Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball in Action at the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational This Weekend
8/30/2007 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 30, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell volleyball team will make its second of three weekend road trips that comprise the early part of the 2007 season for the Bison. This weekend, the Orange and Blue, who are 1-2 on the year, will travel to the Pittsburgh area for the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational. The Bison open up in Moon Township, Pa., with a match against Robert Morris at 7 p.m. on Friday evening.
BISON VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK
About the RMU Colonials
- Bucknell is 6-5 all-time against Robert Morris since the series began in 1982. The Colonials are currently 2-1 on the year after posting 3-0 wins over Siena and UW-Green Bay last weekend in Mount Pleasant, Mich., at the Central Michigan University Tournament. Emily Wolthuis leads RMU offensively and defensively with an average of 3.89 kills per game and 3.56 digs per game. Setter Tawnya Storino is averaging 12.33 assists per game.
About the UNC Greensboro Spartans
- The Bison will take on UNC Greensboro for the first time in program history as the teams will face off at 4 p.m. at Duquesne on Saturday. The Spartans are 4-1 on the year following and opening 4-0 weekend at their own UNCG/HPU Triad Challenge, recording victories over Radford (3-0), UNC Wilmington (3-1), Austin Peay (3-2) and North Carolina A&T (3-0). In its last contest on Tuesday, Aug. 28, UNC Greensboro suffered its first loss of the season at East Carolina, 3-1. Branagan Fuller is averaging a team-best 4.68 kills per game along with 3.11 digs per game. Catherine Hanners leads the Spartans defensively with a 5.53 per game digs average. Setter Lisa Fawell has posted 11 assists per game over five matches.
About the Duquesne Dukes
- Since the schools first played in 1981, the Bison are 2-7 all-time against Duquesne. The 10th meeting between the two squads will be Bucknell's final match of the weekend, 7 p.m. at Duquesne on Saturday. The Dukes are 2-1 on the season with wins over Evansville (3-2) and Howard (3-0) to their credit after spending the opening weekend of the season at the Liberty Invitational. Nicole Wright (3.25 k/g), Chelsea Tillotson (9.33 a/g) and Dana Mclaughlin (3.92 d/g) lead Duquesne statistically.
Air Force Invitational Recap
- The Bison played their first-ever match against Portland State on Friday at the Air Force Invitational, falling 3-0 to the Vikings (19-30, 23-30, 18-30). Bucknell followed up with a 3-0 victory over Chicago State (30-24, 30-19, 30-13) to improve to 2-0 lifetime against the Cougars. Then to close out the weekend, the Orange and Blue dropped three close games to Air Force (28-30, 28-30, 26-30) in a 3-0 setback. The Bison are now 0-2 in two meetings all-time versus the Falcons. Shannon Pitsch represented Bucknell on the Air Force Invitational All-Tournament Team after averaging 10.44 assists per game and 0.44 service aces per game over the three matches.
Newcomers Contribute
- Freshman Heidi Kamp started the first match of her collegiate career (vs. Portland State) and recorded six kills. The newcomer continued to make an impact at the Air Force Invitational as she registered nine kills and hit .400 (9-1-20) against Chicago State and posted four service aces against the host Falcons later that evening. - In her collegiate debut against Portland State freshman Kaitlin Segal posted seven digs.
Career Milestones
- Sophomore Jennifer Rupp set a new career high with 13 digs in Bucknell's victory over Chicago State. Her total was a team best in the match and she currently leads the Bison with an average of 3.56 digs per game. - Jenna Henderson tallied her 1,000th career kill in game three of Bucknell's match at Air Force last Saturday. She now has 1,005 for her career and 767 career digs. On the season, Henderson paces Bucknell with an average of 3.78 kills per game. - Pitsch is 4th on Bucknell's career assist list with 1,855. She needs 715 to match Breean Trapasso for third in the record books.
Up Next
- Next week, the Bison will travel to Morgan State for a match at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and will journey to Ithaca, N.Y., on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7-8, for the Cornell Invitational where they will face Montreal, Cornell, Niagara and Siena.
