Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball Heads to Central Connecticut State for Blue Devil Invite
9/8/2011 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 8, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. – After opening the season with a victory, Bucknell volleyball is looking to get back on the winning track as they head to New Britain, Conn., for the Blue Devil Invitational hosted by Central Connecticut State this weekend. The Bison will open play against Stony Brook at 7 p.m. on Friday before continuing against the host Blue Devils (1 p.m.) and St. Peter's (5:30 p.m.) on Saturday. Live stats will be available at ccsubluedevils.com.
ABOUT THE BISON
- The Bison went 1-2 in their opening weekend at the Bucknell Tournament, defeating Fordham in five sets before falling 3-0 to Manhattan and Dartmouth. Kristen Titley (Coral Gables, Fla./Palmer Trinity School) was named to the all-tournament team following play having racked up 29 kills (2.64/set).
- For the third time since 2008, Bucknell claimed its first victory of the season in a tough five-set battle. The Bison also defeated Tennessee-Martin in 2008 and Providence in 2010 by a score of 3-2. Bucknell is no stranger to the five-set match at time of the season, either. Of the team's 10 wins last season, four of them came 3-2.
- Bucknell snapped a four-match losing streak to Fordham last Friday. The victory also moved the Bison to 9-8 all-time in the series with the Rams.
- Several Bison recorded career highs during the opening weekend of play. Among them was Kat Tauscher (Washington, D.C./National Cathedral School), who put up a personal-best 54 assists against Fordham on Friday night. The junior's previous career high had been 22, also against Fordham in 2010. By the end of the tournament, Tauscher had 98 assists. She entered the season with 315 in her career.
- At the end of her freshman campaign, Jessica Serrato (Millbrae, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prep) had twice recorded a personal-high of three kills and had 13 total for her career. Now a sophomore, she has surpassed those numbers in a major way. Serrato finished with 15 kills against Fordham, then added 10 against Manhattan and seven more against Dartmouth. She leads the team with 32 (2.91/set) after the first weekend of play.
- Anne Ellenberger (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon Honors) and Kebah Edoho (Odenton, Md./Arundel) have made their presence known defensively. Edoho totaled 8.0 blocks, including five (3-2) against Fordham. Ellenberger went on to add a career-best nine blocks (5-4) against Manhattan and finished with 11.0 for the weekend. After three matches, Ellenberger has six solo blocks, nearly doubling her career total. Until this fall, the senior had never recorded more than four solo blocks in a single season.
- Head coach Cindy Opalski continues to climb toward her 300th Bucknell victory. With a record of 298-312 with the Orange and Blue, Opalski ranks first in program history for wins with more than 200 more than number two on the list.
- Bucknell's stop in New Britain, Conn., for the Blue Devil Invitational this weekend won't be its first. The Bison also played at Detrick Gymnasium in 2008 where they fell to Central Connecticut State, Iona and Stony Brook. The Bison are 1-3 all-time in New Britain, with the lone win coming 3-0 against the Blue Devils in 2000.
ABOUT THE SEAWOLVES
- Stony Brook enters the weekend with one win in six tries this season. The lone victory came 3-1 against Iona at the Stony Brook Holiday Inn Express Tournament last weekend.
- The Seawolves' early statistical leaders include Alicia Nelson, Kelsey Sullivan and Laura Hathaway. Nelson is tops on the squad with 102 kills (4.08/set), while Sullivan has 226 assists (9.04/set). Hathaway anchors the defense with 105 digs (4.20/set).
- In 2010, Stony Brook finished 11-18 overall and 6-6 in the America East Conference. Nelson was named first team all-conference, while Evann Slaughter was recognized as the conference's Rookie of the Year.
- Bucknell is 0-6 in series history against Stony Brook. The teams' last meeting came at the 2008 Central Connecticut State Invitational where the Seawolves took a 3-0 victory. The Bison have won six sets in six meetings with the Seawolves.
ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS
- Central Connecticut State will welcome its opponents after working its way to a 2-4 record. Both the Blue Devils' victories came in straight sets, first against Fairleigh Dickinson at the Beanpot Classic and later against North Carolina Central at the George Washington University Tournament. Bucknell will be the Blue Devils' second Patriot League opponent of the fall. Holy Cross won 3-0 over Central Connecticut State in the first match of the season.
- Danielle Gasser has put up some strong assists numbers through the opening two weekends. The senior has 185 (9.35/set) so far. Benefiting from many of those assists is Emily Cochran, who leads the Blue Devils with 59 kills (2.95/set).
- The Blue Devils' 2010 season ended with an 11-18 mark overall and an 8-8 record in the Northeast Conference. Current senior Sara DeLacey led the team offensively with 236 kills and was named Second Team All-NEC.
- Bucknell suffered its first loss to Central Connecticut State in series history in 2008, dropping their record to 3-1. Three of four meetings have been decided in straight sets – two in favor of the Bison and the latest going to the Blue Devils.
ABOUT THE PEAHENS
- St. Peter's heads to Central Connecticut State still looking for its first win of the season after falling to 0-7 with their latest loss to St. Francis (N.Y.) on Tuesday. Last weekend, the Peahens took a straight-sets loss to Lafayette as well.
- St. Peter's boasts a young squad and a first-year head coach. The 13-person roster includes 10 underclassmen and no seniors. Sophomore Paige Petersen leads the squad in kills with 61 (2.44/set), while rookie Kristina Baehr is tops in assists with 116 (7.73/set).
- The Peahens closed out the 2010 campaign with a 7-24 record, including 3-15 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
- Bucknell has never lost to St. Peter's in seven tries. The last time the teams faced off was in 2009 when Bucknell won 3-0 at the St. Francis (N.Y.) Invitational. Kyleigh McAhren (Napa, Calif./Justin-Siena) finished the match with 11 kills. The Bison hit .376 as a team, including posting two sets of .444 or better on the attack.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bison will head home for their final early-season tournament and last tune-up before the start of Patriot League play. They will host the Bucknell Invitational Sept. 16-17 at Davis Gym, going up against Coppin State at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by Stony Brook (12 p.m.) and Bowling Green (5 p.m.) on Saturday. Friday night's match will be broadcast live on Bison Vision.
