Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball to Play Final Two Home Matches of 2007 This Weekend
11/1/2007 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 1, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell volleyball team will play its final two home matches of the 2007 season this weekend, Nov. 2-3, as the Bison take on American on Friday evening at 7 p.m., and will face Navy on Saturday at 5 p.m., in Davis Gym. Coming off a 3-1 setback at Colgate, Bucknell enters the weekend with a record of 11-14, 4-6 in league play.
BISON VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK
Bison Bits
- Saturday's match against the Midshipmen will feature "Rock the House", a promotion open to all athletic teams, on Bucknell's campus, which will have various squads vying to win a bus voucher from Susquehanna Trailways, good for free transportation to an away contest.
- Also, prior to Saturday's match against Navy, the Bison will honor the team's two seniors, Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) and Tessa Mendez (Denver, Colo./Colorado Academy) with a special Senior Day ceremony.
About the Bison
- Henderson leads Bucknell's offense with a team-best kills per game average of 4.51. As of the most recent Patriot League statistics report, her kills per game average ranked second in the Patriot League, while her team-best .271 hitting percentage ranked 10th in the league.
- Freshman Heidi Kamp (Springfield, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) has totaled a squad-high 70 blocks on the season for an average of 0.79 per game, good for ninth in the Patriot League. She ranks among the league leaders in hitting percentage, as well (.262, 13th) and averages 2.36 kills per game.
- Junior setter Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) began the week ranked third in the Patriot League in assists per game (11.28) and is tied with junior Emilie Hardinge (Darien, Conn./Darien) for the team lead in service aces with 32. Pitsch is ranked eighth in service aces per game (0.39), while Hardinge is 10th (0.37).
- Sophomore Jennifer Rupp (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa) holds a team-best average of 3.04 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 358-281 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 1,359 to her credit, Henderson is 19 kills away from breaking Melissa Wharton's record. She also needs just 31 digs to reach 1,000 for her career and is with 388 kills on the season, is 34 shy of setting a new program single season record.
- Pitsch is third on Bucknell's career assist list with 2,727. She is now 11 assists away from passing Whitney Williams for second on the all-time list and is 345 away from breaking the program record, currently held by Amy Tunshek.
Scouting the American Eagles
- American enters Friday's match with a record of 19-7 overall and is tied for first with Colgate in the Patriot League standings with a record of 9-1.
- Rubena Sukaj holds a team-high kills per game average of 5.33 and paces the Eagles in service aces with 61 (0.68 per game).
- Claire Recht leads the squad in blocks with 98 (1.24 per game), setter Christina Nash is averaging 10.48 assists per game and Ivana Cebakova boasts a team-best average of 3.95 digs per game.
- American leads the all-time series with Bucknell, 20-1, taking the first match this season between the squads by a 3-0 margin in Washington, D.C. The teams first met in 1989.
Scouting the Navy Midshipmen
- With a match at Colgate on Friday evening at 7:30, Navy enters the weekend with a record of 17-10, 5-5 in league play.
- Rachel Dougherty paces Navy's offense with an average of 4.31 kills per game and 51 service aces (0.57 per game).
- Jessie Sims is averaging 3.40 kills per game and 2.86 digs per game.
- Setter Marissa Watson holds an average of 10.74 assists per game, Krista Eschelman leads the team in blocks (72, 0.87 per game) and Amiee' Burns boasts a team-best 2.93 digs per game average.
- In the all-time series between the Bison and the Mids, which began in 1981, Navy holds a 17-15 advantage. Back on Oct. 5 in Annapolis, Md., Navy came away with a 3-0 victory over Bucknell.
Recapping Bucknell's Match at Colgate
- Despite jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the match with a 32-30 win in game one, Bucknell could not hold off Colgate, falling 3-1 to the Raiders in Hamilton, N.Y. last Saturday. For the Bison, Henderson totaled a team-best 15 kills along with 14 digs for a double-double. Freshman Kelsey Lisle (Marriottsville, Md./Seton Keough) was the only other member of the Orange and Blue to break 10 in kills as she finished with 13, while also contributing eight digs and three blocks. Pitsch recorded a double-double with 43 assists and a squad-best 15 digs and junior Sheena Czipri (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) chipped in with 13 digs. Mendez finished the evening with six blocks (1-5) to set a new career high.
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, 9/29/07)
- 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
- The Bison will next travel to Army and Holy Cross, Nov. 10-11, for their final two matches of the regular season. Both contests are set to begin at 4 p.m.
