Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy
Volleyball Pushes Navy to Thrilling Fifth-Set Tiebreaker
9/27/2014 4:26:00 PM | Volleyball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Bucknell volleyball team nearly completed a comeback at Navy on Saturday, pushing the match to a thrilling fifth-set tiebreaker before the Mids clinched the match 23-25, 25-15, 25-18, 21-25, 16-14.
“It was a great match. Both teams had their rallies and battled very hard,” Bucknell head coach Anna Allison said. “It was a very good effort from our women. We have a young offense and it will only get better.”
After falling behind two sets to one, Bucknell took the third set and put itself in position to win in the final set. The Bison went up 14-12, but Navy won four straight points to notch the victory. The Mids improved to 5-7 overall and 2-1 in the Patriot League, while the Bison dropped to 2-10 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
Bucknell's offensive attack was led by impressive and efficient performances from Erika Eastley and Kristen Gelenitis. Eastley finished with 12 kills and a .400 hitting percentage, while Gelenitis had eight kills and a superb .438 hitting percentage. Jordan Walker also reached double digits with 11 kills, while Meghan Wentzel tallied 42 assists.
The Bison entered the weekend as the top team in the conference, averaging 2.61 per set. They added 13 to their total, while only allowing six by Navy. Eastley had one solo block and seven block assists, Gelenitis tallied one solo and four block assists, and Karen Campbell contributed two solo and two block assists.
Other notable numbers for Bucknell included 27 digs by Kristen Parks and two service aces by Wentzel.
Rachel Fortner paced Navy, posting a triple-double of 11 kills, 24 assists and 23 digs. Katie Sylakowski and Shelby McCool led the team in kills with 14 and 13, respectively.
The Bison will continue conference play with a home and an away match next weekend. They travel to play Lehigh on Friday and will host Lafayette on Saturday.
