Bucknell University
0-1,0-1Patriot
American
1-0,1-0Patriot
Bucknell Volleyball Falls 3-1 at American in Season Opener
3/5/2021 10:06:00 PM | Volleyball
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bucknell volleyball team kicked off the 2021 spring campaign with a back-and-forth match against the American Eagles on Friday evening, falling 3-1 (17-25, 23-25, 25-18, 22-25) against the reigning Patriot League champions. It was a valiant effort by the Bison, who led much of the way in sets and saw promise out of its young players. After falling behind 2-0 in sets, Bucknell battled its way back to force a fourth and nearly put themselves in position to play a fifth, but the Bison fall to 0-1 to begin the season.
"I thought we responded well after not playing for over a year," said head coach Tyler Hagstrom. "After the first set we settled in and we were pretty aggressive and competed, and I'm pretty happy with that fight we were able to show the rest of the match."
Bucknell was led in kills by sophomore Lisa Zoch, who totaled 14 and was followed closely by rookie Libby Nieporte's 11. Bucknell's newcomers performed admirably in their first collegiate match, with first-year middle blocker Valentina Feigl leading the team with seven block assists to go with seven kills.
The Bison also led the match in service aces (8) and blocks (12). American's Helena Elbaek posted a match-high 28 kills.
After scoring the first point of the match, Bucknell would trail throughout the remainder of the first set. The team would bounce back, however, and led most of the way in the second. The Bison held a 17-12 advantage before American used a 6-0 run to overtake the lead. The Bison tied it again at 22-all, but American scored three of the final four points to take a 2-0 advantage on the night.
Bucknell never trailed in set three, leading by as many as seven and coming out on top to extend the match. While the Bison went back-and-forth in the fourth set and held a 13-9 lead at one point, the Eagles refused to let the set get away from them. Trailing 22-21, American went on a 4-0 run to put an end to the match.
"I think in both set two and set four when it's late in the set we just need to keep playing aggressively and earn some points late, but I think we put ourselves in a good position to win both of those sets. We just need to finish," said Hagstrom.
Sophomore setter Kelsey O'Loughlin finished with a match-high 35 assists, sophomore libero Zoe Stupek posted 16 digs, and senior Anna Carroll added six kills and four block assists.
Up next, Bucknell returns to Lewisburg to host the Eagles at Davis Gym on Sunday, March 7. Sunday's match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
