Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Colgate
Bucknell Volleyball Takes Four-Set Loss at Colgate
10/30/2010 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 30, 2010
HAMILTON, N.Y. - Heidi Kamp (Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) led the Bison in kills and blocks, but the senior's effort could not keep Bucknell volleyball from dropping a second consecutive match for the first time since September as the squad fell 3-1 (17-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-18) to Colgate at Cotterell Court on Saturday. The evening's outcome gives the teams a piece of third place in the Patriot League standings as both teams are now 6-4.
The Bison, which now has an overall record of 8-14, looked as if they were going to get a repeat of the teams' first meeting when Bucknell pulled out a five-set victory. The Orange and Blue won the opening set behind four kills and four blocks from Kamp. Play was close in the early points, but Ragin Jackson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) recorded back-to-back kills to take the lead for good at 7-6.
Kamp later added two kills and a block with Kebah Edoho (Odenton, Md./Arundel) on consecutive points to put Bucknell up by six, its biggest advantage at that time. The point spread hovered around six points for the remainder of the set until Kamp's block solo gave the Bison service control. Rachel Rodriguez (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) served out the match, and Katie Baumgarten (South Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena) closed it out with a kill for the 25-17 win.
Although she did not posted the biggest numbers in the frame, Baumgarten chipped in a little bit of everything in the set. The junior tallied a kill, a service ace and two blocks in the first.
The next two sets played out much differently as the Raiders jumped in front before the Bison could fully react. Colgate put four points on the board before a kill by Kamp made a dent in the score for Bucknell in the second set. Kat Tauscher (Washington, D.C./National Cathedral) brought the Bison to within two points at 6-4 with an ace, but momentum was never in their favor. The Raiders ultimately took their biggest lead of the night on the final point when back-to-back Bucknell attack errors ended the second frame 25-15.
Bucknell tried to keep Colgate within striking distance despite falling behind early in the third set as well. Three times the Orange and Blue succeeded in drawing to within a single point, but they were never able to clear the final hurdle. Recording just eight kills and posting a disappointing .033 hitting percentage, the Bison fell 25-17.
Colgate needed just one more set to go in their favor to claim their second consecutive match victory, but Bucknell did its best to spoil their plans. The fourth frame saw 11 ties and seven lead changes with most of the ups and downs coming in the first half of play. Kristen Titley (Coral Gables, Fla./Palmer Trinity School) tallied kills for three of her team's first 10 points. The last one put Bucknell ahead 10-9 and forced Colgate into a timeout.
Logan Keala responded out of the stoppage in play with two consecutive kills for the Raiders, but the back-and-forth continued. Colgate finally got the run it was looking for at the last minute, ending the match on a 10-3 streak that included three more kills from Keala and two from Lindsay Young. At the end of the night, those two Raiders had claimed 32 of their team's 55 kills.
Kamp finished the night with 12 kills and six blocks. Rodriguez and Tauscher both reached double digits in assists with 19 and 10, respectively.
Tied for third in the Patriot League, Bucknell and Colgate trail American, which clinched a berth in the league tournament with its perfect 10-0 record, and Army at 9-1. With four matches remaining in the regular season, the Bison will have stay in the top four to qualify for the postseason.
Next up for Bucknell are Lehigh and Lafayette. The Bison will host the Mountain Hawks on Friday, Nov. 5. The 7 p.m. match will air live on Bison Vision at BucknellBison.com. The Leopards will then come to Davis Gym the following night for a 5 p.m. contest.
