Volleyball Back in Davis Gym for Matches vs. Holy Cross, Army

Setting the Scene, Part I
Who: Bucknell (5-13, 1-8 PL) vs. Holy Cross (2-18, 1-8 PL)
When: Saturday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.
Where: Davis Gym, Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Setting the Scene, Part II
Who: Bucknell (5-13, 1-8 PL) vs. Army (12-6, 6-3 PL)
When: Saturday, Oct. 23 at 4 p.m.
Where: Davis Gym, Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Pride Game

Saturday is the Bucknell volleyball team's first-ever Pride Game, presented by Athlete Ally. Athlete Ally works to end homophobia and transphobia in sport, and it activates the athletic community to exercise their leadership to champion LGBTQIA+ equality. Athlete Ally will be partnering with Fran's House and the transitional closet donation drive and will be accepting clothing donations. Donations will be provided to students looking for gender-affirming clothing.

About the Bison

Bucknell hosts Holy Cross and Army for a pair of matches at Davis Gym this weekend. The Bison earned a 3-1 win on the road at Holy Cross back on Sept. 18. They lost to Army in straight sets on Sept. 17, but sets two and three were nearly stolen by the Bison.
The Bison lost their only match last weekend, a 3-1 decision at Colgate. The Raiders cruised to a 2-0 lead in the match before Bucknell came back to win 25-21 in the third. The Bison nearly forced a fifth set, leading 14-13 in the fourth, but the Raiders held on to hand Bucknell its seventh consecutive loss.
Three Bison recorded double-digit kills in the Colgate loss, led by Catherine Jamison's 13. Jamison also posted a .450 hitting percentage for the match, and four others hit above .250. Jamison ranks eighth in the Patriot League in hitting percentage (.264) and seventh in kills per set (3.08) this season.
Setter Sarah Ramirez was above 30 assists for a 10^th time this season against Colgate and moved up a spot on the Patriot League leader board with her 8.97 assists per set this fall. The sophomore also had four blocks for a third time in the last four matches.
Leading the Bison in blocks per set this season and ranking ninth among Patriot League players is Valentina Feigl. Fellow middle blocker Allie Lopez leads the team in blocks (39), including five block solos. Additionally, rookie libero Jordan Hardy ranks sixth in the league with her 3.86 digs per set.
The Bison remain eighth in league standings, sitting just above Holy Cross and a match behind Lehigh.
Bucknell entered league play 4-5 following three non-conference tournaments. Bucknell went 2-1 in the season-opening Delaware State tournament, 1-2 at the Penn tournament, and 1-2 at the Cornell Invitational. Bucknell has played two five-setters and has one 3-0 sweep this season.
Bucknell played a truncated season in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic and went 1-3 against Patriot League opponents.
Head coach Tyler Hagstrom is in his second season with the Bison. He previously served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Princeton from 2016 to 2019.
The Bison returned 13 letterwinners and welcomed four newcomers to the roster, bringing the team total to 17. An outside hitter, a middle blocker and a pair of liberos make up the rookie class, which has seen plenty of playing time through the first three weekends of the season. Hagstrom also added two new assistants, Erin Kretzschmar and Jeremy Young, to the coaching staff.

Scouting Holy Cross/Series History

The Crusaders are 2-18 (1-8 PL) this fall. Their only wins are over Merrimack back on Sept. 1 and Lehigh on Oct. 10. Most recently, the Crusaders lost 3-0 at Navy on Saturday.
Holy Cross has two players that rank in the top 10 in Patriot League statistics. Junior Halle Carter is seventh in the league in assists (7.23/S), and senior Skye Santos-Daval is fifth in digs (4.14/S).
Junior outside hitter Gracyn Benck leads the Crusaders with 2.54 kills per set. She's been in double figures nine times this season. She combined for 22 kills while hitting .292 in matches against Navy and Lehigh two weeks ago.
Holy Cross head coach Kathleen Colpoys is in her third season and has a 12-49 (8-27 PL) record with the team. She was named Patriot League Coach of the Year last season after guiding the Crusaders to the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament.
Friday will be the 51^st all-time meeting between Bucknell and Holy Cross, with the Bison holding a 39-19 lead in the series. Bucknell holds a 10-9 edge in the series over the last 10 years and won the first matchup 3-1 this season.
The Bison posted nine total blocks in the Sept. 18 match against the Crusaders, which were their second-most of the season. Lopez finished with a team-high six block assists, and Jamison recorded 18 kills with a .400 hitting percentage. Bucknell also had three players with double-digit digs.

Scouting Army/Series History

Army, the reigning Patriot League champion, is fourth in league standings at 12-6 (6-3 PL). The Black Knights fell 3-1 to Lafayette last weekend.
Army ranks among the top three in the Patriot League in opponent hitting percentage (.169), assists (11.19/S), kills (12.33/S), blocks (2.12/S) and digs (15.75/S).
Sophomore middle blocker Paige Fixemer leads the Black Knights with her 2.97 kills per set. She's also fourth in the Patriot League in hitting percentage (.281) and tied for second in blocks with 1.06 per set. Fixemer was a Second Team All-League selection last season and earned Player of the Week honors earlier this fall.
First-year setter Diana Ethridge has twice been named the PL Rookie of the Week and ranks third in the league in assists. She posted 61 assists with 15 digs in the team's Oct. 9 five-set win over American.
Army is guided by head coach Alma Kovaci Lee, who is 278-142 in her 15 seasons.
The Black Knights lead 42-14 in the all-time series with the Bison and have won each of the last nine meetings.
The Black Knights won 3-0 in the earlier meeting this fall, but the Bison had them on the ropes in the first and third sets. Bucknell was sitting at set point during the first, 25-24, but the Black Knights scored four of the next five points to win 28-26. Bucknell also led 19-18 in set three before falling 25-21.
Libby Nieporte and Jamison each had 10 kills in the Army match, and two Bison posted double-digit digs.

Up Next
Bucknell plays four of its final five matches on the road, including trips to American and Navy next weekend. Bucknell visits the Eagles for a 7 p.m. match on Friday, Oct. 29, and then the Bison head to Annapolis, Md. to take on the Mids at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30.

Volleyball Back in Davis Gym for Matches vs. Holy Cross, Army

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Valentina Feigl

Jordan Hardy

Catherine Jamison

Allie Lopez

Libby Nieporte

Sarah Ramirez

Volleyball Back in Davis Gym for Matches vs. Holy Cross, Army

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Valentina Feigl

Jordan Hardy

Catherine Jamison

Allie Lopez

Libby Nieporte

Sarah Ramirez

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