Bucknell University
1-1,1-1Patriot
American
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Bucknell Volleyball Takes Down American 3-2 in Home Opener Sunday Night
3/7/2021 11:09:00 PM | Volleyball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell volleyball team captured its first win of the 2021 spring season in dramatic fashion, winning 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11) over defending conference champion and perennial Patriot League power American at Davis Gym on Sunday evening. The win is the first of head coach Tyler Hagstrom's career and snaps a 48-match losing streak against the Eagles, dating back to 1996.
For the Bison, sophomore Lisa Zoch posted a career-high 19 kills with a .232 hitting percentage. She added a pair of service aces, a block assist and 17 digs in a huge performance. Also finishing with double-digit kills was Delanie Lewis. The senior posted 11 with a .259 hitting percentage and seven digs. As a team, Bucknell sported a .187 hitting percentage to American's .176.
"The thing we've been focusing on is competing every single point and not getting too far ahead or too far behind. Just focusing on each point at a time, and I think they did a really nice job tonight," said Hagstrom.
Bucknell had some shaky moments early in the first set and trailed 21-17 at one point. Then, a 7-0 Bucknell run saw momentum swiftly shift in the Bison's favor as they took a 24-21 lead. American won just one more point before Bucknell claimed the set and went up 1-0.
"I think the first set was a little bit jittery on both sides, just getting back and playing two matches in the same weekend, but I think after that we really dialed in," said Hagstrom.
It was the Bison who came out hot in the second set, building an 8-4 lead in the early stages. However, four points later the Eagles had tied it up at 8-8, and the score would teeter with five lead changes throughout the remainder of the set. With Bucknell looking to take a 2-0 lead in the match at 21-20, the Eagles responded by winning five of the final seven points to even things up at 1-1.
Again, Bucknell built an 8-2 cushion in set three and maintained a lead throughout its duration. Lewis collected five of her 11 kills during the third while maintaining a .354 hitting percentage. Leading 24-22, senior Anna Carroll posted the final kill to give Bucknell a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The Eagles had command most of set four, but Bucknell hung close and took the lead several times as the frame neared its ending. After trailing 21-19 the Bison willed their way into tying it up at 21-all, but the Eagles claimed each of the next four points to force a fifth set. It was the first time Bucknell and American had reached a fifth set since 2005.
Bucknell posted a .533 hitting percentage in the final frame, with Zoch and Lewis each over .600 and combining for five kills. American led just once in the set a 2-1, but was never far from tying. Leading 11-10, Bucknell went on a 3-0 scoring run to make it match point. The Eagles scored just once more before Lewis got the final kill and sealed the win for the Bison.
Again, Bucknell got impressive play from its rookie class with Valentina Feigl and Allie Lopez combining for 11 of Bucknell's 22 block assists and 16 kills. Sophomore libero Zoe Stupek led the team with 18 digs, and sophomore setter Kelsey O'Loughlin registered a match-high 47 assists with seven kills while maintaining a .500 hitting percentage.
"It's an interesting season. Whether its American or someone else we want to go out there and compete at the highest level we can. I felt like they did that tonight so, I'm proud of the team for coming out and competing," said Hagstrom.
Bucknell returns to play next weekend with a home-and-home series against the 2-0 Navy Midshipmen. The Bison are scheduled to host the Mids at Davis Gym on Friday, March 12 before heading to Annapolis on March 14.
