Oct. 3, 2012
Bucknell-Colgate: GameTracker 
| Webcast 
Bucknell-CSU Bakersfield: Live Stats
Bucknell-Pepperdine: GameTracker | Webcast
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After playing 14 of its first 17 matches on the road, Bucknell volleyball will make a quick stop at Davis Gym to host Colgate at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The match against the Raiders, which are undefeated in Patriot League play, will be webcast live on Bison Vision and live stats will be available on GameTracker. The Bison (6-11, 0-4 PL) will then repack their suitcases for a trip to California, taking on Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday in Bakersfield and Pepperdine on Monday in Malibu.
BISON NOTEBOOK
- Thursday's home match against Colgate will be broadcast live online on Bison Vision through BucknellBison.com. Joining Doug Birdsong on the air is former Bison and current volunteer assistant coach Anne Ellenberger.
- Bucknell has played just three matches at Davis Gym this season and all three came as part of its home tournament in mid-September. The Bison lost to Fordham in straight sets and then claimed 3-0 victories over Providence and Quinnipiac during that event. Attack percentage has been heavily in Bucknell's favor at Davis Gym as it came in at .224 over those three contests. Opponents are hitting .120 in Davis Gym.
- The Bison are the last time still looking for a Patriot League win this fall, but they do rank among the top 10 in more than one statistical category. As a team, Bucknell is third in digs (16.53/set) and fourth in blocks (2.33/set). On the individual front, Kebah Edoho (Odenton, Md./Arundel) is sixth in attack percentage (.368) and 10th in kills (2.60/set) and blocks (1.00). Karen Campbell (Chesapeake, Va./Cape Henry Collegiate) is also among the leaders on more than one list, ranking sixth in blocks (1.20/set) and 10th in attack percentage (.280). Kat Tauscher (Washington, D.C./National Cathedral) school is fifth in assists (7.80/set), Morgan Mientus (Chicago, Ill./Saint Ignatius College Prep) is fifth in digs (4.36/set) and Meghan Wentzel (San Anselmo, Calif./The Branson School) is 10th in service aces (0.27/set).
- Bucknell went 0-2 in league play last weekend, falling 3-0 at Army and 3-1 at Holy Cross. Despite the end results, the Bison put up some of their strongest numbers against the Crusaders. The team's 50 kills were the most this season since totaling 51 against Manhattan in August. They also totaled a season-high 47 assists and 78 digs.
- Tauscher registered 41 of the team's 47 assists at Holy Cross last Sunday. The senior's total is the most by any Bison this fall.
- Bucknell has reached the 70-digs mark three times this year, adding Holy Cross to the list that also includes Stony Brook (70) and Lafayette (74). One common denominator in all three matches is Claire Healy (Tiburon, Calif./Saint Ignatius College Prep), who had a career-best 18 digs against Holy Cross, 11 against Stony Brook and 10 against Lafayette. No other Bison reached double figures in all three matches.
- Healy added 14 kills to her 18 digs at Holy Cross. It was her third double-double of the season, which leads all Bison. Tauscher also has two with 19 assists and 10 digs against Loyola (Md.) and 21 assists and 12 digs at Lafayette. Wentzel and Jessica Serrato (Millbrae, Calif./Saint Ignatius College Prep) have one apiece. Bucknell is 3-4 this season when someone records a double-double.
- Edoho was featured in recent Bucknell Football Gameday Program. The senior spent part of last summer studying community development and social entrepreneurship in South Africa as part of a class through Bucknell and the University of Cape Town. Upon her return home, the senior psychology major worked with the International Rescue Committee, helping immigrants seeking asylum in the United States. The complete story on Edoho's summer work can be found here.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
- Colgate enters the weekend 6-12 overall but 4-0 in the Patriot League. The Raiders lost the first nine matches of the season but have come on strong recently, winning five of their last six. In league action, Colgate came away with 3-0 wins over Lehigh, Lafayette and Holy Cross before beating Army 3-1.
- Junior Lindsay Young leads the Patriot League in kills. In four conference matches, Young is averaging 3.69 per set. Caitlin Cremin also leads the league in digs with 5.77 per set, and Colgate is No. 1 as a team in both service aces (1.85/set) and digs (18.62/set).
- Colgate went 12-18 overall and 8-6 in the Patriot League a year ago. The conference finish earned the Raiders the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament where they lost in four sets to top-seeded American. Back this fall are First Team All-Patriot League selection Young and Kaylee Fifer, who was named to the second team.
- Colgate has a 28-23 lead in the all-time series with Bucknell. The Bison have lost the last three, and six of the last seven, matches to the Raiders. Bucknell's last win was a 3-2 decision at Davis Gym in 2010.
- Bucknell is 14-9 all-time against Colgate when playing at Davis Gym. The Raiders have a 12-7 lead in Hamilton, N.Y., and a 7-2 edge on neutral courts.
- In 2011, Colgate won 3-1 in Hamilton, N.Y., and 3-0 in Lewisburg, Pa. The Raiders were the more efficient hitting team in both contests. They posted an attack percentage of .369, compared to .155 for the Bison, when playing in Hamilton. The margin closed later in the season when the teams met again in Davis Gym, but Colgate still had the .272 to .173 advantage.
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
- CSU Bakersfield heads into the week with a 7-9 record and will face Boise State on Saturday before welcoming Bucknell. The Roadrunners recently had a five-match winning streak come to an end as they fell in four sets to New Mexico and Loyola Marymount in straight sets last week.
- The Roadrunners are led offensively by a pair of community college transfers Debora Araujo and Fernanda Goncalves. Araujo has 251 kills (4.11/set), giving her more than 100 more kills than her closest teammate. Goncalves comes in with 604 assists (9.90/set).
- Bucknell and CSU Bakersfield have met just once in the series so far. The Roadrunners won 3-0 in 2008, hitting .338 while keeping the Bison to a .039 attack percentage.
SCOUTING THE WAVE
- Pepperdine will have two more matches before taking on the Bison for the first time in series history, but the Wave enters the week with a 10-6 overall record. Its effort so far this season has earned it a No. 23 ranking in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll.
- Most recently, the Wave lost back-to-back matches, 3-2 to St. Mary's and 3-1 to Santa Clara. Kellie Woolever, a 2011 Honorable Mention All-American, has 611 assists (10.91/set) this season. The recipient of many of those passes has been Jazmine Orozco, who has 198 kills (3.54/set) to lead Pepperdine.
- In 2011, Pepperdine finished 25-7 overall and 15-1 in the West Coast Conference. The Wave's season came to an end in a five-set battle against No. 1 Southern California in the Elite Eight at the NCAA Championships.
LOOKING AHEAD
When Bucknell returns from California, it will have little time before it gets back in the thick of Patriot League play. The Bison host American and Navy Oct. 12-13 in what is the first of four consecutive matches at Davis Gym.
