Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Volleyball Preseason Practice Underway
8/14/2013 9:20:00 PM | Volleyball
Bucknell has 14 letterwinners back from last year's squad and has a freshman class of seven, giving Allison a large squad to work with as the team prepares for the season-opening La Salle Invitational Aug. 31-Sept. 1.
"Our goal early on is to get them on the same page as a team," said Allison, who is using the first few days of practice to gauge where the team is physically and technically. "We have a large team. There are seven freshmen, which is a lot of people to get to know in a short amount of time."
Practice began on Tuesday morning with fitness and conditioning and by mid-day Wednesday the squad already had three practices under its belt with one more to come in the afternoon.
"Preseason is always a challenge because we are having two, and sometimes three, practices a day and they are tired," commented Allison about getting the team ready for opening weekend. "We have to prepare them and make sure they are mentally tough enough to get over that tiredness."
As a first-year head coach, Allison has implemented a plan to push the team harder on conditioning, technique and fundamentals.
"We want them technically sound with more ball control," mentioned Allison. "We are putting a bigger emphasis on technique and playing through fatigue."
Bucknell's season opens two weeks from Friday at the La Salle Invitational. The Bison's first home match is Friday, Sept. 13, against Rider on the opening day of the Bison Invitational. Patriot League play commences the following Friday (Sept. 20) at Holy Cross, while Bucknell's first home league contest is Sept. 27 opposite Navy.
