Bucknell University
11-6,4-4Patriot
Navy
10-7,7-1Patriot
Volleyball Drops Home Match to Navy in Back-and-Forth Five-Setter
10/9/2022 5:32:00 PM | Volleyball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell volleyball team went back and forth with first-place Navy (10-1, 7-1 PL) at Davis Gym on Sunday before ultimately falling 3-2 in its third five-setter of Patriot League play. The Mids were dominant in sets one (25-11) and four (25-12), while Bucknell (11-6, 4-4 PL) cruised to an easy victory in set three (25-12). The second and fifth sets, however, were neck-and-neck and both went well beyond the standard 25 and 15 points needed to seal wins. Navy won the final set 21-19 to hand the Bison their second loss of the weekend.
Bucknell hit just .126 for the match but took advantage of 17 Navy service errors. The Mids also posted a staggering 17 total blocks and hit .216 on the day. Bucknell's highest hitting percentage (.188) was in the second set when it outlasted Navy 32-30.
Three of Bucknell's four league losses are to the top three teams in the standings, and two of those went all five sets.
Catherine Jamison posted a team-high 16 kills and was joined in double figures by Sandra Korusiewicz, who added 10 kills and nine digs. Jordan Hardy supplied a match-high 29 digs, and Allie Lopez posted three block solos, three block assists and seven kills.
Bucknell struggled out of the gates, hitting just .026 in the first while Navy hit .429. The Bison never led after Navy grabbed the first four points of the match. It was the first of three 4-0 runs by the Mids in the first as they ran away with a 25-11 win.
Bucknell fell behind in the second as well and trailed 9-3 early on, but this time the Bison responded with a 7-1 run to even things up at 10-10. Navy's 21-19 lead was the last time either team held a two-point advantage until Bucknell finished the frame on a 3-0 run to win it 32-30. The high-scoring second set featured three lead changes and 13 tie scores. Navy fought off four set-points, and the Bison evaded three.
Now THAT was a wild set. We're even at 1-1 in the match! @ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV
— Bucknell Volleyball (@Bucknell_VB) October 9, 2022
Watch: https://t.co/N5zzO2sr8f pic.twitter.com/zlCN7uW7NH
An early 9-1 run in the third gave Bucknell a sizable lead, and it ended the set with six consecutive points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Bison posted four blocks in the third and watched Navy commit four more service errors in the 25-12 win.
The Mids hit a match-high .438 in the fourth, and while never scoring more than three in a row, they were in control from start to finish as a 25-12 decision forced a fifth set.
Another back-and-forth frame, the fifth saw three lead changes and 15 tie scores. It was Bucknell on top early at 3-1 before a 4-0 run by the Mids gave them an 8-5 advantage by the time the teams swapped sides. Three straight points by the Bison gave them a 10-9 lead, and from there the two teams alternated points on every serve until Navy regained the lead at 18-17.
Tied at 19-19, Jordan Llewellyn, who led all players with 24 kills and a .413 hitting percentage, posted back-to-back kills to end the match.
Also notable for Bucknell were Sarina Singer's seven kills and 18 digs, as well as Caleigh O'Connell's team-high 28 assists with seven digs.
The Bison are back in Davis Gym on Saturday, Oct. 15 to face Army for a second time. They then travel to Lafayette on Sunday.
