Volleyball Hosts Lafayette Friday for Home Opener, Visits Lehigh Sunday

Setting the Scene, Part I
Who: Bucknell (5-6, 1-1 PL) vs. Lafayette (4-6, 1-1 PL)
When: Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.
Where: Davis Gym – Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Setting the Scene, Part II
Who: Bucknell (5-6, 1-1 PL) at Lehigh (3-9, 0-2 PL)
When: Sunday, Sept. 26 at 4 p.m.
Where: Grace Hall – Bethlehem, Pa.
Live Stats: LehighSports.com

Spectator Mask Policy: Spectator masking is REQUIRED at all Bucknell indoor athletic venues for competitions, regardless of vaccination status.

About the Bison

Bucknell volleyball plays its first home match of the season when the Lafayette Leopards visit Davis Gym on Friday. The Bison then head to Bethlehem, Pa. on Sunday to face Lehigh. Bucknell is 10-6 at home over the last two seasons.
This weekend, the Bucknell team will be wearing gold shoelaces in recognition of Lace Up 4 Cancer/Go4theGoal and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
The Bison opened Patriot League play last weekend with matches at Army and Holy Cross. Bucknell fell 3-0 to the Black Knights on Friday before defeating the Crusaders in four sets on Saturday, breaking a three-match losing skid. The Bison have now started Patriot League play 1-1 in three consecutive seasons. They currently sit fourth in the Patriot League standings.
Catherine Jamison led the Bison with 29 kills over the two matches last weekend and now sits atop the roster and fourth in the Patriot League with 105 on the season (3.18/S). Jamison also sits fourth in the league with her .302 hitting percentage. She's been above .300 in five matches this season, including a .429 mark in the win over the Crusaders on Saturday.
First-year middle blocker Jen Sivak is right behind Jamison at fifth in the Patriot League with a .297 hitting percentage. She's posted marks of .538, .333 and .250 over the last three matches while playing in every set over that stretch. Sivak also leads the team and is eighth in the league with her 0.95 blocks per set.
Rookie libero Jordan Hardy is fifth in the Patriot League in digs per set (3.68). She's been in double figures in the category in all but two matches and matched a season-best with 19 in the latest match. Hardy is one of two Bison to play all 40 sets this season.
Also appearing in all 40 sets and ranking fifth in assists (8.70/S) is setter Sarah Ramirez. The sophomore has posted four double-doubles this season with double-digit digs in four matches as well.
As a team, Bucknell ranks third among Patriot League teams in opponent hitting percentage (.188). The Bison have held three teams to under a .100 hitting percentage this season, including Holy Cross on Saturday. They're also third in digs per set (14.95).
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. He holds a 6-9 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 Lafayette/Series History

Lafayette enters the weekend 4-6 (1-1 PL). The Leopards went 3-5 in non-league play and went 1-1 against their Patriot League opponents last weekend. They fell 3-0 to Colgate on Saturday before picking up a 3-0 win against Holy Cross on Sunday. Holy Cross is the only common opponent between Bucknell and Lafayette to this point.
Five of the Leopards' matches have been decided in three sets, including each of the last three. They've gone to five sets twice this season.
The Leopards were picked eighth in the Patriot League preseason poll after finishing 2-5 during the shortened spring season. Both of Lafayette's wins in the spring were against Lehigh. Before that, Lafayette went 13-19 and 2-14 in the conference in the 2019 fall season.
Senior outside hitter Leanna Deegan was named to the 2021 Preseason All-Patriot League Team and currently leads the Patriot League with 5.65 kills per set. She was an honorable mention for a Patriot League weekly award this week after totaling 46 kills in three matches over the weekend, and she earned PL Player of the Week back on Sept. 14.
Sophomore setter Alyssa Vitale ranks first in the Patriot League in assists, supplying 10.65 per set. Fellow sophomore Gracie Gibson is third in the league in hitting percentage (.328).
The Lafayette team is second in the Patriot League in hitting percentage (.192), assists (12.06/S) and kills (13.03/S).
Lafayette is led by head coach Ryan Adams, who spent three years as an assistant for the Bison during the 2014, 2015 and 2018 seasons. Adams has compiled a 19-30 overall record and a 5-20 mark in Patriot League play since taking over.
Friday's match will be the 71^st all-time meeting between the Bison and the Leopards. The two-teams last met in 2019, splitting two matchups where each ended in a 3-1 final. Bucknell has won 11 of the last 13, but the Leopards took the most recent match.

Scouting Lehigh/Series History

Lehigh is 3-9 (0-2 PL), falling to Colgate and Army last weekend in Patriot League play. The team's three wins are over St. Francis Brooklyn, Binghamton and Penn. Bucknell also collected a win over St. Francis Brooklyn but suffered a 3-0 loss to the Penn Quakers.
The Mountain Hawks were picked seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll. They went 3-6 in the spring and 14-17 (7-9 PL) during the 2019 season.
Lehigh's Sabrina Lancaster and Megan Schulte both rank among the top six kills leaders in the Patriot League this season. Lancaster, a fifth-year senior, was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection last season. Schulte, a freshman this season, ranks fifth in the league with 3.14 kills per set.
Sophomore middle blocker Sophia Meagher currently ranks third in the conference with 1.14 blocks per set. She's posted seven total blocks twice this season, including the Penn match on Sept. 14.
The Mountain Hawks sport the Patriot League's best hitting percentage at .193. They're also tied for first in blocks per set (2.27).
Lehigh is led by fourth-year head coach Alexa Keckler, who owns a 40-40 overall record and a 19-24 Patriot League record.
Bucknell is 28-53 all-time against the Mountain Hawks, dating back to 1978. Lehigh has won each of the last six meetings, including two wins in the spring. Bucknell's last win over Lehigh was at home in 2017.

Up Next
Bucknell hosts Navy and American at Davis Gym next weekend. The Bison take on the Midshipmen at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, and then play the Eagles on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. American has won six of the last eight Patriot League Championships, and Navy claimed the title in 2018.