Saturday, November 5
Lewisburg, Pa.
5 p.m.
Bucknell University
14-10,7-8Patriot
3
vs
1
Loyola
10-12,8-7Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Loyola Maryland
22
21
28
25
1
Bucknell
25
25
26
27
3
Photo by: Ben Popko
Volleyball Punches Postseason Ticket with 3-1 Senior Night Win over Loyola
11/5/2022 8:33:00 PM | Volleyball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell volleyball team is headed back to the postseason for the first time in 12 years after turning in a terrific defensive performance in a four-set win over Loyola on Senior Night in Davis Gym on Saturday evening.
Now 14-10 overall and 7-8 in the Patriot League, the Bison not only secured their first conference tournament berth since 2010, but they also locked up the No. 5 seed, setting up a rematch with fourth-seeded Loyola in the quarterfinal round on Nov. 15.
The Greyhounds fell to 10-12 overall and 8-7 in league play with one regular-season match remaining. Bucknell could still catch Loyola for fourth place in the standings with a win at third-place Navy next week coupled with a Loyola loss to second-place Army. But the Greyhounds would own the tiebreaker based on wins over both service academies after Bucknell and Loyola split their two matches and were even on set wins at four each.
"Getting back to the tournament is great for our program and was certainly a goal of ours, but we just want to be a team that competes at a high level in every match," said head coach Tyler Hagstrom. "We feel like if we can compete at a high level the results will take care of themselves.
"I was proud of the way our team responded with two wins over American and Loyola this weekend," said Hagstrom, whose squad had dropped its previous three, all on the road. "It's always special to win on Senior Night, and I thought we showed a lot of mental strength. Everyone in our league is tough, so to go 2-0 this weekend under pressure shows that we have stayed together and really grown as a team."
All four seniors had an impact on the result, with Camryn Anderson, Sandra Korusiewicz, Sarina Singer, and Lisa Zoch all rotating through in all four sets. Ultimately it was two freshmen, Tijana Kostic and Bri Frazilus, leading the way in kills with 10 and nine, respectively. Zoch added eight kills and seven digs.
Led by 24 from Laura Link, Loyola held a 49-37 edge in kills in the match, but the Bison limited the Greyhounds to a paltry .016 hitting percentage thanks in large part to 21 team blocks, by far the most this season. The previous high was 12 on two occasions, most recently one night earlier in the 3-1 win over American.
Kostic led the way with nine block assists, one shy of the school record, while Valentina Feigl added eight and Jen Sivak seven. Sivak and Feigl also had two solo blocks apiece.
Bucknell's back row also had a strong night with 84 digs to Loyola's 79. Libero Jordan Hardy once again led the way with 29 digs, giving her a Patriot League-high 544 on the season. That is the second-highest single-season total in team history, behind only Kristen Sydlowski's 612 in 2006.
Comebacks within each set were the theme of the night, with Bucknell closing out each of the first two frames with 7-1 runs. The Bison trailed 21-18 late in the opening set, but a Hardy service error gave them their first lead since 7-6. After Loyola tied it at 22-22, a kill from Zoch and a solo block by Caleigh O'Connell gave Bucknell set point, and a Greyhounds attack error ended it.
In set two, Loyola went up 20-18 before the Bison roared back in front with Laura Caro serving six points in a row. Kills from Feigl and Anderson put Bucknell in front. Caro then had a pair of service aces around a shared block by Feigl and Anderson. Loyola held off one set point, but Feigl finished it off with a kill.
It was Loyola's turn to come from behind in the third set. The Bison threatened to make it a sweep after a Feigl/Frazilus block made it 20-13. But the Greyhounds tied it up at 22-all on a block of their own. Bucknell could not convert on match points at 24-23 and 25-24, and eventually Adara Kellogg's solo block gave Loyola the 28-26 win.
Bucknell ran out to a 13-6 lead in the fourth set, but again the Greyhounds chipped away. They tied it at 16-16 on a block by Link and Kellogg and then added two more points to go in front 18-16. Bucknell turned the tables with four points in a row, again with Caro at the service line.
Both teams fought off set points, and then a Sivak/Kostic block on Link snapped a 25-all tie. Link's attack on the next point went into the antenna on the left side, and the Bison rushed the court to celebrate the playoff-clinching victory.
Bucknell wraps up the regular season next Sunday at Navy at 4 p.m., and then the Patriot League Tournament gets started two days later.
Now 14-10 overall and 7-8 in the Patriot League, the Bison not only secured their first conference tournament berth since 2010, but they also locked up the No. 5 seed, setting up a rematch with fourth-seeded Loyola in the quarterfinal round on Nov. 15.
The Greyhounds fell to 10-12 overall and 8-7 in league play with one regular-season match remaining. Bucknell could still catch Loyola for fourth place in the standings with a win at third-place Navy next week coupled with a Loyola loss to second-place Army. But the Greyhounds would own the tiebreaker based on wins over both service academies after Bucknell and Loyola split their two matches and were even on set wins at four each.
"Getting back to the tournament is great for our program and was certainly a goal of ours, but we just want to be a team that competes at a high level in every match," said head coach Tyler Hagstrom. "We feel like if we can compete at a high level the results will take care of themselves.
"I was proud of the way our team responded with two wins over American and Loyola this weekend," said Hagstrom, whose squad had dropped its previous three, all on the road. "It's always special to win on Senior Night, and I thought we showed a lot of mental strength. Everyone in our league is tough, so to go 2-0 this weekend under pressure shows that we have stayed together and really grown as a team."
For the first time since 2010, the Bison are headed back to the 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙩 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙚 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩! 🔶🔷#rayBucknell 🏐 pic.twitter.com/SvBaYc3kxd
— Bucknell Volleyball (@Bucknell_VB) November 5, 2022
All four seniors had an impact on the result, with Camryn Anderson, Sandra Korusiewicz, Sarina Singer, and Lisa Zoch all rotating through in all four sets. Ultimately it was two freshmen, Tijana Kostic and Bri Frazilus, leading the way in kills with 10 and nine, respectively. Zoch added eight kills and seven digs.
Led by 24 from Laura Link, Loyola held a 49-37 edge in kills in the match, but the Bison limited the Greyhounds to a paltry .016 hitting percentage thanks in large part to 21 team blocks, by far the most this season. The previous high was 12 on two occasions, most recently one night earlier in the 3-1 win over American.
Kostic led the way with nine block assists, one shy of the school record, while Valentina Feigl added eight and Jen Sivak seven. Sivak and Feigl also had two solo blocks apiece.
Bucknell's back row also had a strong night with 84 digs to Loyola's 79. Libero Jordan Hardy once again led the way with 29 digs, giving her a Patriot League-high 544 on the season. That is the second-highest single-season total in team history, behind only Kristen Sydlowski's 612 in 2006.
Comebacks within each set were the theme of the night, with Bucknell closing out each of the first two frames with 7-1 runs. The Bison trailed 21-18 late in the opening set, but a Hardy service error gave them their first lead since 7-6. After Loyola tied it at 22-22, a kill from Zoch and a solo block by Caleigh O'Connell gave Bucknell set point, and a Greyhounds attack error ended it.
In set two, Loyola went up 20-18 before the Bison roared back in front with Laura Caro serving six points in a row. Kills from Feigl and Anderson put Bucknell in front. Caro then had a pair of service aces around a shared block by Feigl and Anderson. Loyola held off one set point, but Feigl finished it off with a kill.
It was Loyola's turn to come from behind in the third set. The Bison threatened to make it a sweep after a Feigl/Frazilus block made it 20-13. But the Greyhounds tied it up at 22-all on a block of their own. Bucknell could not convert on match points at 24-23 and 25-24, and eventually Adara Kellogg's solo block gave Loyola the 28-26 win.
Bucknell ran out to a 13-6 lead in the fourth set, but again the Greyhounds chipped away. They tied it at 16-16 on a block by Link and Kellogg and then added two more points to go in front 18-16. Bucknell turned the tables with four points in a row, again with Caro at the service line.
Both teams fought off set points, and then a Sivak/Kostic block on Link snapped a 25-all tie. Link's attack on the next point went into the antenna on the left side, and the Bison rushed the court to celebrate the playoff-clinching victory.
Bucknell wraps up the regular season next Sunday at Navy at 4 p.m., and then the Patriot League Tournament gets started two days later.
Team Stats
Loyola
Buck
Kills
49
37
Errors
46
26
Attempts
188
153
Hitting %
.016
.072
Points
62
69
Assists
45
36
Aces
4
11
Blocks
9
21
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
9
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
10
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