Category: Sports

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Sports Volleyball Women

Volleyball suffers two losses to Navy, American

Emily Evancho

Assistant Sports Editor 

Women’s volleyball take two losses

The women’s volleyball team tried to dig deep this past weekend but faltered with two 3-0 losses against Navy and American.

“Every week is a battle in the Patriot League, and unfortunately we haven’t come out on top the past few weeks,” Rose Lewis ’14 said. “But our play against American, one of the top teams in the league, really showed our potential, and we hope to set that as a foundation moving forward to our games in the coming week.”

In the first set against Navy on Sept. 27, both teams passed the lead back and forth until Navy snatched five continuous points in the middle of the set, taking the lead at 10-5. The Bison could not hold back the Navy flood for long, eventually allowing the set to sink into Navy’s hands.

The Orange and Blue fought hard in the second set despite the growing power of Navy’s hitting strength, resulting in a 25-17 defeat. In the third set, the Bison continued to push but couldn’t pull through with a lead, eventually falling 25-20.

The Bison returned to the court on Sept. 28 to combat American in three nail-biting sets. The lead continually bounced from side to side in the first set with neither team allowing the other more than a two-point advantage. Despite three consecutive kills from Morgan Mientus ’14, the Bison fell 25-22 in the first set.

Not deterred by the loss of the first set, Kristen Titley ’14 stole the first point of the second set and eventually pulled the Bison to a 3-1 lead after two American errors. American would not go down easily, as the Eagles pulled out a 25-17 final score in the second set.

The Bison were determined in the third set, not allowing a 9-0 American lead in the beginning get them down. Erika Eastley ’17 and Jordan Walker ’17 helped trim American’s lead to 23-21 at the end of the set, but an American kill and Bison error finalized the set.

Titley registered a team-high seven kills, while Lewis completed 12 assists during the match and a service ace. Meghan Wentzel ’16 added 10 assists while Karen Campbell ’16 and Eastley both made four blocks. Kristen Parks ’17 had a match-high 14 digs in the game.

“While the team is not content with this past weekend’s results, I am proud of us because we were able to put up a strong fight against American on Saturday after losing to Navy on Friday night,” Wentzel said. “We have our work cut out for us, but I truly believe that we can take what we have learned so far this season and get the results we want.”

The Bison will challenge Lehigh tomorrow at 5 p.m. at their home court and Lafayette on Oct. 6 in Easton, Pa.

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Featured Sports

Bison Quarterback Brandon Wesley

Alex Wagner

Senior Editor

Quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14 has become a staple of the football program since his arrival to Lewisburg in the fall of 2010. After just three seasons, he is either at or near the top of many Orange and Blue all-time career statistics lists, including pass completions (first place with 461), passing yards (second with 4,926), and total offense (second with 5,401 yards.)

But the number that is most remarkable, and makes all of the other statistics possible, is 32. That is the number of consecutive games that Wesley has started at quarterback for the Bison leading into the 2013 season.

It is no secret that football is an unforgiving sport that sees more than its fair share of injuries. Although they do not get hit nearly as often as other players, quarterbacks are regularly on the wrong end of crushing tackles. But Wesley has managed to stay healthy through three grueling seasons by making the right decisions.

“I attribute my consecutive start streak to my ability to play smart and knowing when to give in and take what the defense gives me,” Wesley said.

Weighing in at 195 pounds, he also knows that he is one of the lightest guys on the field on any given play, which doesn’t work in his favor when it comes to preventing injuries.

“I’m relatively light compared to a lot of guys out there on the field,” Wesley said. “I’m reminded of this before every game when Coach [Joe] Susan comes up to me and says, ‘Good luck, skinny.’ He usually says it in a joking way, but there is a lot of truth to it.”

It is also important to note that Wesley has such a long streak because he started the final 10 games of his first-year campaign. During that season he put up very impressive numbers. He finished 68 for 1,699 total yards. These statistics helped Wesley to five Patriot League Rookie of the Week awards on his way to becoming the Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

Although there have certainly been some bumps in the road, he has ultimately benefited from being thrust into the starting role at such an early stage in his career.

“Being a starter since my freshmen year gives me a lot of confidence going into this season, knowing that I have a complete understanding of the offense and what the coaches expect from me,” Wesley said.

One particular game at Lafayette from two years ago stands out in his mind not because of his individual performance, but because of the daunting weather conditions surrounding a great team win.

“During that day I saw the most snow I had ever seen in my life. I couldn’t believe we were even attempting to play that game,” Wesley said. “I remember asking people, ‘Are you sure they are going to make us play in this?’ Fortunately, we ended up winning the game despite me not being able the feel my fingers and toes. I couldn’t have imagined coming out of there with a loss.”

Wesley knows that despite his strong performances in the early years of his career, he will need to put together a strong senior campaign if he wants to become a truly accomplished quarterback, and he has a clear idea of how he wants to step up his game.

“One of my personal goals this season is to become a better student of the game and focus on the small details that will help improve my game,” Wesley said. “Coach Susan always tells us to strive for perfection and the only way to be perfect is to do the little things right.”

Wesley and the rest of the Bison will certainly be looking to perfect the minor details of their game as they head into their third game of the season this weekend against Sacred Heart, after a win over Marist and a loss to Cornell earlier this year. The Orange and Blue will be sure to rely on the experience of their veteran quarterback to help guide them to victory.

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Sports Volleyball Women

Women’s volleyball drops opening pair of Patriot League matches

Emily Evancho

Assistant Sports Editor 

The women’s volleyball team suffered a rough beginning in its first Patriot League volleyball matches, falling on the road to both Holy Cross and Army this past weekend with two 3-0 decisions.

“We had two tough matches this past weekend, but I think we played well, especially against Army, and I think now we just need to close out games,” Erika Eastley ’17 said. “I’m excited to see how that transfers to our matches this weekend.”

The Sept. 20 match against the Holy Cross Crusaders proved to be a problem more of endurance than of the Bison’s skill. The Orange and Blue easily established themselves early in each of the three sets, taking 10 points off the net without a problem. But at the end of each set the Bison ran out of steam, allowing the Crusaders to snap victory out of the Bison’s hooves.

Keane Brazda ’17 tallied a team-high 23 assists for the match. Other top players included Eastley and Jordan Walker ’17, who combined for 11 block assists, while Morgan Mientus ’14 recorded double figures in digs.

“We had a tough first weekend of Patriot League, and we really dropped the ball against Holy Cross,” Mientus said of the Holy Cross Match. “I think last weekend could be a blessing in disguise, and people may begin to underestimate us like we did Holy Cross. Being the underdog tends to be a positive thing in volleyball, so hopefully we can work extremely hard in practice this week and take Navy and American by surprise.”

The battle truly came on Sept. 21 in the Orange and Blue’s match against Army. The first set alone was finicky, pulling back and forth with six lead changes and 16 ties. With a 24-21 advantage late in the set, the victory seemed to be the Bison’s when Army snatched five points to take the lead. The second set was ultimately Army’s, but the Orange and Blue did not let the battle die. The third set was entirely the Bison’s until Army finally took the lead 21-20. The struggle ensued until Army was able to rip three points from the Orange and Blue, ending the match at 25-22.

“We didn’t start too well on Friday, but on Saturday, we played a great match against Army, and we’re really excited to play again this weekend to redeem ourselves,” Kristen Titley ’14 said. “Last weekend gave us a good idea of a few key things to work on this week in practice and we should be ready to go for Navy on Friday night.”

Confident and ready, the Bison will return to their home court to challenge Navy tonight at 7, and American tomorrow at 5 p.m.

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis continue success on US Open Courts

Chris McCree

Senior Editor 

The men’s tennis team continued its early season success by earning one individual title and two runner-up titles at the USTA Invitational this past weekend in Flushing Meadows, NY. Jordan Lieb ’17 pulled off a three-set victory over Plamen Avuski of St. Francis to claim the Flight F Singles title for the Orange and Blue. The Bison also saw Nick Bybel ’16 and Octavio Canibe ’15 make it to the finals in Flights A and C respectively.

“This weekend was absolutely awesome for us,” Kyle Rosen ’14 said. “I was proud as a captain to see so many of my teammates performing to their potential. Jordan Lieb, our first-year, was able to pull out a huge victory in his bracket. Octavio was able to make it to the finals of his bracket. As always, Nick Bybel was performing to the best of his capabilities and made it to the finals of his bracket.”

Playing in the biggest tournament of his young career with the Bison, Lieb won all four of his matches over the three days. On day one, Lieb recorded two three-set victories over second-seeded Jacob Solly of Marist and AJ Aziz of Boston College. Against Solly, Lieb dropped the first set but managed to rally to earn the upset victory.

In the semifinals, Lieb came face to face with fellow teammate Aidan Lynch ’14 and claimed the 6-3, 6-4 victory to advance to the finals. There, Lieb played his toughest match of the weekend, needing three extremely competitive sets to earn the title against St. Francis. Though Lieb fell 3-6 in the first round, he rallied late in the second set to take a 7-6 victory and then carried this momentum into the tiebreaking set to become the sole Bison to claim a title.

In the A singles flight, Bybel cruised through the competition during the early rounds, winning his first three matches in straight sets. In the finals, Bybel faced off against third-seeded Arvis Berzins of Fairleigh Dickinson and fell 7-5, 6-0.

In C singles, Canibe dominated his first round match but then faced a series of grueling matches over the next three rounds. In the semifinals, Canibe needed three intense sets to overcome the second-seeded opponent, but ultimately won 11-9 in the tiebreaker. Canibe then fell in straight sets to Dylan Fletcher of Marist.

“Overall, there was a positive mentality and a strong sense of unity for our team. I have no doubt that this will continue moving forward,” Rosen said.

After its third consecutive weekend of action, the Orange and Blue will rest this weekend before splitting up for two invitationals at Virginia and Lehigh on Oct. 4-6. Bybel will compete tomorrow in the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis continues to dominate

Claudia Silvers

Contributing Writer 

The women’s tennis team once again dominated the courts on Sept. 20-21 in its second home tournament of the fall season. The Bison faced competition against Villanova, Mount St. Mary’s, and Bloomsburg.

“I’m thrilled at the level we are competing at for this early in our year. We are not only playing solid tennis, but we are playing smart tennis, which is a very encouraging sign for later this year,” head coach Rebecca Helt said.

Off to a great start in both doubles and singles, the Bison placed a team member in the finals of every draw. Stephanie Pino ’16, Michele Urbinati ’17, and Jorie Fox ’17 all finished as champions of their respective brackets. Pino won all three of her Blue Flight singles matches in straight sets, never giving up more than three games. Pino ultimately defeated Villanova’s Nicole Coons 6-3, 6-0 in the finals.

Urbinati followed a similar pattern and did not drop a set in her White Draw singles matches, defeating Villanova player Conner Brewer 6-2, 6-2 in the finals.

Fox won the Gray Draw, recovering from a tough three-set match in the semifinals to triumph over Villanova’s Giana Mitchell 6-1, 6-2 in the finals.

Maria Cioffi ’16 played a tough match in the finals of the Orange Draw, dropping the first set 6-0. Although Cioffi fought back to win 6-2 in the second, she ultimately lost in a 10-8 supertiebreaker.

“I think as a team we had a solid weekend because we had someone in the finals of every draw, and a lot of the team has made noticeable improvement from the start of the season until now,” Cioffi said.

The Bison also experienced success in the doubles flights. They appeared in the finals of both doubles flights, clinching victory in the Doubles North Draw. The North Draw ended in an all Bison-final, with Cioffi/Urbinati beating teammates Pino/Lydia Colvin ’15 8-4. Fox/Melissa Parks ’17 ultimately lost to Villanova in the finals of the Doubles South Draw.

“After this weekend, I’m really excited about how far we’ve progressed in terms of doubles! We’ve come a long way after struggling to find good chemistry last year as indicated by the doubles final including two Bucknell teams,” Colvin said.

“Performing like this so early really allows us to put more focus on the smaller details that will help make us a better team. There’s no question we have the talent. Now it’s about measuring the desire to work harder on the small things that build championship caliber teams,” Helt said.

The women’s tennis team will finish its fall season with the St. Bonaventure Invitational on Oct. 4-6.

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Beyond the Bison Sports

“You play in dirt, you get dirty”

Julian Dorey

Senior Writer 

Maybe it’s karma. The Washington RGIII’s are 0-III.

I’ve said it time and time again, and I’ll say it once more: Robert Griffin III is the cockiest egomaniac to enter the NFL in my lifetime. I’ve seen guys with too much swagger (James Harrison), big mouths (Philip Rivers), and guts of glory (Rex Ryan—and no pun intended). I’ve even seen well-spoken, well-educated players with the common sense of an armed robber wielding a loaded water gun (Donovan McNabb).

But never have I seen a more blatantly arrogant, overly-ambitious, attention-seeking bigot that is RGIII.

The saddest part is that Bob (I like calling him by his shortened, universally-common name) is a good player. Not a great player. A good one. Admittedly, he could be great someday, but the media made him out to be a messiah in his first season. Typical overreaction.

Many pounded their fists on the table and insisted that he was much better than the quarterback selected before him, Andrew Luck. Never mind that mega-moron himself, Skip Bayless, was perhaps the leader of this “movement.”

You see, Griffin has something that Luck doesn’t: complete, inarguable marketability. As a ripped-out-of-his-mind, freakish athlete with a Heisman Trophy sitting in his living room, a man with a love for tacky, outrageous, and unnecessary socks, a man with a consistent social media presence, and a man with a thirst for opinion-giving that rivals world leaders, Griffin was an obvious subject of mouth-drooling among the country’s biggest marketers when he declared for the 2012 NFL draft.

Luck, on the other hand, is a plain-spoken, nerd-type with little public presence worth noting once he hangs his pads up each day. This is clearly why Griffin enjoyed significantly more attention and praise last year.

I’m usually not one to jump to quick conclusions and, for the sake of argument, I’m going to avoid breaking that code now. But I will say this: despite the fact that Griffin does deserve more time to ease his recovering knee back into form (he tore his ACL and PCL in the Wild Card round of last year’s playoffs), he and his teammates look utterly flat and lifeless through three games. In fairness, not all of it is on him. His defense is pathetic, Alfred Morris has been disappointing, and his coaches have a history with mishandling their QBs.

The facts and the tape don’t lie. No one seems to be afraid of Griffin’s vaunted legs, he’s turning the ball over like crazy (which actually started last year–he has 17 fumbles in 19 career games, including the playoffs), and his passes lack that Pro-Bowl look.

And the result? A 0-III hole to start the campaign.

Luck, on the other hand, looks to be in complete control and is coming off a well-managed, old-school, convincing victory in San Francisco. His throws look a lot like Peyton Manning’s used to in the same Colts uniform. When you put Luck’s tape side-by-side with Griffin’s at the moment, there’s absolutely no comparison. Even if I take into account Griffin’s injury, eliminate this year’s tape so far, and put in last year’s tape side-by-side, Luck is clearly much farther along at this point. Sure, Griffin has a lot of amazing athletic highlights (and his talent is absolutely undeniable), but as a quarterback his skills are nowhere near Luck’s. I can’t stress enough that Luck had absolutely nothing outside of a 34-year-old Reggie Wayne to work with last year. He had a bunch of no-names and rookies.

Why don’t I feel bad for Griffin? I mentioned it before, and I’ll expand upon it now: his ego. This is the guy who looked into a TV camera a week before he won the Heisman and declared that he had already won (very out of the ordinary). This is the guy who had to mention that the Redskins would have drafted him number one, ahead of Luck, if they had owned the first pick. This is the guy who couldn’t shut up and ran a media campaign all summer about how his coaches were babies and should just put him on the field (before a single, sane doctor cleared him). This is the guy who refused to come out of a playoff game last year after he clearly was hurting the team with a blown-out knee.

Did I mention his socks?

Griffin brings it on himself. Plain and simple. He wants the attention? Fine. He can have it.

But I got news for you, Bob, it ain’t all gonna be positive. Not with your arrogance. How about you put your money where your mouth is and replace that zero in the win column? Maybe then you’d get some of the respect and credentials you so obviously crave. Maybe even one day, you’ll figure out just how great you can be with a quieter, humble approach. Maybe you’ll put a few rings on your finger.

Until then, put your head down and worry about the team for a change.

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Bison Athlete of the Week Sports

Bison Athlete of the Week: Michael McGowan ’15

Lauren Boone

Sports Editor

To say that Michael McGowan ’15, a runner on the men’s cross-country team, has had a stellar season thus far would be an understatement.

McGowan has lead the herd in both of the cross-country events so far this fall season. In the first competition, McGowan took first place at the Bison Open. On Sept. 13, at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational at Penn State, McGowan claimed second place, running the 5.2-mile course in 26:03. He was a mere 13 seconds shy of a first-place finish.

Following his all-star performances, McGowan was named Bison Athlete of the Week and also received an Honorable Mention for the Patriot League Runner of the Week.

“I was happy with my performance against a strong PSU team and a decent field,” McGowan said. “I thought I gave [Robby] Creese of PSU a good run for his money considering he is a sub four-minute miler, and he ran at the U.S. Track and Field Championships this summer. I still think I have a lot to improve on, though.”

Looking forward to the rest of the fall season, it is safe to say that we can only expect the best from McGowan. 

Bison Profile

Class: Junior

Hometown: Wynnewood, Pa.

High School: Lower Merion

Major: Economics

Season Stats

First meet (Bison Open): First-place finish (14:42)

Second meet (Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational): Second-place finish (26:03)

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Golf Men Sports

Men’s golf face challenges at Cornell

Jen Lee

Contributing Writer

Despite rainy conditions in Ithaca, N.Y. this past weekend, Thomas Walter ’14 led the men’s golf team to an impressive 296 team score in the second round of the Cornell Invitational.

No team was able to break 300 in the first round. Walter fought through the tough conditions to post a four-over 75, leading the Bison to a 308 team score in the first round.

The men completed 12 holes in the second round before the remaining holes were postponed due to heavy rain. When they finished the last six holes, the Bison had an overall 296 team score, making the men second-best right behind Towson’s 292.

“I thought the team battled back well in the second round to get back into contention. To finish under 300 in those conditions was a good round. Coach always preaches to have everyone under 75 and we accomplished that,” Walter said.

Walter sat comfortably close to the lead after posting an even-par 71 in the second round.

Despite this flash of brilliance from the men, the herd could not carry this momentum into the final round. The Orange and Blue posted a 313 team score in the round (917 overall) to finish eighth in the standings.

Walter said the final round was “tough” and “very disappointing from both an individual aspect and a team aspect.” Walter could not capitalize on his 75-71 start, posting an 81 in the final round. Despite his final round, Walter still finished in a tie for 19th place.

Peter Scialabba ’15 was able to lead the Bison in the final round, carding a four-over par 75. Scialabba tied for 24th with fellow Bison John Edler ’17. D.J. Magee ’17 completed his first road start with all three rounds in the seventies.

“We were semi-pleased with our performance last weekend. We posted a great second round score, which put us only eight back of the leaders, but could not capitalize in the third round. We remain confident, because all of five players were able to contribute, and our team’s depth continues to be proven,” Scialabba said.

The Bison hope to showcase this depth Oct. 6-7 at the Army Invitational, site of the 2014 Patriot League Championship in April.

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Men Sports Water Polo

Men’s water polo bests Navy, conquered by George Washington

Katherine Harris

Senior Writer 

The men’s water polo team competed hard on the road last weekend, taking down Navy before falling to George Washington and Johns Hopkins.

The Bison started out strong on Sept. 21 when they traveled to Annapolis, Md. to take on Navy in their first game of CWPA Southern Division play. Nick Hale ’16 led the Orange and Blue offense in the match, tallying three goals and one assist. Hale was backed up by Alex Nowlin ’14, who netted one goal of his own along with three assists. On the defensive side, Keegan Williams ’15 held up his end of the pool with 10 saves in goal, allowing the Bison to finish with an 8-6 victory.

“I think the team did well this past weekend,” Jack Else ’14 said. “It was great to beat Navy at their pool but we still have some work to do.” 

The Orange and Blue then drove to Washington D.C. to take on George Washington that evening. The Bison had strong offensive performances from many players, including Stefan Aleksic ’16 with four goals and Else and Julian Colina ’14 who both tallied three goals. Hale also had two goals on the night, but even with his contribution the team was unable to surmount the offensive onslaught of their opponent, losing 15-14 in the last minute of the game.

The Bison regrouped to take on a tough Johns Hopkins squad on Sept. 22. Else once again performed strongly for the Orange and Blue, tallying five goals on the day. He was backed up by teammate Mike Kimble ’14 with three goals, along with Stephen Norton ’14 with two. Williams had an even better day in goal for the squad, coming close to his career-high with 14 saves. Unfortunately, the team was still unable to pull out a victory, losing 14-12.

“It’s an ongoing process,” Else said. “The other two games this weekend were tough because we had to deal with shallow pools and we were out of our element. I was happy with the way I played but I always feel like I can do better.” 

The Bison will have a week off to practice and rest before continuing their season on Oct. 6 at Princeton.

“We will focus on defense and six on five these next two weeks in preparation for Princeton,” Else said.

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Field Hockey Sports

Women’s field hockey beat Lehigh, fall to Delaware

Emily Evancho

Assistant Sports Editor 

The women’s field hockey team breezed past Lehigh in its Patriot League opener with a 4-1 home win over the Mountain Hawks on Sept. 21. The match on Sept. 22 proved to be more of a test, leaving the Bison eager to bounce back from their 4-3 loss against the No. 16 Delaware Blue Hens.

The Orange and Blue dominated the field in their match against Lehigh, refusing to relinquish control of the scoreboard for the last hour of the game. Kiersten Sydnor ’16 began the Bison’s lead swiftly with a quick strike into the goal only 9:51 into the game.

Amie Pritchard ’15 gave a strong performance on the right offensive side. Pritchard set up the second goal for the Orange and Blue by intercepting Lehigh’s pass attempt and then passing to teammate Rachel Misko ’14 for the goal. Not soon after the second goal, Abby Watson ’16 was able to get Leigh Hillman ’14 the opening for a third tally, bringing the score to 3-1 by the end of the first half. Lehigh succeeded with one goal but the triumph was short lived when Sydnor scored the Bison’s fourth goal of the game, sealing the win.

 The game against Delaware shaped up to be more of a real challenge. Hillman padded the scoreboard with a goal for the Bison in the first half after catching a rebound from Delaware, bringing the score to 2-1 nearing the end of the first half. But Delaware changed the situation in the final moments by adding a goal with 2:17 left in the half, making the score 3-1 heading into halftime.

The second half of the match was the true battle of the game, during which Cassie Lawrence ’15 scored the first goal of her career midway through the second half, pulling the Orange and Blue to a better stand at 4-2. With two penalty corners in the final minutes of the game, it was a hectic ending to a valiant struggle. As the clock ran down to 0:00, Delaware caused another penalty corner which Vickie Resh ’14 took advantage of by passing to teammate Liz Wills ’15, who dished an assist to Watson for the final goal of the game for the Orange and Blue, leaving the score at a dignified end.

The herd will return to its home field tomorrow at noon to compete against Colgate.