Saturday, November 2
Lewisburg, Pa.
4 p.m.
Bucknell University
19-2,11-1Patriot
3
vs
0
American
20-5,10-3Patriot
1
2
3
F
American
20
19
25
0
Bucknell
25
25
27
3
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Volleyball Ties Program Record for Most Conference Wins in First-Ever Sweep of American
11/2/2024 6:12:00 PM | Volleyball
LEWISBURG, Pa.- The highly successfully 2024 season notched another milestone for the Bucknell Bison (19-2, 11-1 Patriot League) as the team tied the program record for conference wins with 11 by beating the league powerhouse American Eagles (20-5, 10-3 Patriot League) in straight sets (25-20, 25-19, 27-25). The record was set by the 2003 team in 12 games as well. The 2023 team also won 11 games but took 15 games to do so.
The victory gave Bucknell the season sweep (2-0) and tiebreaker over American. The Orange & Blue's last six victories have come via the sweep tying the program record set back in 1997. Bucknell has 14 sweeps on the season, the most since the 1995 team collected 15. The program record is 17 set in 1983. The sweep was also Bucknell's first-ever over American.
For the second time this weekend, Bri Frazilus led the Bison in kills. The junior outside hitter collected 14 on an efficient .379 hitting percentage. Sidney Shaffer added nine kills on a great .471 percentage. Tijana Kostic supplied eight kills and nine digs. Caleigh O'Connell provided 35 assists and Jordan Hardy collected 16 digs. Bucknell hit .306 to American's .167 as the Eagles had 20 attack errors to the Bison's ten.
The first set featured seven ties and two lead changes as two of the top teams in the conference were bound and determined to lay claim to circuit supremacy. Bucknell grabbed the early lead and continued to hold the advantage until the Eagles tied the set at 11-11. American seized a temporarily lead (13-12) but the Bison retook it on an 8-4 lead. The Orange & Blue extended its lead to 24-19 and sought the set point. American earned a point but an Eagles attack error handed Bucknell the win.
The Bison grabbed the opening points in the second set and never trailed but the Eagles created ties four times. The Bison went ahead 15-11 but American proved tenacious and refused to yield and cut the deficit to 16-15. Bucknell responded with a 9-4 run to seal the set win. The final two points came via two American errors - one on a serve attempt and the other via an attacking chance.
The final stanza kept the audience's heart beating featuring eight ties and four lead changes. Bucknell blitzed to a 4-1 lead but American quickly responded. The Bison again created separation (12-8) and stayed a couple of points ahead despite the Eagles clawing at a comeback. Eventually, they wore down the Bison and grabbed a 19-18 lead. Bucknell tied the game and American responded with a point; a pattern that repeated multiple times. The Orange & Blue went ahead twice (22-21 & 23-22) and twice the Eagles knotted the contest. American had the set point (24-23) but the Bison rallied to grab it themselves (25-24 & 26-25). The second time proved the charm as O'Connell and Shaffer teamed up for a block. The Bison erupted in jubilant celebration.
Bucknell heads to Holy Cross (Nov. 8) and Army (Nov. 9) next weekend for the final two-game conference road trip.
The victory gave Bucknell the season sweep (2-0) and tiebreaker over American. The Orange & Blue's last six victories have come via the sweep tying the program record set back in 1997. Bucknell has 14 sweeps on the season, the most since the 1995 team collected 15. The program record is 17 set in 1983. The sweep was also Bucknell's first-ever over American.
For the second time this weekend, Bri Frazilus led the Bison in kills. The junior outside hitter collected 14 on an efficient .379 hitting percentage. Sidney Shaffer added nine kills on a great .471 percentage. Tijana Kostic supplied eight kills and nine digs. Caleigh O'Connell provided 35 assists and Jordan Hardy collected 16 digs. Bucknell hit .306 to American's .167 as the Eagles had 20 attack errors to the Bison's ten.
The first set featured seven ties and two lead changes as two of the top teams in the conference were bound and determined to lay claim to circuit supremacy. Bucknell grabbed the early lead and continued to hold the advantage until the Eagles tied the set at 11-11. American seized a temporarily lead (13-12) but the Bison retook it on an 8-4 lead. The Orange & Blue extended its lead to 24-19 and sought the set point. American earned a point but an Eagles attack error handed Bucknell the win.
The Bison grabbed the opening points in the second set and never trailed but the Eagles created ties four times. The Bison went ahead 15-11 but American proved tenacious and refused to yield and cut the deficit to 16-15. Bucknell responded with a 9-4 run to seal the set win. The final two points came via two American errors - one on a serve attempt and the other via an attacking chance.
The final stanza kept the audience's heart beating featuring eight ties and four lead changes. Bucknell blitzed to a 4-1 lead but American quickly responded. The Bison again created separation (12-8) and stayed a couple of points ahead despite the Eagles clawing at a comeback. Eventually, they wore down the Bison and grabbed a 19-18 lead. Bucknell tied the game and American responded with a point; a pattern that repeated multiple times. The Orange & Blue went ahead twice (22-21 & 23-22) and twice the Eagles knotted the contest. American had the set point (24-23) but the Bison rallied to grab it themselves (25-24 & 26-25). The second time proved the charm as O'Connell and Shaffer teamed up for a block. The Bison erupted in jubilant celebration.
Bucknell heads to Holy Cross (Nov. 8) and Army (Nov. 9) next weekend for the final two-game conference road trip.
Team Stats
Americ
Buck
Kills
42
43
Errors
20
10
Attempts
132
108
Hitting %
.167
.306
Points
51.0
55.0
Assists
37
39
Aces
2
3
Blocks
7
9
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
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