and Brittany Thurston has a team-best 27 service aces.
Recapping Bucknell's Weekend against Holy Cross and Army
- On Friday, Oct. 12, Bucknell picked up a 3-0 victory over Patriot League foe Holy Cross on the court in Davis Gym, behind 17 kills from Henderson who hit .433 in the contest (17-30-4). Following Henderson was Segal who hit .375 for the Orange and Blue with nine kills and just three errors on 16 attempts, while also adding three service aces. Kamp had eight kills, hit .615 (8-0-13) and contributed six blocks (0-6). Pitsch registered a career-high six service aces in the match to go along with her 31 assists and her team-best nine digs, while Rupp chipped in with eight digs.
- The following night, Saturday, Oct. 13, despite winning game one and overcoming a 10-point deficit to take the lead in game four, the Bison came up short against Army, falling by the score of 3-1. Henderson led the Bison in kills with 15 and completed her double-double with 16 digs. Freshman Kelsey Lisle (Marriottsville, Md./Seton Keough) followed with 13 kills and posted a double-double, as well, with 11 digs. Kamp contributed 11 kills along with five blocks (2-3). Senior Tessa Mendez (Denver, Colo./Colorado Academy) also had five blocks (1-4), while Henderson and Lisle added three apiece. Pitsch was the third member of the Orange and Blue to record a double-double on the night as she compiled 39 assists and 13 digs and Rupp registered a match-best 18 digs.
2007 Awards and Honors
- Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week - Jenna Henderson (9/10/07)
- Patriot League Player of the Week - Jenna Henderson (9/10/07)
- Patriot League Rookie of the Week - Kaitlin Segal (9/24/07)
- ECAC Volleyball Player of the Week - Jenna Henderson (9/13/07)
- Patriot League Honorable Mention - Jenna Henderson (8/27/07 & 9/4/07)
- All Tournament Teams - Shannon Pitsch (Air Force Invitational), Jenna Henderson (Courtyard by Marriott Duquesne/RMU Invitational, Bucknell Invitational), Emilie Hardinge (Cornell Invitational, Bucknell Invitational)
Up Next
- Following this weekend's action, the Bison will next travel to Loretto, Pa., for a midweek non-league match against Saint Francis (Pa.), on Wednesday, Oct. 24, before making a trip to Colgate on Saturday, Oct. 26.
