Bucknell Volleyball Edged by American in Patriot League Semifinal, 3-2
Nov. 18, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Bucknell volleyball team fought hard, but came up just short, falling to American, 3-2, in Patriot League Semifinal match action on the court in Bender Arena on Friday evening. The Bison became just the second Patriot League team to win two games against the Eagles and the first to play a five-game match since American joined the conference in 2001. With the loss, the Orange and Blue end the season with a record of 17-14, while the Eagles improve to 23-9 and advance to the Patriot League Championship. In game one, Bucknell jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a kill by junior Kristen Sydlowski (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) and would not trail for the remainder of the game on the way to a 30-25 victory. Then after falling behind 5-0 to start off game two, the Bison rallied to erase six-point deficits on multiple occasions to climb to go up 28-27, but the Eagles hung on and took game two by a 30-28 margin. Bucknell came out battling in game three, but American managed to hang on and came within a point at 29-28 when a kill by Sydlowski cemented the 30-28 Bison victory. The Orange and Blue posted a .349 team hitting percentage in game three for their best offensive effort in the match. The Bison opened game four with a 4-1 advantage, however, the Eagles rallied to take a 16-10 lead. Bucknell refused to go quietly, closing the gap on American to claim a two-point advantage at 21-19, but the Eagles went on to force a game five with a 30-28 win. In game five, American started off out in front 3-2, then stretched that to a 10-5 advantage. Bucknell attempted to come from behind once again, but came up short as the Eagles clinched the match by winning game five, 15-11. Sydlowski and junior Sarah Groman (Hollister, Calif./San Benito) headed up the Bison offense with 16 kills apiece and Sydlowski had a team-high four service aces. Sophomore Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) followed with 13 kills and junior Jennie Smith (Roanoke, Va./Patrick Henry) pitched in with 10 kills and hit .364 with just two errors in 22 attempts. Groman also hit well for the Orange and Blue, with a team-leading .389 hitting percentage (16-2-36). Senior Jessica Le (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) aided the Bucknell offense with 35 assists and freshman Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) added 24 helpers.
Defensively for the Bison, Sydlowski led squad with 25 digs, while senior Chelsea Anderson (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Torrey Pines) contributed 23 digs and Smith had 15 digs. "I believe if you could gauge success in terms of effort and in terms of effort and heart we would have captured the victory tonight even though we didn't accumulate enough points to win the match," said Bucknell head coach Cindy Opalski. "It was an outstanding everyone on our team. We came to win, not just compete That attitude, along with solid team dynamics, got us to the Patriot League Championships for the fourth year in a row and cleary...we wanted to enjoy that experience. The leadership from both Jennie Smith and Chelsea Anderson on a daily basis, the contributions we receive from all 15 players over the course of the season and the unbridled determination we brought to the floor tonight put us in a position to make Bucknell Universy really proud." We played our hearts out and I couldn't be prouder of my team. We got beat by a group of scholarship athletes that clearly had a lot of talent and we boldy stepped up to the taks and left everything out on the floor tonight in the semifinals." Rubena Sukaj posted a match-high 20 kills for American to go along with four service aces and nine digs. Cutrina Biddulph recorded 18 kills, Chelsa Brooks had 16 kills and Elizabeth Maloney totaled 13 kills. Setter Christina Nash tallied 39 assists and Jennifer Cosco added 19 digs in the victory. |
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