Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Colgate
Bucknell Volleyball Pushes Colgate but Falls 3-1
10/9/2009 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 9, 2009
HAMILTON, N.Y. – After ending last weekend on a high note, Bucknell volleyball's progress came to an abrupt halt in a 3-1 loss (25-20, 25-16, 24-26, 25-13) to Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y., on Friday night. Heidi Kamp (Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) continued her solid play, leading the team with 10 kills.
Bucknell (6-11, 2-3) got off to a rocky start but came up big when the pressure was on. After falling behind two sets to none, the Bison put together a rally and took advantage of Colgate (7-10, 4-1) errors when it mattered most. The third set was a back-and-forth affair, featuring six ties and five lead changes. The last lead change came at a crucial time, giving Bucknell set point at 25-24. Kamp was the key behind the point swing, getting back-to-back kills to set up the win.
The third was ultimately decided by an attack error on Colgate's side, but it was the Raiders' errors earlier in the set that doomed them. At 3-2, Bucknell took its first lead of the night since being up 1-0 in the first set. Colgate went on a 7-1 run soon after to regain the lead and improve its advantage to 9-5. The Bison stayed within striking distance and put themselves in prime position to benefit from six consecutive attack errors. Bucknell reclaimed its lead midway through that faulty streak. By the time Colgate calmed down, the Bison were back in front 20-17.
The remainder of the set stayed close and, despite Bucknell's hiccup in the final points, the Orange and Blue lived to play another set with a 26-24 win.
Bucknell fell behind early in the match, making a fourth set appear unlikely. A six-point deficit at 11-5 was eventually erased, however. The Bison mounted a steady comeback from that point, getting kills from Ragin Jackson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson), Allison Gittings (Dayton, Md./Glenelg) and Jackie Landes (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Wildwood School) to get back within three. A Colgate attack error helped the Bucknell cause for 11-9.
Kamp then got in on the act, recording a kill for 13-11 and a block assist with Landes on the next point to get Bucknell within a single point for the first time since 4-3. Landes evened the set at 13, but the Raiders would not let things get out of hand on their home court and the Bison never took the lead. An aced by Emily Sawanobori (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) set the score at 22-20 in favor of Colgate. That did little to shift the momentum, however, and Colgate quickly rattled off the final three points for a 25-20 first-set win.
The second set was one of errors, but unlike the third set, the Bison struggled to cash in on the opportunities. Colgate handed 10 points to its opponent on errors throughout the set, but Bucknell earned only six points on its own accord. Despite the Raiders not being on top of their game, they claimed the second set 25-16.
After such an eventful third set, the fourth turned out to be a bit of a letdown. Bucknell was unable to ride its momentum any farther and fell by a disappointing score of 25-13. The Bison managed just a handful of kills and were unable to block the Raiders' attack, ending their night in four.
Despite the outcome, head coach Cindy Opalski was pleased with parts of her team's game.
“Defensively, we did pretty well tonight,” said Opalski. “Our service receive was pretty solid. We just need to be able to play the whole five sets. I think if we played the entire match like we played the third set, we would have been much closer.”
Joining Kamp among the Bison's top attackers were Jackson with eight kills and Landes with six. Kamp also led the team with three blocks. Gittings finished the night with 25 assists and five kills. Sawanobori had a team-high 13 digs, followed closed by Kaitlin Segal (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) with 10.
Colgate finished with three players in double figures in kills. Kaleigh Durkett posted 16, while Casey Ritt had 13 and Kaylee Dougherty had 12. Meghan Fanta completed the evening with a match-best 37 assists.
With just Colgate on the docket for this weekend, Bucknell will return to the court on Friday, Oct. 16 to take on Lafayette in Davis Gym. The match is designated Think Pink Night to promote breast cancer awareness and pink t-shirts, sponsored by Evangelical Community Hospital's Women's Resource Center, will be tossed into the stands during the match. The showdown between the Bison and the Leopards will also be broadcast live on Bison Vision. The live video and live stats on GameTracker can both be found at BucknellBison.com.
