Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Bucknell Women's Volleyball Team Clinches PL Tournament Berth with 3-0 Win Over Lehigh
11/14/2008 7:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's volleyball team clinched the final spot available for the Patriot League Tournament, defeating the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, 3-0, at Davis Gym, on Friday, Nov. 14. The Bison (12-17, 7-6 PL) topped the Mountain Hawks 25-13, 25-19, 25-18, and will join American, Army and Colgate in the tournament, which will start on Friday, Nov. 21 at a site yet to be determined. The Orange and Blue will close out the regular season on Saturday, hosting Lafayette, at 5 p.m.
Bucknell sophomore Heidi Kamp (Springfield, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) had game-highs with 13 kills and three blocks, while hitting .722. Bison freshman Kyleigh McAhren (Napa, Calif./Justin-Siena) had eight kills, while hitting .636, and Kaitlin Segal (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) also had eight kills to go with 11 digs. The Orange and Blue's Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) had 34 assists, while fellow senior co-captain Sheena Czipri (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) had 10 digs.
The Orange and Blue did not trail at all in the first set, and hit .346, while holding Lehigh to just a -.09 hitting percentage. The Mountain Hawks cut the score to 9-6, when the Bison then went on runs of 5-0 and 10-3, boosting its lead to 19-9. Kamp had two kills and two aces during the stretch. Lehigh would not get any closer than nine the rest of the way.
Lehigh kept it closer in the second set, staying within two throughout and cutting the Bucknell lead to 20-19. The Bison then scored the final five points to close the set. McAhren and Kamp each recorded kills, sandwiched around a block by Kamp and Anne Ellenberger (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon Honors). McAhren then closed the set out with back-to-backs service aces.
Bucknell finished out the game, again playing a set without falling behind. Kamp had five kills, and Pitsch had 10 assists in the final set, while the team hit .346. For the game Bucknell hit a season-high .342, while Lehigh hit .039.
"One of the things I'm most pleased about tonight is that we played to win," said head coach Cindy Opalski. "We didn't win the right to go to the Patriot League Tournament because of someone else's misstep. We won the right to go to the final four because we earned it."
The Bison lost to the Leopards, 3-0, in Easton, Pa., on Oct. 24. Lafayette lost to Colgate, 3-0, earlier today, and with Bucknell's win was eliminated from tournament contention. Bison seniors Czipri, Pitsch and Liz Hazuka (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mtn.) will be honored prior to the start of the match.
