Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
American
Bucknell Volleyball Falls to American, 3-0
10/6/2007 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Bucknell volleyball team fell to American by a 3-0 margin on Saturday evening as the Bison, who dropped to 8-11 on the year, 2-3 in the Patriot League, where unable to stifle the Eagles' offense as American hit .471 collectively and moved its record to 13-6, 5-0 in league matches.
In game one, the Orange and Blue held a two-point advantage at 14-12, when the Eagles broke out for a string of 11-straight points to take a 23-14 lead and rode their momentum to a 30-20 victory.
A kill by junior Emilie Hardinge (Darien, Conn./Darien) put the Bison out in front, 1-0, open the second frame. However, Rubena Sukaj tied the score with a kill of her own on the next point and American would not trail again in the set on the way to another 30-20 decision.
Then in game three, the Eagles stormed out to a 14-4 advantage and cruised to a 30-20 win behind a .559 team hitting percentage with 21 kills and just two errors in 34 attempts.
Hardinge paced the Bison with 13 kills and hit .310 (13-4-29), while senior Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) followed with 10 kills and also contributed eight digs. Junior Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) totaled 25 assists and sophomore Jennifer Rupp (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa) posted a team-best 12 digs.
For American, Sukaj led the way with 18 kills, hit .516 (18-2-31) and completed her double-double with 10 digs. Chelsa Brooks and Julia Borecka had eight kills apiece, Brooks with a .571 hitting percentage (8-0-14). Claire Recht tallied six blocks and hit .636 as she had seven kills on 11 attempts and did not commit an error. Ivana Cebakova finished with a match-best 19 digs and setters Christina Nash and Tara Stradling dished 21 and 16 assists, respectively.
Bucknell will return home next Friday, Oct. 12, for a Patriot League match against Holy Cross beginning at 7 p.m. The match will be carried live on internet video broadcast, available for a subscription fee through www.BucknellBison.com.
