Bucknell University
Navy
Kamp Powers Bucknell Volleyball Past Navy in Five-Set Victory
9/25/2010 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 25, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell volleyball battled through a topsy-turvy match with Navy and ultimately came out on top for its first Patriot League victory of the season with a 3-2 score (23-25, 25-10, 15-25, 25-19, 17-15) at Davis Gym on Saturday night. Heidi Kamp (Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) led all players with a career-best 21 kills as the Bison improved their record to 3-11 overall and 1-1 in the Patriot League.
Momentum swung wildly throughout the night, and neither team was able to string together back-to-back set victories until Bucknell accomplished the feat in the fourth and fifth frames. A 25-15 win for Navy in the third gave the Midshipmen (4-12, 0-2) a slight push in the next set as they jumped ahead 4-1. Bucknell answered with five straight points, however, including three consecutive service aces from Emily Sawanobori (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills). That gave the Bison a two-point lead that, although the Mids threatened late in the set, the home team never fully gave up.
Navy chipped away at Bucknell's advantage and eventually tied the fourth set at 17 all. Kebah Edoho (Odenton, Md./Arundel) put a stop to the threat with kills on three of the next four points. That kick-started a Bucknell run for nine of the final 11 points, and Bucknell tied the match at two sets apiece.
The Bison came off the bench in the fifth fired up for their first league victory, but the Mids never let things get out of hand. Bucknell managed the largest lead by either team at a mere two points, and the set was tied on nine occasions. Each time Navy tried to make a move, Bucknell responded, often with a kill from Kamp, who tallied five in the deciding frame.
The Mids were able to give the Bison a scare late when they finally took their first lead of the set at 14-13. Katie Baumgarten (South Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena) erased Navy's match point, but Veronica Ffrench gave her team a second look with a kill on the next point. Ffrench's luck ran out after that, however, as she committed a service error for 15-15. Baumgarten and Kamp closed out the match, teaming up for a block assist for 16-15. Baumgarten then registered her eighth kill of the night for the win at 17-15.
As close as the final stanza was, Bucknell's win in the second set was the complete opposite. After a Navy kill set the score at 9-6, Bucknell rattled off 12 straight points with Baumgarten at the service line. Included in the offensive was four kills from Kamp and three more from Morgan Clark (Purcellville, Va./Loudoun Valley). Bucknell's lead ballooned out to 20-6, and Navy was unable to cover so much ground, falling 25-10 in the most lopsided set of the match.
Bucknell hit .310 in the second set, its best attack percentage of the night. The Bison also had a match-best 12 kills in the frame.
Navy had its share of close and lopsided wins as well. The Mids overcame a seven-point deficit in the first set to take a narrow victory in the end. Navy whittled away at Bucknell's lead through much of play. Ragin Jackson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) and Anne Ellenberger (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon Honors) registered a block assist for 22-18 before the Mids answered with a 7-1 run. That streak took the score from the Bison's four-point lead to a 25-23 final in favor of Navy.
After their 25-10 decision in the second set, the Bison struggled to gain any advantage in the third. Edoho tallied a kill for 3-2, giving Bucknell its only lead of the frame. Although Bucknell would tie the set five times, the last coming at 9 all, Navy controlled play. Errors on the front line also doomed the Bison, and the Mids took a 25-15 win with the 10-point differential being the biggest to favor Navy that night.
Even with Bucknell's slow offense in the third, Kamp tallied four kills. The senior ultimately totaled 21, passing her previous career high of 17 set last season against Lafayette. Kamp also had four blocks, but was bettered defensively by Edoho who posted a career high of her own with six blocks. Rachel Rodriguez (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) led all players with 26 assists. She and Sawanobori each tallied four aces as well. Leylin Marroquin (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) led Bucknell with 15 digs.
Navy put two players in double figures for kills, led by Nicole Salmon with 15. Ffrench also finished with 11. Erin Fortner and Jenny Rudewicz combined for 43 of Navy's 48 assists, while Rudewicz led with 17 digs.
Bucknell will return to the courts on Friday, Oct. 1 when it travels to Lafayette. Match time in Easton, Pa., is set for 7 p.m.
