Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Cornell
Bucknell Volleyball Has Rose Hill Classic Debut Spoiled by Cornell, 3-2
9/7/2012 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
BRONX, N.Y. - Bucknell volleyball claimed the first two sets and ultimately led Cornell in nearly every statistic, but it was the Big Red that came out with the final victory in five sets 20-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-12, 17-15 at the Rose Hill Classic on Friday night. The loss dropped the Bison to 4-4 on the year with one day remaining in the tournament. Bucknell will face Fordham (11:30 a.m.) and Stony Brook (4:30 p.m.) tomorrow.
"We let one get away from us tonight," said head coach Cindy Opalski following the match. "We came out strong in the first set. I thought we played really well. Our offensive production was really good in the first game and better in the second game. It's a tough loss when you out hit in terms of hitting percentage, you out block and you out dig the other team and you lose. It's usually reflective of not terminating enough balls, and I think that's where we were especially in the third and fourth sets, trying to put ourselves in a position not to make mistakes rather than making good things happen."
Bucknell's best numbers came in the first two sets of the day and, not surprisingly, the Bison took a 2-0 lead because of it. A .200 attack percentage in the first set improved to .500 in the second. Cornell (1-4) hit -.040 in the first, followed by a much improved .312 in the second.
Although Bucknell still put up better numbers than Cornell in the third - the Bison's attack percentage came in at .174 compared to .091 for the Big Red - Cornell started its comeback in the must-win situation.
"Cornell stepped up their game, to their credit," said Opalski. "I don't think we responded and in not responding we kind of put ourselves in a situation to play not to lose rather than to win. When you get in that situation, it spells trouble."
Cornell eventually evened the match up at two sets apiece after winning the fourth convincingly and the final frame saw neck-and-neck play with both squads battling for the ultimate victory. The fifth set saw seven ties but only one lead change.
After the Bison led 9-6, the Big Red went on a 5-0 run to pull in front. That advantage was never more than one point until the very end, however, as Bucknell went on to save two match points. An error by the Bison proved to be their undoing in the end, as Cornell took the win on a bad set with the final score standing at 17-15.
Despite seeing what it hoped would be its fifth win of the season slip away, Bucknell had reason to be happy with the match's results. Opalski was pleased with performances from veterans such as junior Morgan Mientus (Chicago, Ill./Saint Ignatius College Prep), who continued her defensive success with a match-high 16 digs. The Bison rookies were also a highlight on the evening as Claire Healy (Tiburon, Calif./Saint Ignatius College Prep) led with 11 kills and Karen Campbell added eight blocks. Meghan Wentzel (San Anselmo, Calif./The Branson School) also had 15 assists, just trailing Kat Tauscher's (Washington, D.C./National Cathedral School) 18.
"Overall I think we're still seeing great things from our freshman, especially Claire stepping up and leading us in kills tonight," said Opalski. "We had really good set selection from Meghan Wentzel and Karen's getting up on the block. We need to get her the ball a little more, but great contribution from the younger people."
As a team, Bucknell won the battle of the blocks 12-5. The Bison's final hitting percentage was .198, compared to .149 for the Big Red. The Orange and Blue also had the advantage in digs 55-44.
When Bucknell hits the court tomorrow against Fordham, live video will be available for free at fordhamsports.com. Live stats on GameTracker will also be available for both matches.
