By Andrew Arnao
Writer
After opening the season at home with a five-set victory against Fordham on Friday, the women’s volleyball team was defeated by Manhattan and Dartmouth on Saturday to bring its overall record to 1-2. Kristen Titley ’14 was also nominated to the all-tournament team after recording 29 kills.
Due to cancellations caused by Hurricane Irene, the Bison waited more than a week to play their match against Fordham. The Bison fell behind in their first set on Friday, but rallied in a close second set to even the match 1-1. The Orange and Blue’s increasing hitting accuracy allowed them to take the third set, and after faltering in the fourth set, brought all of their energy to win the final set by a score of 15-8. Kat Tauscher ’13 paced the team with 54 assists.
“This win meant a lot to us as a team because our seniors have not won their opening game since they came to Bucknell,” Tauscher said.
“Friday night was a great game,” Titley said. “Everyone on our team stepped up in big ways and made contributions to help us win.”
On Saturday, the Bison faced a more formidable challenge against Manhattan. While the team performed well defensively, led by Anne Ellenberger ’12 who had five blocks and four block assists, the offense was unable to match that of the Jaspers, who won the match in three sets.
Against Dartmouth, the offense again struggled, as Dartmouth overcame several early deficits to defeat the Bison in three sets. Jessica Serrato ’14 led the offense with seven kills in the match and 17 kills on the day, while Tauscher had 19 assists and 44 overall in the two matches. Defensively, Emily Sawanobori ’12 had 11 digs.
“I think generally the mentality of the team has not changed. We are all still excited to start the regular season and are happy to hit these road bumps now in preseason when we still have time to improve as a team,” Tauscher said.
The team expects to improve its record this weekend at the Central Connecticut State Blue Devil Invitational.
“The games on Saturday against Manhattan and Dartmouth were definitely learning experiences,” Serrato said. “We know what we need to fix and we’re ready to do it for an even better weekend at Central Connecticut State.”
At this weekend’s invitational, the Orange and Blue will face the Blue Devils, Stony Brook and Saint Peters.