Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
American
Volleyball Falls to Patriot League Unbeaten American 3-1
11/1/2014 9:01:00 PM | Volleyball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell volleyball team put a brief scare into Patriot League unbeaten American on Saturday, but came up short in a 3-1 loss at Davis Gym. The Eagles prevailed by final scores of 25-18, 22-25, 26-24 and 25-13.
American, which improved to 20-5 overall and a perfect 11-0 in the conference, hadn't lost a set in six straight matches against Patriot League opponents. The Bison (4-17, 3-10 PL) ended the Eagles' 20-set winning streak, which dated back to a 3-2 win at Army on Oct. 5, with their victory in the second set.
Bucknell nearly took a 2-1 lead in the match as the two teams battled through a tight third set. American led by as much as five, but the Bison fought back to tie the match at 25-25 with a kill by freshman Hailey Stout that was assisted by fellow freshman Luz Nagle. An attack error and an ace by Megan Rosburg gave the set to the Eagles.
The Bison's Kristen Parks continued her outstanding defensive play this season, leading all players with 28 digs. Nagle recorded a career-high 40 assists and added six digs, while junior Karen Campbell and Stout tallied 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Campbell posted a .407 hitting percentage.
“This was a good performance by our young team,” Bucknell head coach Anna Allison said. “We are missing a piece here and there, but Luz had a great match and Kristen was great again running our defense. They are the number one team in our conference and we played tough. We are just going to get better from here.”
Both teams put up solid defensive numbers as American finished with 13 blocks and Bucknell registered 11. Erin Swartz had one solo and five block assists for the Eagles. The Bison were paced by Campbell with six block assists and sophomore Erika Eastley with five block assists.
Setter Monika Smidova came through with a triple-double for the Eagles, contributing a stat line of 41 assists, 15 digs and 11 kills. Her 11 kills came with a .600 hitting percentage. Allison Cappelino led all players with 18 kills.
The Bison will play one Patriot League match on the road and one at home next weekend. They will travel to play at Lafayette on Friday and will host second-place Lehigh on Saturday.
