Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Volleyball Continues Preseason Tourney Schedule at Duquesne/Robert Morris Invite
8/30/2012 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 30, 2012
BUCKNELL SCHEDULE
Friday, Aug. 31 - Moon Township, Pa.
- 7 p.m.: at Robert Morris (GameTracker 
/Live Video 
)
- 7 p.m.: at Duquesne (GameTracker /Live Video )
LEWISBURG, Pa. - In-state competition and future Patriot League opponents are both on tap for Bucknell volleyball as the Bison head to the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational this weekend. The Bison will face the Colonials at 7 p.m. on Friday in Moon Township, Pa., followed by soon-to-be conference foe Loyola (Md.) (3 p.m.) and the Dukes (7 p.m.) on Saturday in Pittsburgh. Live video and stats will be available at rumucolonials.com and goduquesne.com.
BISON NOTEBOOK
- Bucknell started at 2-2 after winning the first two matches of the season in four sets against La Salle and Manhattan at last weekend's La Salle Invitational. At the end of play, Karen Campbell (Chesapeake, Va./Cape Henry Collegiate) was named to the All-Tournament Team and Kebah Edoho (Odenton, Md./Arundel) was selected as the Bison Athlete of the Week.
- Campbell tallied 21 kills and hit .232 against La Salle, Manhattan, Niagara and Loyola (Ill.) last weekend. She also led the team with 12 kills against the Jaspers and had four blocks and two aces against La Salle.
- Edoho posted some of the team's most consistent numbers over the course of the opening tournament. Starting all four matches, the senior eventually finished with a team-best 32 kills, .299 attack percentage and 13 blocks. Against Niagara, she tied her career high with 12 kills, reaching that total with a .478 attack percentage.
- Morgan Mientus (Chicago, Ill./Saint Ignatius College Prep) made a position switch in the offseason and the move has paid off so far. Since moving away from the outside hitter role, the junior is showing off her defensive skills. She finished with 74 digs in four matches at La Salle. Mientus totaled 67 digs during her freshman season and 103 last year as a sophomore.
- Mientus entered the season with a then-career high of 13 digs. She topped that in the very first match with 16 against La Salle and improved it even more to 25 against Manhattan in the very next match. At the end of the weekend, she had claimed better than 38 percent of the team's digs and more than double the total of the next closest Bison.
- Kat Tauscher (Washington, D.C./National Cathedral) surpassed the 1,000-assists mark last weekend. The senior now has 1,027 for her career. She led the team in assists with 69 at the La Salle Invite, while following close behind her was freshman Meghan Wentzel (San Anselmo, Calif./The Branson School) with 58. Wentzel also became the first Bison to record a double-double this season, finishing with 18 assists and 10 digs against Manhattan on Friday.
- Both of Bucknell's victories last week came in four sets, showing that the Bison's trend succeeding in longer matches lives on. Last season, Bucknell was 4-4 in matches that went at least four sets but only 2-13 in three-set contests. In 2010, the team's record was 7-5 in four- and five-set matches compared to 3-12 in straight sets.
- Cindy Opalski is approaching a major milestone. The head coach needs just three more victories to reach 400 for her career. Now in her 27th season as a head coach, Opalski has a career record of 397-377.
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
- Robert Morris begins its weekend with a 0-3 record after a tough opening weekend that included straight-sets losses to New Hampshire, Maryland and Villanova.
- In 2011, the Colonials finished 15-17 overall and 10-6 in the Northeast Conference. After finishing fourth in the conference standings, they lost 3-0 to Long Island in the opening round of the NEC Tournament. Nine letterwinners from that squad return in 2012.
- Bucknell is 7-5 all-time against Robert Morris. The Bison have won the last three, and five of the last seven, meetings against the Colonials, but the teams have not squared off since 2007. Bucknell is also 4-0 all-time when the match goes at least four sets.
SCOUTING DUQUESNE
- Duquesne kicks off its share of the tournament with a 3-1 record. The Dukes started with three straight wins, including decisions over New Mexico (3-0, 3-2) and Southern (3-0). The lone loss also came against New Mexico in five sets. Before facing Bucknell, Duquesne will play Providence, Norfolk State and Loyola.
- The Dukes went 19-13 overall and 8-7 in the Atlantic 10 Conference last year. They fell in straight sets to Dayton in the A10 Tournament semifinals. Nine letterwinners and four starters from that squad are back this season.
- Bucknell is 2-8 all-time against Duquesne. The last meeting, which came in 2007, ended in a 3-2 win for the Dukes and gave them a five-matching winning streak over the Bison. Both of Bucknell's victories in the series have come in four sets. Those wins were in 1985 and 1991.
SCOUTING LOYOLA (MD.)
- Loyola, which announced Wednesday that it would join the Patriot League for the 2013-14 competitive season, is currently 2-2. Like the Bison, the Greyhounds started off with back-to-back four-set wins and followed with back-to-back three-set losses. The victories came against Central Connecticut State and Saint Francis (Pa.), while the losses came at the hands of West Virginia and Towson.
- Loyola was 8-23 overall and 5-13 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference a year ago. The record placed them eighth in the MAAC standings.
- Bucknell is 5-6 in the series with Loyola. The Bison have won each of the last two, and four of the last five, matches. After playing regularly in the late 1980s and early 90s, the two teams have had limited contact. Their most recent meeting came in 2003 with Bucknell winning 3-1.
LOOKING FORWARD
The Bison will take on a handful of northeastern schools in their next tournament. Bucknell will face Cornell, Fordham and NJIT at the Rams' Rose Hill Classic Sept. 7-8. The tournament marks the final home stretch before the Bison open their home schedule with the Bucknell Invitational Sept. 14-15 at Davis Gym.
