The AU women’s volleyball team added another win to their undefeated Patriot League record on Nov. 1 in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania defeating Bucknell in four sets.
The Eagles (20-5, 11-0) held a comfortable 18-11 lead in the first set, but Bucknell (4-17, 3-10 PL) fought back to be within one point before the Eagles scored six consecutive points to close out the set 25-18.
The Bison continued to pressure the Eagles, unlike the first time AU played Bucknell when AU breezed by Bucknell in straight sets 25-9, 25-12, 25-18.
Bucknell, who leads the Patriot League in digs, took the second set and nearly came away with the third set through their physical play, but the Eagles matched Bucknell’s intensity to notch a hard-earned win.
"Bucknell is certainly one of the more physical teams in our league," AU assistant coach Ahen Kim said in a press release. "They were able to hold our hitting down with digging and blocking, so for us to respond with digs and blocks of our own showed a lot of competitiveness. It was enough to stay in the fight until our hitters got hot again.”
Three Eagles finished with double-digit kills in the match. Junior Allison Cappellino led the way with 19 kills; Kelly McCadden and Monika Smidova finished with 11 each. Smidova filled out her stat line by adding 41 assists and 15 digs.
The final set played out the way most expected the match to go as the Eagles set the tempo and closed out the match with a 25-13 fourth set to beat the Bison.
The Eagles travel to face Navy on Nov. 5, before returning home for a two-game stretch.
"Being on the road is always an added challenge, so as coaches, we're pleased to come away competing hard for a pair of wins,” Kim said in the press release, referring the recent wins against Bucknell and Lafayette. “We have bigger matches coming soon, and experiencing these kinds of challenges should prepare us for a strong finish."
