Volleyball Hosts Navy in Patriot League First Round on Tuesday Night

Setting the Scene
Who: Bucknell (12-13, 9-7 Patriot League) vs. Navy (12-13, 8-8 Patriot League)
When: Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m.
Where: Davis Gym - Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: bucknellbison.com

About Bucknell

Bucknell clinched the fourth seed in the Patriot League Tournament and welcomes the fifth-seeded Navy Midshipmen in a First Round matchup on Tuesday night. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. and the link can be found on the Bucknell Volleyball schedule page. The Live Stats link for the match can also be found on the Bucknell Volleyball schedule page. Live updates will be tweeted on Bucknell Volleyball's X account.
The Bison concluded the regular season with a decisive sweep over the Army Black Knights. Bucknell destroyed the service academy, winning sets 25-10, 25-11, and 25-16, and holding the Cadets to a -.027 hitting percentage. The Orange & Blue victory, along with Navy's loss to Colgate, delivered the fourth seed to Bucknell's coffers.
The fifth straight win improved Bucknell to 12-13 overall and finished the Bison at 9-7 in conference play.
Cameron Lloyd and Sidney Shaffer repeated as Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week and Player of the Week for their excellent player against Army. Lloyd shoveled 12 digs and Shaffer posted 12 kills on a sizzling .579 hitting percentage.
Two Orange & Bison players received postseason laurels. Sidney Shaffer duplicated her First Team honors from 2024 and Tijana Kostic repeated her Second Team notch from last season.
Several Bison are represented in the conference leaderboards. Setter Caleigh O'Connell ranks second with 8.42 assists per set. Cameron Lloyd sits fourth with 4.20 digs per set. Sidney Shaffer ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.336). Riley Tucker is tenth in blocks per set (0.89).
The Bison were selected to finish third in the Patriot League preseason poll behind reigning champion Colgate and Army. Bucknell lost 3-2 in the Patriot League semifinals last year to the Black Knights of the Hudson.
The program lost two-time Patriot League Libero of the Year Jordan Hardy to graduation. She was the first Bison to win the award and earn AVCA Honorable Mention honors. Hardy graduated as the program's all-time leader in digs with 1986.
Five freshmen join the Bison for 2025: Avery Bryan, Stephanie Eroh, Brynna Guy, Peyton McGee, and Klea Tarja. Four of the five players have seen action for Bucknell.
Bucknell has a new head coach at the helm. Tyler Hagstrom, who rebuilt the program, left in July for the head position at Penn. Assistant coach Jeremy Young was elevated to interim head coach. Young enters his fifth year overall in Lewisburg.

Scouting Navy/Series History

Navy went 7-18 overall and 7-9 in PL play last year and missed the conference tournament.
The Mids seemed destined for the fourth seed, sitting two games above the Bison and holding the tiebreaker, but slipped down the stretch to finish 8-8 in conference and 12-13 overall.
Bucknell and Navy did not have any overlap in non-conference foes.
Navy was slotted to finish seventh in the conference and did not place a player on the Preseason All-PL squad. The Mids outperformed their projection by two spots.
Ava Toppin made the Patriot League First Team and Farrah Eike slotted on the Second Team.
Toppin is one of the league's most proficient attackers, ranking fourth in hitting percentage (.370). She excels at defense with 119 blocks.
Paco Labrador enters his eighth season as the head coach of Navy with a solid 110-88 overall record.
Navy owns the all-time record 42-26 and swept the Bison this season.
Bucknell and Navy have met five times in the conference tournament. Navy owns the 4-1 record. The last time the two programs met in the tournament was 2023 when the Bison were the fourth seed and Navy held the fifth slot. The Mids swept Bucknell. The Orange & Blue's sole win arrived in the 1994 First Round when the fifth-seeded Bison defeated the fourth-seeded Midshipment in five sets.

Up Next

If victorious, the Bison head to the Patriot League Semifinals hosted by American. If defeated, the Bison will prepare for the 2026 season.

Volleyball Hosts Navy in Patriot League First Round on Tuesday Night

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Players Mentioned

Avery Bryan

Stephanie Eroh

Brynna Guy

Jordan Hardy

Tijana Kostic

Cameron Lloyd

Peyton McGee

Caleigh O'Connell

Sidney Shaffer

Klea Tarja

Riley Tucker

Volleyball Hosts Navy in Patriot League First Round on Tuesday Night

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Avery Bryan

Stephanie Eroh

Brynna Guy

Jordan Hardy

Tijana Kostic

Cameron Lloyd

Peyton McGee

Caleigh O'Connell

Sidney Shaffer

Klea Tarja

Riley Tucker

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