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Bucknell Volleyball Continues Slide in 3-1 Loss at Lafayette
Nov. 7, 2009
EASTON, Pa. – Heidi Kamp (Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) recorded a career-high 17 kills and the Bison took an early one-set lead, but the Bucknell volleyball team could not hold on against Lafayette as it fell 3-1 (23-25, 29-27, 25-20, 25-19) at the Kirby Sports Center on Saturday night. Kaitlin Segal (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) and Ragin Jackson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) also finished with double-figure kills. Bucknell (8-16, 4-8) improved its attack game after a tough match last night. Against the Leopards (13-12, 4-8), the Bison hit .240 for the match. Lafayette was just as successful, however, coming in at .331 on the night. The Bison’s lone set victory came in the opening set. Both teams stayed neck-and-neck throughout the start of play. Kamp then recorded back-to-back kills for 13-12, and Bucknell started to put a bit of distance between it and its opponent. That does not mean Lafayette went away, however, as the home team tied the set again at 16 with consecutive kills by Katrina Racibarskas. Bucknell regained the lead on the next point as Lafayette committed back-to-back attack errors. The Leopards failed to recover, and Bucknell won the first 25-23. After one set, Kamp had already amassed nearly a third of her kills with five. Similar to the first set, the second was tight early in the action. Lafayette gave itself some breathing room with a service ace for 14-10. Kamp got Bucknell moving back in the right direction on the next point, recording yet another kill. Eventually the Bison took a 19-18 lead following an ace by Segal, but that did not last long. Both teams continued to pass the advantage back and forth, and the final stretch saw five ties. A service error by the Leopards gave Bucknell set point at 27-26, but the Leopards hung on to claim three straight points and end it at 29-27.
The hard loss took some air out of the Bison’s sails. The third set was tied as late as 12-12 with a kill by Allison Gittings (Dayton, Md./Glenelg) before Lafayette’s Kayly Elmer took back the lead for good for her team with a kill. The score put the Leopards up 13-12 and they never looked back, taking the third 25-20. The fourth set got out of hand quickly for Bucknell. After falling behind 15-8, the Bison called a timeout in hopes of reversing their fortune. The strategy did not work as intended, however, and the Leopards’ lead continued to grow. Kamp delayed Lafayette’s fourth league win with a kill for 23-15, and Rachel Rodriguez (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) followed suit with two consecutive aces to bring Bucknell within six points, but the Orange and Blue could not clear the final hurdle. Lafayette closed out the set and the match at 25-19. The loss is the fifth in a row for Bucknell with four of those decisions coming on the road. "We haven't performed well on the road this year," said head coach Cindy Opalski. "We're looking forward to getting back in the friendly confines of Davis Gym." Joining Kamp in double-digit kills were Segal with 11 and Jackson with 10. Gittings drew the assist on many of those scores, finishing the night with 34. Defensively, Emily Sawanobori (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) led with 12 digs, and Kamp and Jackson each had three blocks. Elmer led all players with 14 kills while hitting .520, and Cara Mulholland and Alana Taylor added 13. Taylor was also very efficient at the net, recording a .478 attack percentage. Ashton Rossi finished with 47 assists. Bucknell has one final regular-season weekend on tap, returning to Davis Gym to take on Navy at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13. The Bison will celebrate Senior Night prior to the match. Live statistics on GameTracker will be available at BucknellBison.com. |
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