Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Tennessee-Martin
Bucknell Volleyball Earns 3-2 Victory Over UT Martin
9/6/2008 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2008
CHICAGO - Senior Shannon Pitsch had 44 assists and sophomore Kaitlin Segal recorded a double-double with 19 kills and 12 digs in the 3-2 Bucknell win over the University of Tennessee at Martin in the Loyola Chicago Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The win marks the Bison's first of the 2008 season.
Freshman Kyleigh McAhren and sophomore Heidi Kamp were also key factors in the victory. McAhren's 12 kills and six block assists are her highest totals of her young collegiate career. With 11 kills, Kamp was the third Bison in double figures. The sophomore also helped an improved Bucknell blocking game by contributing five block assists.
The defense was assisted by 19 digs from freshman Emily Sawanobori. The libero recorded her second consecutive match with double-figure totals after having 13 digs last night against Evansville.
The Orange and Blue were able to keep the first set close, never trailing by more than three points early in the contest. Competition became even closer and points went back and forth at the end of the first set. Segal's fifth kill tied the contest at 20, and a kill by Kamp tied it again after being down 23-22. The end of the set was characterized by a barrage of kills from both teams, but Bucknell came out on top in the end, earning its first set victory of the year, 31-29.
Although Segal registered kills at key moments in the set, McAhren came through strong in the end. After scoring the team's first point of the match, McAhren was quiet until coming alive again with the Bison down 22-20. Her third kill brought them within one. McAhren then teamed with Pitsch for a block assist to make the score 28-27 in favor of the Bison and ended the set with two straight kills for the win.
The second set was closely contended as well. Bucknell was able to carry some of its momentum over from the first set before falling victim to a four-point run by the Skyhawks and dropping to a score of 10-8 in favor of UT Martin. A service ace by Pitsch gave the Bison a 19-18 lead and put the Bison up for good. Back-to-back kills by Kamp and freshman Katie Baumgarten sealed the deal for Bucknell as the Orange and Blue took the second set, 25-22.
The Bison faltered in the next two sets, falling 25-17 in the third and 25-23 in the fourth. Bucknell trailed from the outset of the third and never recovered, although Pitsch brought it within three points with two consecutive service aces. Kamp gave it one last effort, registering a kill to make it 22-16. The kill was Kamp's 11th of the day.
"We were hitting really well in the first two games, but we had a tough time getting our timing," said head Coach Cindy Opalski. "We fell out of synch with our setters."
Bucknell opened the fourth set determined to regain control of the match and came out to an 8-3 lead. Freshman Anne Ellenberger showed off her blocking game, teaming with McAhren and Kamp for three block assists early in the set. A string of errors by the Bison, however, caused them to trail 11-10. Although Bucknell tied the set several times before the end, UT Martin proved too much, taking the fourth and pushing the match to a deciding fifth set.
The Bucknell front line found the timing with its setters it had been missing in the previous two sets and the defense held on for a successful fifth set. McAhren and Ellenberger came together for their third block assist of the match to open scoring for the Bison. Four more kills by Segal and another three by McAhren, and the Orange and Blue put their first notch in the win category by a final score of 15-10.
Opalski points to her team's ability to take care of the details with coming out with the victory.
"The big thing is that we were able to take care of the little things that really determines how successful you're going to be in a match," said Opalski. "It took us five games to figure out how to win."
The Bison will attempt to start a winning streak in the final game of the Loyola Chicago Invitational at 6 p.m. against Sam Houston State.
