Volleyball Faces Army in Patriot League Semifinals

Setting the Scene, Part I
Who: No. 2 Bucknell (21-4, 13-3 Patriot) vs. No. 4 Army (15-11, 10-6 Patriot)
When: Friday, Nov. 22 at 2:30 p.m.
Where: Cotterell Court – Hamilton, N.Y.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: colgateathletics.com

Tournament Hub

About Bucknell

Bucknell finished the 2024 regular season with a 1-1 weekend. The Bison swept aside Loyola (Md.) to set up a winner-take-all match against Colgate last Saturday. At stake was the regular season title and hosting duties for the Patriot League Tournament. Bucknell won the first two sets and being up eight in the third stanza seemed primed to sweep the Raiders and celebrate the first regular season crown in two decades. Colgate, the reigning champions, displayed their mettle with a reverse sweep shattering Orange & Blue hearts. Bucknell had the 14-11 lead and match point in the fifth set but fell 17-15. The Bison dropped to the two-seed.
The Patriot League Tournament will be streamed this weekend on ESPN+. Live stats will be available for all games. The links are in this preview and on the Bucknell volleyball schedule page.
Bucknell is 23-13 in non-conference matchups under Head Coach Tyler Hagstrom. In 2023, Bucknell went 4-5 in non-conference games against a challenging schedule. The 2022 Bison were 7-2 in non-conference games, including a 6-0 start. That start was the best in Bucknell's history through six games. This year, the Orange & Blue went 8-1.
The annual Patriot League preseason poll tabbed Bucknell to finish third and the Bison placed second. Reigning champion Colgate was picked to defend their crown and did so. Bucknell ended Colgate's 33-game home winning streak last year in an epic five-set match.
Jordan Hardy defended her title as the Preseason Libero of the Year. Hardy won the 2023 Patriot League Libero of the Year, the first time a Bison player won the honor. She and Catherine Jamison also become the first Orange & Blue players to win First Team All-Patriot League honors since Heidi Kemp in 2010. The libero won the first AVCA honor in Bucknell history when she earned AVCA Northeast All-Region Honorable Mention.
Hardy led the Patriot League in digs (537), 29 more than the nearest opposition, and digs per serve (5.54). Her digs per set mark ranked seventh nationally and she helped Bucknell finish third nationally in digs per set (17.84).
The Orange & Blue returned a healthy core of players but did lose five pillars to graduation, including outside hitter and First Team All-Patriot League honoree Catherine Jamison and constant starter Libby Nieporte. Sophomore Sidney Shaffer, the 2023 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and member of the 2024 Patriot League Preseason Team with Hardy, returns to strengthen the Bucknell offense and defense. Along with the returners, the Bison greet three newcomers, Sarah Hilliard, Emily Kearney, and Bella Rodriguez to the team.
Hagstrom entered his fifth season at the helm of the Bison herd, having turned around a program mired in the Patriot League basement. He is joined by fourth-year assistant Jeremy Young.
The Bison's 21-4 start has boosted Hagstrom's record to 59-47 (.556), easily the best percentage in Bucknell volleyball history.
Bucknell slots 79th in the latest RPI rankings, the third-highest Pennsylvanian team behind Pitt (2) and Penn State (6).
The team ranks eighth nationally in digs per set (18.11).

Collecting Conference Awards

Caleigh O'Connell won Patriot League Setter of the Year - the first time a Bison has taken home the honor. She places first in the conference for assists per set (10.0), which ranks 50th nationally.
Hardy repeated as PL Libero of the Year and currently sits first in the circuit and tenth nationally in digs per set (5.20).
Hagstrom won the Barry Golberg Patriot League Coach of the Year award. He is only the second coach in Bucknell history to net the award. Cindy Opalski won it three times (1995, 2000, and 2003).
Bucknell slotted a school record four players on the All-Patriot League First Team. Hardy and O'Connell were joined by outside hitter Bri Frazilus and middle blocker Sidney Shaffer.
Frazilus ranks first in the Patriot League for kills per set (3.65).
Shaffer has been a force at the net, averaging 1.28 blocks per set, best in the loop.
Tijana Kostic received Second Team All-Patriot League honors. She has been an excellent server, currently ranking first in the circuit in service aces per set (0.38).

Milestones for Miles

The Bison set a program record for conference wins (12) in a season with the Holy Cross win. Bucknell broke the previous standard set by the 2003 team and tied by the 2023 squad. The Orange & Blue added another win against Loyola establishing 13 as the new standard.
Hardy continues to move up the Patriot League career leader board for digs, as her total has grown to 1,963. She moved into fourth place after surpassing Army's D.J. Phee's total of 1,832.
O'Connell surpassed the 2000-assist mark with her contributions against Colgate. She sits at 2013, despite missing multiple games to injury in 2023.

Tournament Time

The Patriot League Volleyball Tournament fields six teams with the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds hosting quarterfinal games. The semifinals and championship game are exclusively at the No. 1 seed's court. Thus, the No. 2 seed does not host a tournament game.
The quarterfinal games were played Tuesday night and featured an upset as No.6 Lehigh upset powerhouse American in five sets. American forced a fifth set but lost 15-10 in the deciding stanza.
No. 4 Army blew away No. 5 Loyola (Md.) in a sweep (25-20, 25-12, 25-20) to advance to the semifinals.
Bucknell will face Army at 2:30 p.m. and No. 1 Colgate will match with Lehigh at 5:30 p.m.
The Championship Game is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m.
All matches are available on ESPN+.

Scouting Army/Series History

Army sits at 15-11 overall and 10-6 in conference play. The Black Knights struck down Hampton, Oakland, Xavier, and Sacred Heart while being vanquished by Buffalo, Saint Louis, Illinois State, Hofstra, and Bryant in non-conference competition. Notable conference wins are two wins over rival Navy and a four-set upset of Colgate. The Black Knights are a young team but accelerated the rebuilding process this year and enter the semifinals on a five-game winning streak and having won six of their last seven contests.
Traditionally one of the Patriot League's volleyball powerhouses, West Point finished 14-12 overall and 11-5 in Patriot League play last campaign. They earned the #2 seed in the PL Tournament but were swept by American in the semifinals.
Alma Kovaci Lee enters her 18th season in charge of the Black Knights.
The Black Knights of the Hudson were selected to finish fourth in the Patriot League and equaled that finish. They slotted Mackenzie Lynch and Kingsley Wallace on the First Team and Juliette Myrick and Chloe Murakami on the Second Team.
Army leads the all-time series 47-16 but the Bison broke the Black Knights's 13-game winning streak last year with a four-set win at West Point. Bucknell won the first set 38-36 after noticing Army served out of order on the apparent set-winning point. It was Bucknell's first win at Army since 2003. The Black Knights have won 31 of the last 33 games. Bucknell has won two straight games against Army for the first since 2006 after the Bison defeated the Hudson River team earlier this year.
The two teams split the season series with each team winning on its home court.
Bucknell is 1-2 against Army in Patriot League Tournament competition. The Black Knights of the Hudson beat the Bison of the Susquehanna in 1994 (Championship Round) and 2004 (Semifinals) while Bucknell unhorsed Army in 2006 (Semifinals). That win remains Bucknell's last victory in the conference tournament. The Orange & Blue have gone 0-5 in tournament games since then only winning one set.

Up Next

The Bison will either compete in the Championship Match on Sunday or await the 2025 season.

Volleyball Faces Army in Patriot League Semifinals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bri Frazilus

Jordan Hardy

Sarah Hilliard

Catherine Jamison

Emily Kearney

Tijana Kostic

Libby Nieporte

Caleigh O'Connell

Bella Rodriguez

Sidney Shaffer

Volleyball Faces Army in Patriot League Semifinals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bri Frazilus

Jordan Hardy

Sarah Hilliard

Catherine Jamison

Emily Kearney

Tijana Kostic

Libby Nieporte

Caleigh O'Connell

Bella Rodriguez

Sidney Shaffer

Related Videos