Volleyball Hits the Road to Play Holy Cross and Colgate in Weekend Action

Setting the Scene, Part I
Who: Bucknell (5-6, 2-0 Patriot League) at Holy Cross (4-10, 0-2 Patriot League)
When: Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.
Where: Coach George Blaney '61 Gymnasium -Worcester, Mass.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: goholycross.com

Setting the Scene, Part II
Who: Bucknell (5-6, 2-0 Patriot League) at Colgate (6-5, 2-0 Patriot League)
When: Saturday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m.
Where: Cotterell Court- Hamilton, N.Y.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: colgateathletics.com

About Bucknell

Bucknell continues Patriot League play with two road matches versus Holy Cross and reigning champion Colgate. Both contests will be streamed on ESPN+. Live Stats links for both matches can be found on the Bucknell Volleyball schedule page. Live updates will be tweeted on Bucknell Volleyball's X account.
The Bison started 2-0 in conference action for the second straight season by defeating Lehigh and Lafayette in four sets. Bucknell lost the opening salvo to Lehigh but rebounded to win three straight. The Orange & Blue tried for the sweep against Lafayette but were denied in the third set by the Leopards. Bucknell easily won the fourth set.
Cameron Lloyd won Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for her 48 digs in eight sets. She became the first Bison since Brandi Trapasso in 2000 to win the weekly honor. The award was discontinued in 2001 but was reinstated this season.
Lloyd sits 49th nationally with 4.40 digs per set.
Sidney Shaffer earned Bison of the Week for the second time in her career. Shaffer posted 27 kills in two games, hit a sparkling .473, and against Lafayette did not record a single attack error. The performance comes on the heels of her earning Patriot League Player of the Week.
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.
Caleigh O'Connell returns for her senior season after winning 2024 Patriot League Setter of the Year. O'Connell picked up the 2025 preseason edition of the honor and along with Sidney Shaffer landed on the All-Patriot League Preseason team.
Tijana Kostic has one final year with the Bison after notching Second Team honors in 2024.
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 Holy Cross/Series History

The Crusaders finished a dismal 2-23 overall and pitched a 0-16 goose egg in league play, failing to qualify for the conference tournament.
Holy Cross has displayed marked performance in 2025, sitting at 4-10 overall. The team is 0-2 in PL play but fought Loyola (Md.) to five sets. Last season, the Crusaders did not go five sets against a conference foes until Lafayette in their 15th league game.
The Bison and Crusaders shared one non-conference foe in Mercyhurst. Bucknell defeated the Lakers while Holy Cross split two games with their fellow Catholic school.
Holy Cross was projected to finish last in the nine-team Patriot League and did not place a player on the All-Preseason Team.
Emma Sorensen leads Holy Cross with 145 kills.
Matthew Cribbin enters his first season as Holy Cross' head coach. He spent 13 years at American International College, where he won two NCAA East Region Championships and made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, while winning both the NE10 Tournament and regular-season titles a total of three times in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Bucknell leads Holy Cross 45-20 all-time and have won the last four games, 12 sets to 1.

Scouting Colgate/Series History

Colgate won its customary Patriot League title in 2024, finishing 19-11 overall and 14-2 in conference play. The Raiders hosted the conference tournament and defeated fourth-seeded Lehigh before dispatching third-seeded Army in the title game. No. 12 Kansas swept Colgate in the NCAA First Round.
The Raiders sit at 6-5, despite playing its normally brutal non-conference schedule. Colgate has three P4 wins under its belt, defeating Washington and beating local Syracuse twice. They started conference play with wins over American and Loyola (Md.)
Bucknell and Colgate share one non-conference foe in Binghamton. The Bison fell to the Bearcats while the Raiders will play their fellow Empire State school on Sept. 30.
Colgate was projected to repeat as conference champions, earning eight of the nine first place votes. Milan Bayless won PL Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and landed on the All-Preseason Team. She was the only Raider to notch a spot.
Bayless has lived up to her press clippings, leading the Raiders with 169 kills, averaging 3.84 per set. Both stats pace the conference.
Unlike the first three conference foes that Bucknell has faced, Colgate does not have a new coach. Ryan Baker has been a model of continuity and enters his 20th season in Hamilton, amassing a 328-222 record and five PL championships, including four straight titles.
Colgate owns the all-time series record 49-24 and have won the last 12 out of 13, including last year's season finale in Lewisburg, which had the regular season title and tournament hosting at stake. The Bison led two sets to none and had the match point before Colgate pulled off the reverse sweep.

Up Next

Bucknell returns home to Davis Gym to welcome American (Oct. 3) and Loyola (Md.) (Oct. 4).

Volleyball Hits the Road to Play Holy Cross and Colgate in Weekend Action

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

Volleyball Hits the Road to Play Holy Cross and Colgate in Weekend Action

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

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