Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Fordham
Fordham Hands Bucknell Volleyball Second Straight Loss, 3-0
9/8/2012 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
BRONX, N.Y. - A day after suffering a difficult five-set loss to Cornell, Bucknell volleyball ran up against a tough Fordham team, falling 3-0 at the Rose Hill Classic on Saturday afternoon. The Bison (4-5) struggled to regain their offensive form and the Rams took advantage to come out on top 25-15, 25-20, 25-17. Bucknell will wrap up play at the tournament this afternoon with a 4:30 p.m. matchup against Stony Brook.
After topping Cornell in hitting and kills last night, Bucknell saw a reversal of fortune against Fordham (4-8) this afternoon. The Bison finished with an attack percentage of .101 and 27 kills for the match. The Rams had more luck, registering a .347 percentage and 42 kills.
Jessica Serrato (Millbrae, Calif./Saint Ignatius College Prep) led Bucknell in kills with seven, while Kebah Edoho (Odenton, Md./Arundel) added six. Fordham's Lisa Hipp was the big winner, however, with 12 kills, making her the only player in the match to reach double digits.
Bucknell's only lead of the day came early in the second set. Back-to-back errors from Fordham gave the Bison a 2-0 advantage out of the gates, and Edoho's kill set the score at 3-2. The Rams then pulled in front and steadily grew its lead despite never scoring more than two points in a row. By the time Bucknell tallied back-to-back points, however, Fordham was up five late in the frame. Five points turned out to be the ultimate difference as well with the Rams going up two sets to none after a 25-20 decision.
While neither team put together much of a run in the second set, Fordham controlled its service game for long stretches in the first and third. In the opening set Bucknell was still in the hunt at 16-13 after a kill from Karen Campbell (Chesapeake, Va./Cape Henry Collegiate), but Hipp recorded a kill and brought Kassidy Burgess to the service line to change momentum. The Rams took six straight points on Burgess' serve for 23-15.
The third set, which opened with Bucknell falling behind 5-0, had a similar story. The Bison trailed 16-11 before an attack error put the ball back in the Rams' hands, and Fordham ran off four points on Michele Keathley's serve to go up by 10. Claire Healy (Tiburon, Calif./Saint Ignatius College Prep) did her best to slow Fordham down with her own strong serving and Serrato saved one match point with a kill, but the hole was too deep for the Bison.
On the defensive side, Morgan Mientus (Chicago, Ill./Saint Ignatius College Prep) led all players with 11 digs. In a departure from their recent success, however, the Bison were out-blocked 3-1 in the match.
Saturday's result evened the Bucknell-Fordham series at 9-9 all-time. The Rams have won five of the last six meetings with the Bison's lone win in that stretch coming last fall in five sets.
Bucknell's bout with Stony Brook is set for approximately 4:30 p.m. today. Live stats on GameTracker will be available at FordhamSports.com.
