Bucknell University
Holy Cross
Bucknell Volleyball Clinches PL Tournament Berth with 3-1 Win Over Holy Cross
11/12/2010 7:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2010
Final Stats |
Senior Night Gallery 
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell volleyball clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth with a 3-1 win (25-18, 26-28, 25-12, 25-16) over Holy Cross at Davis Gym on Saturday night. Kyleigh McAhren (Napa, Calif./Justin-Siena) and Kristen Titley (Coral Gables, Fla./Palmer Trinity School) shared the match high in kills with 14 apiece, while Rachel Rodriguez (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) recorded a double-double with 37 assists and 12 digs to help the Bison improve to 10-15 overall and 8-5 in the Patriot League with one match remaining in the regular season.
Bucknell needed just one win this weekend to secure its spot in the Patriot League Tournament. With Colgate's win over Army, the Bison will be the fourth seed in the postseason and will take on No. 1 American in Washington, D.C., next weekend.
Bucknell put up one of its best offensive displays of the year to ensure a longer season. The Bison hit a season-high .319 for 62 kills in the match. Defensively, they also out-blocked the Crusaders 9.0 to 3.0 as a team and held Holy Cross to a .096 attack percentage.
The third set did wonders for the Orange and Blue's hitting. After splitting the opening frames, Bucknell did not give Holy Cross (12-20, 4-9) much of a chance, even after the Crusaders won the second set in a nail biter. The Bison hit .538 in the third, totaling 15 kills on 26 attempts with only one attack error.
Heidi Kamp (Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) helped lead the attack, as the senior tallied five kills in the set. Most of those came late in action after Bucknell had secured a comfortable lead. Holy Cross twice called a timeout, first after falling in an 8-3 hole and again at 17-9, but it never regained the momentum it had from the second set. Ragin Jackson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) gave the Bison a set point at 24-11, and McAhren closed play with her fourth kill of the set at 25-12.
Bucknell never trailed in the first, third or fourth set although the Crusaders got some looks in the opening frame. Holy Cross tied the score twice early, but the Bison eventually got the lead to an insurmountable seven points on a kill by Titley for 20-13. Holy Cross could do no better than matching Bucknell point-for-point from that moment on, and the Bison ended with a 25-18 lead.
Titley's day began with five kills in the first set, and she added another five in the second. The Bison had a more difficult time taking advantage of the freshman's production the second time around, however. That time it was Holy Cross' turn to take an early lead and not let go.
The Crusaders seemed to have everything under control until a late push by the Bison made things interesting. Jackson registered a kill, reducing Holy Cross' lead to 21-18 and starting a run that put Bucknell back within striking distance. The Bison nabbed nine of the next 13 points to earn their first set point. That last hurdle proved to be the toughest to clear, unfortunately, and Bucknell lost 28-26.
Titley's hot start began to fade as the match wore on, but her teammates were able to pick up where she left off. Kamp and McAhren combined for nine of the team's 15 kills in their impressive third set, and McAhren and Katie Baumgarten (South Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena) each finished with five more in the fourth. The juniors' firepower took the wind out of Holy Cross' sails, and much like earlier sets, the Crusaders never got a firm handle on the action. Although the recorded their best hitting percentage of the match at .273, the final frame ended quickly by a score of 25-16.
Joining Titley and McAhren in double-digit kills was Kamp. Shortly after being recognized in the pre-game Senior Night ceremony, Kamp tallied 13 kills and added four blocks, including three of the solo variety. Fellow senior Rodriguez recorded two aces, both in the first set, in addition to her fourth consecutive double-double. Leylin Marroquin (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) did her older teammate one better in the digs category, tallying 13. Baumgarten and Emily Sawanobori (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) added 10 digs apiece.
Megan Lynch posted the kills high for Holy Cross, finishing with eight. Chelsey O'Donnell added 28 assists and 10 digs.
Bucknell will be back on the court on Saturday to host Army at 5 p.m. Live stats on GameTracker will be available at BucknellBison.com.
