Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball Set to Travel to Cornell Invitational This Weekend
9/6/2007 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell volleyball team will be in action on the road this weekend as the Bison will travel to Ithaca, N.Y., for the two-day Cornell Invitational on Friday, Sept. 7, and Saturday, Sept. 8. The Orange and Blue enter the tournament with a record of 4-3 and will open with an exhibition match against Montreal at 5 p.m. on Friday, followed by contests against Cornell, Niagara and Siena.
BISON VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK
Live Coverage
- Live stats for all Cornell Invitational matches will be available by clicking here.
About the Cornell Big Red
- Since the series began in 1984, Bucknell holds an all-time record of 1-10 against Cornell with its lone victory coming on Oct. 26, 1996, at home in Davis Gym by a 3-2 margin. The teams last met on Sept. 18, 2004, at the Bucknell Invitational where the Big Red came away with a 3-0 victory. Cornell's match against the Bison, which is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, will be the Big Red's second of the season as the three-time defending Ivy League champion will open up its 2007 campaign against Niagara earlier that day.
About the Niagara Purple Eagles
- The Bison are 5-1 against Niagara since first facing the Purple Eagles in 1993. The teams last met on Sept. 8 last season when the Orange and Blue came away with a 3-0 win at the St. Francis (N.Y.) Invitational. The lone victory for the Purple Eagles in the series came at the ECAC Championships, 3-2, on Nov. 21, 1993. Niagara enters the weekend's play with a record of 2-5. The Purple Eagles have posted wins over St. Francis (N.Y.) (3-0) and over Buffalo (3-2), while falling to Rhode Island (3-0), Colgate (3-1), New Hampshire (3-0), South Florida (3-0) and Fordham (3-1).
About the Siena Saints
- Bucknell holds a 1-3 record against Siena since the series began on Oct. 6, 1984 with a 3-1 Bison victory. Last time the teams met was Sept. 10, 2005, at the Stony Brook Invitational where the Saints defeated the Orange and Blue, 3-1. Siena enters the weekend with a record of 3-3 and has recorded 3-1 wins over UW-Green Bay, San Diego State and Ball State. Aubrey Bobo and Burgandy McCurty currently lead the Saints with an average of 3.45 kills per game, April London is averaging 11.41 assists per game and Kathi Kobayashi holds a team-best average of 3.77 digs per game.
About the Bison
- Senior Jenna Henderson currently paces the Bison with an average of 4.71 kills per game.
- Freshman Heidi Kamp has team-high averages in blocks per game (0.50) and service aces per game (0.58).
- Sophomore Jennifer Rupp leads the Bucknell squad in digs with an average of 3.48 per game.
- Junior setter Shannon Pitsch is averaging 11.21 assists per game.
Last Time Out
- The Bucknell volleyball team topped Morgan State, 3-1, in Baltimore, Md., this past Wednesday evening to give head coach Cindy Opalski her 350th career victory and improve to 4-3 on the season. The Bison dropped game one, 30-22, but rallied to take the next three games by the scores of 30-27, 30-21 and 30-22, against the Lady Bears. Henderson led the way for Bucknell with 22 kills, hitting .390 with just six errors in 41 attempts and completed her double-double with 15 digs, while also adding two service aces. Kamp totaled 13 kills and two service aces, freshman Jocelyn VanOpdorp tied Henderson's match-best total of 15 digs and Pitsch recorded 44 assists and two service aces.
Recap of the Duquesne/Robert Morris Courtyard by Marriott Invitational
- The Bison came away from the weekend trip to the Pittsburgh area with a 2-1 record, posting 3-0 wins over Robert Morris and UNC Greensboro and falling to Duquesne, 3-2.
- Hardinge set a new career high with five aces at Duquesne, sophomore Rupp posted a new career best with 22 digs in the same match. Henderson, senior Tessa Mendez and Pitsch all matched their career highs in kills versus the Dukes with totals of 23, eight and seven, respectively.
Career Milestones
- Opalski coached in her 500th match as head coach of the Bison last Saturday at Duquesne.
- Jenna Henderson tallied her 1,000th career kill in game three of Bucknell's match at Air Force on Sept. 25. She now has 1,084 for her career and 804 career digs and needs 15 kills to pass Brandi Trapasso for fifth on Bucknell's all-time list. - Pitsch is fourth on Bucknell's career assist list with 2,060. She needs 511 to pass Breean Trapasso for third in the record books.
2007 Awards and Honors
- Henderson represented Bucknell on the Courtyard by Marriott Invitational All-Tournament Team.
- Henderson was also named Patriot League Honorable Mention on Sept. 4.
Up Next
- The Bison will make their 2007 home debut next weekend as the squad will play host to the Bucknell Invitational on Sept. 14 and 15. The tournament will feature Radford, Saint Francis (Pa.) and Stony Brook, along with the Bison.
