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Bison Volleyball Sweeps Second Straight League Opponent in 3-0 Win Over Lehigh
Oct. 17, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell volleyball won its second straight Patriot League contest, sweeping Lehigh 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) in Davis Gym Saturday night. The Bison (8-11, 4-3) improved their league record to better than .500 for the first time this season behind a match-high 14 kills from Heidi Kamp (Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) and strong defensive efforts from Rachel Rodriguez (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) and Kaitlin Segal (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Harvard-Westlake). Much like they did a night ago, the Bison came out of their corner ready to fight. Bucknell sprinted out to a 10-5 lead in the first handful of points with the help of several kills from Segal and Kamp. Rodriguez also threw in one of her three service aces in the beginning of play. Lehigh (10-12, 3-4) eventually regrouped and went on an 8-2 run toward the end of the opening set. That streak, which was capped off by an ace by Jessica Kudirka, put the Mountain Hawks within a pair of points at 20-18. The Bison hung tough, however, and help on for the 25-21 win. Set two also started with Bucknell running out to a comfortable lead. Jackie Landes (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Wildwood School) opened the set with back-to-back kills and Allison Gittings (Dayton, Md./Glenelg) served an ace for the 4-1 advantage. That point spread continued to expand to 12-5 following a block assist by Ragin Jackson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) and Gittings, but the set felt closer than the score indicated. Lehigh maintained an aggressive style of play throughout. Bucknell's front line was just as aggressive, however, as Kamp earned kills on three of four points for 22-12 and Jackson closed out the set with back-to-back kills of her own. When all was said and done, the Bison's 25-18 set victory gave them a two-set lead. Lehigh came out in the third set ready for redemption. This time it was the Mountain Hawks that ran out to the early lead as a kill by Emma Melendez set the score at 7-2. Bucknell appeared a bit shaken initially but continued to work. The Bison came within two points of tying the set on five occasions. It was not until a Lehigh service error for 16-11 gave Bucknell the opening it needed. The Bison took control and their first lead of the set with an 11-3 run for 22-19. With the finish line so close, Bucknell wrapped it up nicely with another set score of 25-21. The match win gave the Orange and Blue their first back-to-back victories since defeating St. Peter's and St. Francis (N.Y.) in the first two contests of the season. Bucknell also defeated Lafayette, 3-0, last night. Head coach Cindy Opalski was very happy with her team's play throughout the weekend. "This was an incredibly important weekend for us in terms of league play and I think the pressure of establishing ourselves as one of the top four teams in the league was on our shoulders tonight," said Opalski. "I'm extremely pleased with the way we stepped up and persevered in a must-win situation. We had great play all weekend, great defensive production from Kaitlin Segal and Rachel Rodriguez, and clutch serving from Heidi Kamp and Rodriguez." Rodriguez led all players with three service aces on the night. She was joined as the match's best by Kamp with 14 kills and Segal with 15 digs. Segal also chipped in 10 kills. Gittings helped out on many of those attacks, registering 35 assists. Mo McReynolds led Lehigh with 12 kills, while Melendez finished with 11 digs. Brittany Dickinson contributed 25 assists for the Mountain Hawks. Bucknell will go for three in a row when it travels to Worcester, Mass., to take on Holy Cross at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23. The team will continue that weekend with Army at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 in West Point, N.Y.
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