Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Volleyball Looks to Maintain Position in Patriot League with Saturday Match at Colgate
10/29/2010 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 29, 2010
Live Match Coverage at GoColgateRaiders.com
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell volleyball will take on its final road test of the regular season this Saturday when it travels to Hamilton, N.Y., for a 4 p.m. contest with Colgate. The Bison (8-13, 6-3), which enter the weekend in third place and just one spot ahead of Colgate in the Patriot League standings, are looking for their second straight victory over the Raiders after a thrilling five-setter in Davis Gym earlier this month.
ABOUT THE BISON
- Bucknell split its two matches last weekend, defeating Navy, 3-1, and falling at American, 3-0. Kristen Titley (Coral Gables, Fla./Palmer Trinity School) put together the performance of her young career against the Midshipmen, totaling a personal-best 19 kills and 14 digs in the four-set match.
- Titley's 19 kills was the third-highest total by a Bison this season, trailing only Heidi Kamp's (Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) 22 kills against Colgate and 21 against Navy in September. The outing was also a major boost to the freshman's Patriot League numbers. Entering the match, Titley had just 15 kills and 17 digs in her previous five league contests.
- With a victory at Colgate, Bucknell will end its regular season with a winning record in true away matches. The Bison are 5-5 on the road. They will also have ample opportunity to move their home record to better than .500 when they play in Davis Gym for the final bouts of the regular season. Bucknell will put its 3-3 home mark on the line when it hosts Lehigh, Lafayette, Holy Cross and Army in November.
- With five regular-season matches remaining, the Bison find themselves in third place in the Patriot League standings. They trail No. 1 American, which remains undefeated at 9-0 and No. 2 Army at 8-1. Colgate is fourth with a league record of 5-4.
- Kamp took over sole possession of fourth place on Bucknell's career total blocks record list after the team's match at American. The senior co-captain now has 305 rejections in her career, placing her 24 behind third-place Jennie Smith. Kamp is also chasing Smith in career block assists. Smith is currently second with 284, while Kamp is third with 264.
- Kat Tauscher (Washington, D.C./National Cathedral) has been making the most of her increased playing time this fall. Tauscher's 251 assists this year is the most by a Bison sophomore since Shannon Pitsch recorded a school-record 1,199 in 2006.
- Tauscher is looking to become the fifth member of the team to reach 100 digs this year, having registered 91 in the first 21 matches. She will join Leylin Marroquin (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) (207 digs), Rachel Rodriguez (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) (136), Emily Sawanobori (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) (127) and Katie Baumgarten (South Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena) (112) on the list.
- The longer a match goes, the hotter the Bison seem to get. Bucknell is 6-3 in contests that last four sets or more, including a perfect 4-0 in five-setters. The team is just 2-10 in three-set matches, however, with those two wins coming on back-to-back nights over Lehigh and Lafayette.
- Ragin Jackson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) has moved up the ranks in the Patriot League over the last few matches. The sophomore is now second in total blocks (1.06/set) and third in attack percentage (.323) against league opponents.
- Ten of Jackson's blocks during Patriot League action have been of the solo variety. As a team, Bucknell has 16 block solos.
- Bucknell is 23-25 all-time against Colgate. The Bison defeated the Raiders 3-2 (25-17, 29-27, 23-25, 18-25, 15-10) on Oct. 8 with the help of some big-time performances from several players. Rodriguez, Baumgarten and Kyleigh McAhren (Napa, Calif./Justin Siena) each finished with double-doubles. Rodriguez also went on to earn her first-ever Patriot League Player of the Week and Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week honors after contributing a career-high 43 assists and 15 digs.
- The Bison set several season-high marks in the last meeting with the Raiders. As a team, they totaled 71 kills, 67 assists and 89 digs, more than in any other single match this season. Rodriguez' 43 assists, Marroquin's 22 digs, Jackson's seven blocks and Kamp's 22 kills were also the best marks posted by Bison in 2010.
ABOUT THE RAIDERS
- Colgate welcomes Bucknell with a 12-11 overall record to go with its 5-4 mark in the Patriot League. Since the two teams last met, the Raiders have defeated Holy Cross (3-1) and Navy (3-0). They have also lost to Army and American in straight sets.
- The team leaders have remained the same since the teams played in Davis Gym earlier this month. Maureen Colligan is one of three players with more than 200 kills on the year and leads with 231 (2.54/set). Kaylee Fifer has put the attackers in prime position for many of those kills, tallying a team-best 508 assists (5.84/set) over the course of the fall. Defensively, Devon Applegate continues to lead in digs with 340 (3.82/set), and Casey Ritt is tops in blocks with 85 (0.93/set).
- Colgate ranks second in Patriot League play in blocks (2.38/set) and third in a number of other categories, including attack percentage (.187), opponent attack percentage (.162), assists (11.06/set), kills (11.88/set) and digs (16.00/set). Of the six players who rank among the league leaders individually, Ritt is first in total blocks with a 1.21 average against league foes.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will play out its final four regular-season matches at home. The stretch kicks off with Lehigh at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5. For those who cannot make it to Davis Gym for the Bison-Mountain Hawks showdown, the match will air live on Bison Vision at BucknellBison.com.
