Bucknell University Athletics
Volleyball Travels to Cornell Invitational
9/5/2013 6:38:00 PM | Volleyball
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell volleyball team will travel north to Ithaca, N.Y., for its second consecutive weekend tournament to start the 2013 season. The Bison will take part in the four-team Cornell Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Newman Arena. The host Big Red, Buffalo and Iona are the three opponents Bucknell will battle.
The Bison will open competition Friday at 5 p.m. against Iona, while Saturday's schedule will feature Buffalo (1:30 p.m.) and Cornell (4 p.m.). Bucknell is 5-3 all-time against Iona, 0-3 all-time against Buffalo and 1-12 opposite Cornell.
Buffalo brings a strong 3-0 record into the weekend, while Iona went 1-2 on an opening-weekend trip to California. Cornell will be opening its season this weekend.
The Bison (2-1) have won two of their first three matches for the second straight year, and third time in five years. They opened their season at last week's La Salle Invitational with wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and La Salle after dropping a five-set opener to Sacramento State.
Among the highlights on the opening weekend of play was freshman middle blocker Erika Eastley. The Torrance, Calif., native was named the Bison Athlete of the Week after registering team highs in kills (35), block assists (16) and solo blocks (6). She hit .463, including .528 in the two Bucknell victories.
Katie Price leads the Bison in digs (55) following the opening weekend of play, while Morgan Mientus ranks second on the squad in both digs (44) and kills (27). Rose Lewis and Keane Brazda are tied for the team lead with 54 assists apiece as they have split time at setter.
After two straight weekends on the road, the Bison will host the Bucknell Invitational next Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13-14. Canisius, Fairleigh Dickinson and Rider will visit Davis Gym. Six matches will be played during the course of the two-day event. Friday's Bucknell-Rider match will have a free video broadcast available via Bison Vision on the Patriot League Network.
