Bucknell Volleyball Edged by Villanova, 3-1 - BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Bucknell Volleyball Edged by Villanova, 3-1

Sydlowski Has Career Night with 28 Digs

Junior Kristen Sydlowski tallied a career-high 28 digs against Villanova.

Oct. 13, 2005

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Junior Kristen Sydlowski (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) tallied a career-high 28 digs, but the Bucknell volleyball team could not hold off Villanova, falling by a 3-1 margin at home on Thursday evening. With the loss, the Bison now hold an overall record of 12-9 while the Wildcats moved to 16-4.

In game one, Bucknell came out strong and led from the outset. The score remained close until, with a 25-22 lead the, Bison managed to pull away with kills by Jennie Smith (Roanoke, Va./Patrick Henry), Sydlowski and Amanda Grossman (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) to record a 30-24 victory. The teams played a tight game two, trading point for point most of the way. Then, with the score tied at 28, a kill by Alona Cherkez and a Bucknell attack error gave Villanova a 30-28 win. The Bison hit .349 as a squad in game three, but the Wildcats were virtually flawless offensively, hitting .529 as a team with no errors and came away with the game, 30-23. Villanova followed up by opening game four with an 11-1 lead, a deficit Bucknell could not overcome, and clinched the match by taking the game by a 30-13 margin.

Sophomore Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) posted 17 kills to lead the Bison, while Sydlowski followed with 12 kills on her way to her ninth double-double of the season. Smith followed with 11 kills and hit .500 for the match with just two errors on 18 attempts. Senior Chelsea Anderson (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Torrey Pines) totaled 19 digs and classmate Jessica Le (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) registered 25 assists along with a match-best four service aces. Freshman Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) added 19 assists as well.

"We saw an excellent effort from the entire team tonight," said Bucknell head coach Cindy Opalski, "Kristen had a career match on the defensive side of the ball. Henderson and Smith really performed offensively as well."

Kacy Sellers had a match-high 19 kills and hit .594 to lead Villanova's offense. Adrian Semrau and Cherkez chipped in with nine kills apiece and setter Jenna Link recorded 48 assists. Defensively for the Wildcats, Dana Kabashima posted 14 digs, Megan Bye recorded 12 digs and Dana Tartazky had 11 digs in the contest.

Bucknell returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 15, when the team will play host to Colgate in a Patriot League match beginning at 6 p.m.