Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball Opens 2009 Season at St. Francis (N.Y.)
8/26/2009 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell volleyball's 2009 season is officially underway, and the Bison will kick off their competition schedule Friday, Aug. 28 at the St. Francis (N.Y.) Invitational in New York, N.Y. Bucknell will take on St. Peter's at 5 p.m. on Friday, then continue play on Saturday, Aug. 29 with an 11 a.m. match against the host St. Francis and a 1 p.m. match opposite NJIT.
Bucknell, which was picked fourth in the Patriot League preseason poll, has a perfect 9-0 all-time record against St. Peter's. The two teams last met in 1995 when they played at each other's home invitational. The Bison took the first match 3-0 in Davis Gym before defeating the Peahens 3-1 in Jersey City, N.J.
Bucknell is also undefeated against St. Francis, having a 12-0 all-time record against the Terriers. Bucknell defeated St. Francis last season in straight sets (25-18, 25-16, 25-10) in Lewisburg. Kyleigh McAhren (Napa, Calif./Justin-Siena) led the Bison with 12 kills in that match.
The contest with NJIT will be a first for Bucknell.
The early-season tournament marks the first of four for the Bison, who are looking to build off last year's success. After a one-year hiatus from the Patriot League Tournament in 2007, Bucknell reclaimed a spot among the league's top four teams last season, showing off the power of a youthful team. The bulk of that squad returns in 2009 with an added year of experience, a taste for the championship and a support group of talented newcomers. With that combination, the Bison are poised for their 18th trip to the Patriot League's year-ending tournament and are gunning for another title.
"Our expectation is nothing less than competing for a championship this year," said Cindy Opalski, who begins her 20th season as the head coach for Bucknell. "It's one thing to say you want to compete for a championship. It's another thing to get in the gym everyday and have that determination, persistence and work ethic to really compete for a championship. I see good signs of that in the preseason."
Bucknell certainly has the tools to compete in the newest campaign. Despite graduating the school's all-time assists leader in Shannon Pitsch, the team has some solid replacements in Allison Gittings (Dayton, Md./Glenelg), a senior co-captain, and junior Rachel Rodriguez (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit).
"We have really great experience and talent in our setters group. Allison and Rachel are in really good physical condition," Opalski explained. "They've worked hard over the summer, and they're very focused. They know that the more consistent they are, the better our hitting percentage is going to be. I'm really pleased right now with where they are developmentally and their potential to improve."
At the net, the Bison return the core of their attack. Junior Kaitlin Segal (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Harvard-Westlake), who led the team in kills and was named Second Team All-Patriot League last year, will be joined by sophomore Katie Baumgarten (South Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena) and junior Heidi Kamp (Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon), the team's leader in blocks and hitting percentage in 2008. The trio is expected to bring a renewed sense of intensity to Davis Gym.
"Kaitlin, who has been our most consistent player, has come back in really strong physical condition, and I think both she and Katie are much more mature and mentally tougher," Opalski said of the outside hitters. "Heidi Kamp has really become much more aggressive and determined on the front line."
Opalski also anticipates McAhren and Anne Ellenberger (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon Honors) to team up to create a formidable duo on the front line. Expect McAhren to switch from middle hitter, a position she occupied through much of her freshman campaign, to the more natural right and left sides. Both she and Ellenberger finished their first season in the Orange and Blue among the team's top three in total blocks.
"With the people we have acquired in this year's recruiting class, we're going to move Kyleigh to a position where she can be much more effective. Along with Anne Ellenberger, both have their strengths. Anne can be a dominant force at the net because of her height, and Kyleigh is a really smart hitter."
At libero, the Bison have a trio of sophomores in Emily Sawanobori (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills), Lindsay Regruto (Atlanta, Ga./Marist School) and Kelsey Guardia (Upland, Calif./Vivian Webb School), providing a wealth of options at the position.
"Defensively, I think Emily, especially, is very determined to earn a starting spot, and we hope that both Lindsay and Kelsey will give us the depth and consistency in that position we'll need to be successful."
Rounding out the crew of returning players is senior co-captain Lindsay Smith (Boulder, Colo./Lafayette). The right side/middle hitter is coming off shoulder surgery last winter, but the Bison will rely on much more than just Smith's arm to move them toward success.
"Someone who has been really supportive and a really good stabilizer for us has been Lindsay Smith. Beyond her volleyball, her leadership and motivational skills have really been evident this preseason."
Bucknell's roster is completed with six freshmen who bring their own success from high school and club competition. The incoming class, made up of Kebah Edoho (Odenton, Md./Arundel), Arden Fuller (Matthews, N.C./Weddington), Ragin Jackson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson), Jackie Landes (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Wildwood School), Kelsey Sauer (Pleasant View, Tenn./Goodpasture Christian School) and Kat Tauscher (Washington, D.C./National Cathedral School), boasts a number of all-district selections as well as academic honors. Upon announcing the newest Bison, Opalski identified them as one of Bucknell volleyball's strongest recruiting classes both on and off the court.
"The good news is this entire freshman class has had experience on the national level playing in club tournaments, and has played against some of the best volleyball players in their age group in the country," Opalski said of the newcomers. "I'm pleasantly surprised with the talent and the determination in this freshman class. In our competitive scrimmages, they're really extending and pushing the upperclassmen. There are a lot of good things happening."
The Bison will aim for consistent contributions all the way down the bench as they go for their first league title since 2000. To get there, they will have to face the usual league foes. Following a series of early-season tournaments that includes the Bucknell Invitational Sept. 18-19, Bucknell will open its Patriot League schedule with a home contest against Army, which placed second in the league a year ago. The team will also have to get through the perennial favorite American, which comes to Lewisburg in the final regular-season match on Nov.14. The schedule culminates Nov. 20-21 with the Patriot League Tournament to be held at the site of the highest seed. Bucknell hopes that site will be Davis Gym.
"Making it to the final four (of the Patriot League last year) with such a young team gave us a taste of what it's like to play for a championship. And I believe that our vision is one of sitting in our locker room having the pregame talk at the conference championship, not taking a bus ride anywhere."
