Friday, September 3
Philadelphia, Pa.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
Penn
Volleyball Heads to Penn Invitational for Three Weekend Matches
9/2/2021 11:21:00 AM | Volleyball
Setting the Scene, Part I
Who: Bucknell (2-1, 0-0 Patriot League) at Penn (0-0, 0-0 Ivy League)
When: Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.
Where: The Palestra – Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: PennAthletics.com
Setting the Scene, Part II
Who: Bucknell (2-1, 0-0 Patriot League) vs. Canisius (0-3, 0-0 MAAC)
When: Saturday, Sept. 4 at 1 p.m.
Where: The Palestra – Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Stats: PennAthletics.com
Setting the Scene, Part III
Who: Bucknell (2-1, 0-0 Patriot League) vs. Coppin State (1-2, 0-0 MEAC)
When: Saturday, Sept. 4 at 4 p.m.
Where: The Palestra – Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Stats: PennAthletics.com
Penn Athletics Attendance Policy
About the Bison
- Bucknell heads to Philadelphia to take part in the Penn Invitational this weekend for its second non-conference tournament of the season. The Bison will face the hosting Quakers on Friday evening before challenging Canisius and Coppin State on Saturday. Bucknell is 16-8 in all-time meetings against opponents it will see this weekend.
- The Bison opened the season 2-1 at the Delaware State Invitational last weekend, earning wins against St. Francis Brooklyn and Saint Peter's while falling to the Hornets. Bucknell played a hard-fought five-setter against St. Francis Brooklyn in the opener and registered a weekend-high .274 hitting percentage. Despite losing to Delaware State in three, Bucknell battled it out in sets that went to 32-30 and 27-25 in the loss. The team then swept the Peacocks in the final match of the weekend, and three Bison posted hitting percentages of .500 or above in the most recent win.
- Putting up a dominant performance was junior outside hitter Lisa Zoch, who made the weekend's All-Tournament Team with a pair of double-doubles and a team high in kills. Zoch set a new career high with 21 kills and a .415 hitting percentage in the first match, and she totaled 34 kills and 34 digs total over the three contests. She was an honorable mention for Patriot League Player of the Week.
- Another Patriot League honorable mention and All-Tournament Team member was rookie libero Jordan Hardy. Hardy shined in her collegiate debut with 19 digs and was in double figures in each match, totaling 44 for the weekend. She also accounted for five service aces and four assists.
- Sophomores Valentina Feigl and Allie Lopez each totaled five blocks over the weekend, including three block solos for Lopez.
- Sophomore Catherine Jamison was second on the team in kills over the weekend with 30 and maintained an impressive .393 hitting percentage. The outside hitter posted a career-high 16 kills in the win over St. Francis Brooklyn. Sophomore setter Sarah Ramirez averaged 10.8 assists per set over the weekend with a career-high 57 in Friday's win.
- Bucknell went with a host of young players in the lineup over the weekend, with Zoch being the only upperclassman to start. Four sophomores and a pair of rookies saw most of the playing time for the Orange & Blue.
- Bucknell played a truncated season in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic and went 1-3 against Patriot League opponents. The Bison collected a 3-2 victory over American in the second match, topping the Eagles for the first time since 1996.
- 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 2-4 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. Hagstrom also added two new assistants, Erin Kretzschmar and Jeremy Young, to the coaching staff.
Scouting Penn/Series History
- Bucknell will be the first opponent the Quakers face this season as they open their 2021 campaign on Friday. Penn and the entire Ivy League went without competition last season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Friday will be the team's first match since fall 2019.
- The Quakers went 11-10 overall in 2019, including a 4-8 conference record. The team was picked eighth in this fall's Ivy League preseason poll.
- 10 members of the 2019 roster are back for the 2021 season. Junior outside hitter Autumn Leak was second on the team in kills (200) in 2019 and fourth in blocks (32). She was a one-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week selection in 2019. Returning senior Margaret Planek was third in kills (187), second in service aces (20) and third in digs (146).
- The Quakers are led by head coach Meredith Schamun, who is in her first season after being hired in March 2020. She previously served as an assistant coach at Villanova for two seasons.
- Bucknell is 1-4 in all-time meetings with Penn, dating back to 1998. Bucknell's only win over the Quakers came during the first-ever meeting, a 3-1 victory at the Yale Women's Volleyball Classic. The two teams last met in 2008 at the Villanova Invitational. The Quakers claimed a 3-0 win.
- Bucknell head coach Tyler Hagstrom was 8-0 against the Quakers while serving as an assistant at fellow Ivy League institution Princeton.
Scouting Canisius/Series History
- Canisius opened its season last weekend at Michigan State's Spartan Invitational, falling to 0-3 with losses to Wright State, Michigan State and Western Michigan. The Golden Griffins were swept in all three matches.
- Canisius reached the MAAC Championship during the spring 2021 season, falling to Rider in the title match and finishing with a 9-4 (7-3 MAAC) record. The team was picked third in this year's conference preseason poll.
- Receiving Preseason All-MAAC honors was junior outside hitter Ella Loussia. Loussia also earned All-MAAC honors following the spring season after leading the Golden Griffins in kills (154). She's also led the team with 17 kills through the first three matches of this year.
- Leading Canisius in digs this season is third-year libero Bree Long. Long was the MAAC's digs leader in the spring, averaging 5.57 per set. Additionally, rookie middle blocker Emma Mans was named to the All-Tournament Team at Michigan State, totaling six block assists.
- Canisius is led by head coach Shannon Thompson. Thompson is in her second season with the program.
- Bucknell is 9-4 against Canisius since first meeting in 1991. After surrendering the 2013 and 2016 matchups, Bucknell topped the Golden Griffins 3-0 on the road in the last meeting in 2017.
Scouting Coppin State/Series History
- Coppin State opened its season 1-2 at the Georgia Southern Invitational last weekend. The Eagles picked up a 3-0 win over Bethune-Cookman in the season opener before falling 3-1 to Georgia Southern and 3-0 to Presbyterian.
- The Eagles put together a strong spring 2021 campaign, finishing 11-5 overall and 9-1 in MEAC play. The Eagles won a school-record 10 consecutive matches before falling to North Caroline A&T in the MEAC Championship.
- This season, Coppin State was picked first in the MEAC preseason poll and junior libero Ashley Roman was named the conference's Preseason Player of the Year. Roman was an AVCA All-Region honoree last season, leading the conference with 338 digs and ranking 19th nationally with 5.54 digs per set. She was the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year last season.
- Senior outside hitter Miajavon Coleman led the Eagles in kills (41) through the first weekend and posted three doubles-doubles with double-digit digs in each match. She also added three blocks. Senior Jordan Celestine recorded a team-high eight total blocks.
- Coppin State is under the direction of fifth-year head coach Tim Walsh, who enters the 2021 season as the program's winningest coach. Through four seasons, Walsh's Eagles are 41-71.
- Bucknell is 6-0 in all-time meetings with Coppin State, dating back to 1995. The Bison have swept the Eagles in four of six matches, including the last meeting in 2016.
Up Next
Bucknell plays its final non-conference tournament of the regular season at Cornell next weekend. The Bison open the tournament against Niagara on Friday, Sept. 10, and then faces UNLV and Cornell on Saturday, Sept. 11.
Players Mentioned
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