Friday, September 17
West Point, N.Y.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
Army
Volleyball Opens Patriot League Play with Matches at Army and Holy Cross
9/14/2021 2:54:00 PM | Volleyball
Setting the Scene, Part I
Who: Bucknell (4-5, 0-0 PL) at Army (6-3, 0-0 PL)
When: Friday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.
Where: Gillis Field House – West Point, N.Y.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoArmyWestPoint.com
Setting the Scene, Part II
Who: Bucknell (4-5, 0-0 PL) at Holy Cross (1-10, 0-0 PL)
When: Saturday, Sept. 18 at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Blaney Gymnasium – Worcester, Mass.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoHolyCross.com
About the Bison
- The Bison open Patriot League play this weekend and will face two rivals they haven't seen since fall 2019. Bucknell plays at the reigning Patriot League champions, Army, on Friday, Sept. 17 and at Holy Cross on Saturday, Sept. 18. The Bison have had their struggles against league opponents in recent years, but this will be the first full Patriot League season under second-year head coach Tyler Hagstrom.
- Bucknell has been below .500 in league play since going 8-8 in 2017. Bucknell collected a program-best 11 wins in league play in 2003 and earned first-place finishes in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2000. Bucknell was picked at the bottom of this year's Patriot League preseason poll.
- Bucknell enters 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 this past weekend. Bucknell has played two five-setters and has one 3-0 sweep this season.
- The Bison have posted hitting percentages above .260 in three of their four victories, including a season-best .274 in the opener. Four Bison are hitting .239 or better, and sophomore Catherine Jamison is fourth in the Patriot League at .275 (minimum 3.0 total attempts/set).
- Jamison has been above .300 four times this season, including a .579 hitting percentage with 12 kills in the Saint Peter's win. She's led the Bison in kills four times this season and has been in double figures four times.
- Junior Lisa Zoch has also posted double-digit kills in four matches and leads the team with 80 on the season. She's also second on the team in digs with 87 (2.72/S).
- Leading the team in blocks this season is sophomore Allie Lopez (21). Lopez posted a season-high five total blocks in Friday's win over Niagara and has had three or more in four matches. As a team, Bucknell recorded a season-high 10 blocks in the Niagara match on Friday.
- Sophomore Sarah Ramirez has started each match at setter for the Bison and is fourth in the Patriot League with 8.76 assists per set. She posted 57 in the season opener, which was nine shy of tying the program record.
- All four of the Bison rookies have played major roles in the lineup this season. Libero Jordan Hardy leads the team in digs (3.55/S). Middle blocker Jen Sivak had a breakout weekend at the Cornell Invitational with six blocks and 13 kills, including eight kills and a .538 hitting percentage against Cornell. Rookies Thea Rotto and Amanda Tesserot both made starts last weekend as well.
- 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. He holds a 5-8 record with the Bison.
- 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 Army/Series History
- Army, the defending Patriot League champions, are 6-3 to begin the 2021 season. The Black Knights hosted two tournaments to open the season, going 5-1 at home. They then played at the St. John's Invitational this past weekend, picking up a win against Fordham and falling to Boston College and St. John's. Three of Army's wins have been 3-0 sweeps.
- The Black Knights were picked third in the Patriot League preseason poll after winning the championship in the spring. It was the program's fourth all-time Patriot League title. The team went 6-3 last season and defeated second-seeded Holy Cross in the semifinals before taking down top-seeded Colgate, 3-1, in the championship match. The Black Knights eventually fell to Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament.
- Sophomore middle blocker Paige Fixemer and sophomore outside hitter Allanah Cutler were both named to the 2021 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Fixemer is second on the team in kills (87) and first in blocks (33) this season, and she was named the Patriot League Player of the Week last week. Cutler has appeared in just three matches but has a .368 hitting percentage on the season.
- Army sophomore Savannah Bray leads the team in kills (2.84/S) and is second in total blocks (21).
- As a team, the Black Knights rank second in the Patriot League in hitting percentage (.189), second in opponent hitting percentage (.184) and third in kills per set (12.03).
- Army is led by head coach Alma Kovaci Lee, who in her 15 seasons has amassed a 272-139 overall record. The Black Knights have captured two league titles under her direction.
- Bucknell is 14-41 in the all-time series with Army, dating back to 1989. Bucknell's last win in the series was a 3-1 home victory in 2015. The two teams last clashed in 2019, with Army taking a 3-1 decision in Lewisburg and a 3-0 win in West Point.
Scouting Holy Cross/Series History
- Holy Cross enters the weekend 1-10 following seven consecutive losses. The team's one win was at home against Merrimack on Wednesday, Sept. 1.
- Holy Cross was picked sixth in the Patriot League preseason poll after posting a 5-6 record in the spring and earning a No. 2 seed in the Patriot League tournament for its first playoff appearance since the Patriot League moved to having a four-team field in 1996. The Crusaders fell to eventual-champion Army in the semifinals.
- Junior outside hitter Gracyn Benck currently leads the Crusaders with 114 kills (2.85/S), ranking seventh in the Patriot League. She's been in double figures in the category in four consecutive matches and sports a team-best .228 hitting percentage.
- Senior Skye Daval-Santos leads the Crusaders in digs (4.10/S), and rookie middle blocker Lauren Halverson is tied for fifth in the league with 40 blocks (1.0/S), including six block solos.
- Holy Cross head coach Kathleen Colpoys is in her third season with the team. Colpoys earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors in the spring after leading the Crusaders to their first-ever tournament appearance since the league moved to a four-team format. She possesses an 11-41 overall record and a 7-19 mark in Patriot League play.
- Bucknell is 38-19 in all-time meetings with the Crusaders, dating back to 1986. The teams split their two meetings in 2019, and the series is even at 3-3 since 2017. The Bison won 3-2 at home in 2019 before suffering a 3-0 road loss a few weeks later.
Bucknell plays its first home match of the season when Lafayette visits Davis Gym on Friday, Sept. 24. The Bison then hit the road once again to play Lehigh on Sunday, Sept. 26. The Lehigh match will be Bucknell's last on the road until Oct. 16.
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