Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Volleyball Leads Off Patriot League Schedule with Army, Holy Cross
9/24/2009 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell volleyball will play its 900th match in program history when it hosts the Army Black Knights, its first Patriot League opponent of the season, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25 in Davis Gym. The Bison will take on their second league foe as the Holy Cross Crusaders come to town for a 5 p.m. contest on Saturday. Live stats on GameTracker will be available for both matches, while the match against the Black Knights will be broadcast live on Bison Vision at BucknellBison.com.
ABOUT THE BISON
- Bucknell volleyball will hit a major milestone when it takes on Army on Friday night. Now in their 32nd season, the Bison will play in their 900th match in program history. The team has amassed a 402-496-1 record during that span.
- The Bison welcomed Delaware State, Radford and Rutgers to Davis Gym for the 27th annual Bucknell Invitational last weekend. Bucknell defeated Delaware State 3-0 on Friday before losing to Radford 3-1 and Rutgers 3-0 on Saturday.
- Allison Gittings (Dayton, Md./Glenelg) and Ragin Jackson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) were both named to the All-Tournament Team following competition. Gittings posted 77 assists for the weekend, marking her best three-match total this year. Jackson finished with 22 kills and seven blocks.
- Jackson and Heidi Kamp (Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) have been doing their best to create a wall at the net for the Bison. Jackson leads the squad with 35 total blocks, including a team-best seven block solos. Kamp is close behind with 31. At 27 block assists this season, the junior has improved her career total to 166. That puts her 26 shy of tying for fifth all-time at Bucknell.
- Rachel Rodriguez (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) was hot from the service line over the weekend. The junior recorded seven aces, including five against Radford to set a career high.
- Kyleigh McAhren (Napa, Calif./Justin-Siena) also set a career high this weekend, earning 15 digs against Rutgers. The sophomore outside hitter also had 13 earlier in the day against Radford.
ABOUT THE BLACK KNIGHTS
- Bucknell trails in the all-time series with Army 13-20. The Bison fell 3-0 in both matches against the Black Knights last season. The last time Bucknell came away with the victory was during the 2006 Patriot League Tournament, when the Bison won 3-1 to advance to the championship game.
- Army is 12-3 this year with a pair of big wins over Pepperdine, which was ranked 19th in the country at the time, and Iowa. That 3-1 win against the Hawkeyes came last weekend at the West Point Challenge, where Army also defeated Quinnipiac (3-0), Morgan State (3-1) and Binghamton (3-2).
- The Black Knights feature five players with 100 or more kills and five more with 100-plus digs this season. Leading the pack on the attack is freshman outside hitter Ariana Mankus with 188 kills (3.55). In digs, sophomore Liberty McEntee has 183 (3.66/set) to lead the team.
- Senior setter Maureen Bannon leads the Patriot League in assists with 529 (9.62/set). These numbers are not new as she enters the weekend ranked seventh in league history with 3,662 career assists.
- Mankus has taken three of the four Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors this year, while Bannon has been named Player of the Week three times as well.
ABOUT THE CRUSADERS
- Bucknell has a convincing lead in the all-time series with Holy Cross at 26-9. The Bison were victorious in both matches in 2008, winning 3-0 the first time they met in October and 3-1 in November.
- Holy Cross' record stands at 1-12 this season with its lone win coming 3-1 over Bryant in early September. Most recently, the Crusaders were swept at the Brown Invitational, losing twice to the host Bears and once to Stony Brook.
- Freshman outside hitter Megan Lynch is tops in kills for the Crusaders after last weekend's play with 129 (2.87/set), while junior Chelsey O'Donnell is again the team's top setter with 359 assists (7.98/set). Junior Angela Chisholm is one of three Crusaders with 100 digs or more, having registered 166 (3.69).
UP NEXT After playing eight straight matches within the friendly confines of Davis Gym, the Bison will return to the road for their next Patriot League showdowns. Bucknell will take on American at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2 in Washington, D.C., followed by Navy at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 in Annapolis, Md. The Eagles will have live streaming video available on Friday.
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