Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball Travels to Colgate on Friday
10/25/2007 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 25, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Riding a two-match winning streak, the Bucknell volleyball team will travel to Hamilton, N.Y., this Friday to face Colgate in a Patriot League contest at 6 p.m. Coming off a 3-1 midweek non-league triumph over Saint Francis (Pa.), the Bison enter the weekend with a record of 11-13, 4-5 in the Patriot League and are currently fifth in the league standings.
BISON VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK
Coverage
- Live stats will be available for Friday's match via www.gocolgateraiders.com. A live webcast will also be available for a subscription fee.
About the Bison
- Senior Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) paces the Bison offense with a team-best kills per game average of 4.55. 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 12th in the league in hitting percentage, as well and currently leads the team at .276.
- Freshman Heidi Kamp (Springfield, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) has totaled a squad-high 69 blocks on the season and entered the week ranked eighth in blocks per game, now holding an average of 0.81 following the midweek match at Saint Francis (Pa.). She also stood 10th in the league in hitting percentage and is now hitting .266 for the year, while averaging 2.41 kills per game.
- Junior setter Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) began the week ranked second in the Patriot League in assists per game (11.30) and is tied with junior Emilie Hardinge (Darien, Conn./Darien) for the team lead in service aces. Pitsch was ranked fifth in service aces per game (0.41), while Hardinge was tied for sixth (0.40).
- Sophomore Jennifer Rupp (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa) holds a team-best average of 3.11 digs per game, good for eighth in the Patriot League.
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 357-281 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 1,344 to her credit, Henderson is 34 kills away from breaking Melissa Wharton's record. She also needs just 45 digs to reach 1,000 for her career.
- Pitsch is third on Bucknell's career assist list with 2,684. She is now 54 assists away from passing Whitney Williams for second on the all-time list and is 388 shy of breaking the program record, currently held by Amy Tunshek.
Scouting the Colgate Raiders
- Colgate enters Friday's match with a record of 13-10 and is tied with American for first in the Patriot League standings with a record of 8-1. The lone league loss for the Raiders was a 3-0 setback against the Eagles.
- Katrina Zawojski heads up Colgate's offense with an average of 3.91 kills per game, 22 service aces and a team-best .296 hitting percentage.
- Setter Meghan Fanta has 854 assists on the year for an average of 11.39 per game.
- Casey Ritt and Jackie Adlam hold team highs in blocks (69, 0.83 per game) and digs (373, 4.66 per game), respectively.
- Colgate is 22-20 all-time against the Bison since the series began in 1984. Bucknell won both meetings last season, 3-0. However, earlier this season on Sept 28, the Raiders collected a 3-1 victory over the Bison, their first since 2003 and their first in Lewisburg since 1999.
Recapping Bucknell's Midweek Match at Saint Francis (Pa.)
- In its first non-league match in over a month, Bucknell recorded a 3-1 victory over Saint Francis on the road in Loretto, Pa., this past Wednesday evening. The game scores were 30-24, 31-29, 17-30 and 30-20. Henderson equaled her career high in kills with 23, hit .477 (23-2-44) and completed her double-double with 15 digs. Behind her were Hardinge and freshman Kelsey Lisle (Marriottsville, Md./Seton Keough) with 10 kills apiece for the Bison. Hardinge also added 10 digs for a double-double, while junior Sheena Czipri (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) contributed 12 digs. Sophomore setter Allison Gittings (Dayton, Md./Glenelg) compiled a career-high 51 assists to aid the offensive effort.
Recapping Bucknell's Trip to the Lehigh Valley Last Weekend
- On Oct. 20, behind a well-rounded effort by Pitsch, Bucknell collected a 3-0 victory over Lehigh, taking the games by the scores of 30-24, 30-21 and 30-22. Pitsch totaled five kills, 30 assists, four service aces and seven digs for the Orange and Blue. Hardinge paced the offense for the Bison with 11 kills and also adding eight digs. Henderson followed with nine kills and eight digs, while Kamp contributed eight kills and four block assists. Czipri set a career high with 15 digs and led Bucknell in that category.
- The previous night, after falling down in the match 2-0, the Bucknell volleyball team rallied to force a fifth game, but came up short in the deciding frame, dropping the contest, 3-2 to Lafayette on the road on Oct. 19. The game scores were 24-30, 27-30, 30-27, 30-25 and 9-15. Hardinge posted a match-best 18 kills for the Orange and Blue, hit .317 (18-5-41) and added four blocks and a career-high six service aces. Freshman Kaitlin Segal (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) followed with 11 kills and completed her double-double with 12 digs, while Kamp totaled 10 kills and four blocks. Lisle headed up the defensive effort with 17 digs, Rupp had 11 digs and Czipri finished with 10 digs. Pitsch dished 49 assists in the contest, as well.
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
- Bucknell will return to Lewisburg for its final two home matches of the regular season. The Bison will take on American on Friday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m., and will face Navy on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 5 p.m.
