Volleyball Hosts Holy Cross Saturday, Defending PL Champion Colgate Sunday

Setting the Scene, Part I
Who: Bucknell (9-2, 2-0 PL) vs. Holy Cross (2-11, 0-2 PL)
When: Saturday, Sept. 24 at 4 p.m.
Where: Davis Gym – Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Setting the Scene, Part II
Who: Bucknell (9-2, 2-0 PL) vs. Colgate (9-3, 2-0 PL)
When: Sunday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m.
Where: Davis Gym – Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Go4theGoal/Lace Up 4 Cancer – The Bison will be wearing gold shoelaces during Saturday's match in support of the Go4theGoal Foundation, which helps raise funds and awareness for kids and families battling pediatric cancer. $4 from every $5 pair of laces and 100% of all donations goes directly towards the cause, providing financial assistance, granting special wishes, developing unique hospital programs, and funding innovative research. For more information on Go4TheGoal, visit Go4theGoal.org.

About Bucknell

Bucknell enters the second weekend of its Patriot League schedule with home matches against Holy Cross on Saturday and defending league champion Colgate on Sunday. They're the third and fourth matches of a four-match homestand for the Bison, who are 5-0 in Davis Gym this season.
The Bison opened league play 2-0 for the first since 2007 with 3-0 sweeps over Lehigh and Lafayette last weekend. Bucknell, which was picked to finish eighth in the Patriot League preseason poll, is one of three teams in the league with a 2-0 record, joining Colgate and Army.
Bucknell has now swept five of its 11 opponents. It also went to five sets in one of its two losses.
Within the Patriot League, the Bison remain in the top two in a number of categories. They lead the league in opponent hitting percentage (.133) and digs per set (16.98), and they rank second in assists (11.85/S), kills (12.73/S), opponent kills (10.68/S) and opponent blocks (1.59/S). The Bison are also third in the league in hitting percentage (.217), having hit better than .200 in seven of 11 matches.
Freshman Bri Frazilus was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week for a third time in four weeks on Tuesday. The outside hitter leads the team and ranks fourth in the league with 3.59 kills per set and has been in double figures eight times. She also ranks top 10 in the league in digs and has five double-doubles on the year.
Leading the Patriot League in digs is sophomore Jordan Hardy, who averaged 22 over the two matches this past weekend. Hardy has posted 20 or more digs in seven matches, including a season-high 33 in the win over George Washington. She also has a team-high 18 service aces.
Second on the roster in kills (3.32/S) is Catherine Jamison, who posted 10 in the Lafayette victory. Jamison also ranks fifth in the league with a .314 hitting percentage.
Senior Sarina Singer put together a career match against Lehigh on Saturday, totaling 14 kills with just two errors for a .545 hitting percentage. She also added seven digs and two aces over the weekend.
Allie Lopez fits in at sixth on the Patriot League leaderboard with 0.94 blocks per set. She's posted at least two blocks in every match, including a season-high six in the opener against Bellarmine.
Bison head coach Tyler Hagstrom is in his third season with the program. He's joined by second-year assistant Jeremy Young. Hagstrom is looking to guide the Bison back to the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2010.

Scouting Holy Cross/Series History

Holy Cross, which was picked to finish last in the Patriot League preseason poll, is 2-11 overall and 0-2 in league play after dropping matches to Navy and Loyola last weekend. The Crusaders' two wins this season were over Saint Peter's and Merrimack.
Holy Cross has a team hitting percentage of .106 and is allowing an opponent hitting percentage of .238.
Leading the Crusaders with 2.4 kills per set is sophomore Abbie Lane, who has posted double-digit kills four times this season. Lane totaled 12 kills in the team's most recent match vs. Loyola. Junior Sanaea Simmons is averaging a team-best 0.5 blocks per frame.
The Crusaders are guided by fourth-year head coach Kathleen Colpoys. She's 14-67 during her time in Worcester.
Bucknell is 40-19 all-time against Holy Cross, dating back to 1986. The Bison are 22-5 when playing the Crusaders at home and have won each of the last two meetings.
The Bison won the most recent matchup 3-2, battling back from a 2-0 deficit in sets. Catherine Jamison led Bucknell with 11 kills and a .231 hitting percentage while adding two block assists. Libby Nieporte was in double figures as well with 10 kills, and Jen Sivak added nine kills with five block assists. Libero Jordan Hardy supplied 31 digs in the match.

Scouting Colgate/Series History

Colgate, which won the Patriot League championship for a sixth time in program history last year, is 9-3 overall and 2-0 in Patriot League play. The 2022 preseason favorite collected a 3-1 win over Loyola to begin the league schedule and posted a 3-0 victory over American on Saturday. Colgate's only losses were to Villanova, No. 24 USC and NC State. The Raiders' most notable decision was a 3-1 win over Tennessee on Sept. 3.
Despite its tough preseason schedule, the Raiders lead the Patriot League in hitting percentage (.236). Colgate hit .324 in its sweep over the Eagles and has hit .300 or better in two other matches this fall.
Colgate had two players earn Preseason All-Patriot League recognition, but one of them, Libby Overmyer, has not played since the NC State match on Sept. 2. Graduate student Julia Kurowski is a two-time Patriot League Setter of the Year and earned the preseason honor this fall. Kurowski is averaging 5.54 assists per set.
In Overmyer's absence, sophomore Abby Shadwick leads the team with 2.88 kills per set and is hitting .251 for the season. Senior middle blocker Sophie Thompson ranks seventh in the league in blocks per set (0.88), and junior libero Taylor Cigna is averaging 3.64 digs per set.
Colgate head coach Ryan Baker is in year 17 with the Raiders. He possesses a 266-195 overall record and has guided the team to two league titles.
Bucknell trails 23-46 in the all-time series with Colgate, dating back to 1984. The Bison are seeking their first win over the Raiders since 2017. Colgate won 3-0 in Lewisburg in 2021 and 3-1 in Hamilton.
The Bison hit .234 in the most recent match, including percentages of .333 and .355 in the third and fourth sets. Three Bison posted double-digit kills, including 13 from Catherine Jamison with a .450 hitting percentage.

Up Next
The Bison play their next three on the road, beginning with a match against Loyola in Baltimore, Md. on Friday. Sept. 30.

Volleyball Hosts Holy Cross Saturday, Defending PL Champion Colgate Sunday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bri Frazilus

Jordan Hardy

Catherine Jamison

Allie Lopez

Libby Nieporte

Sarina Singer

Jen Sivak

Volleyball Hosts Holy Cross Saturday, Defending PL Champion Colgate Sunday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bri Frazilus

Jordan Hardy

Catherine Jamison

Allie Lopez

Libby Nieporte

Sarina Singer

Jen Sivak

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