Nov. 9, 2007

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell volleyball team will close out the 2007 season this weekend as the squad will travel to Army and Holy Cross, facing the Black Knights on Saturday and the Crusaders on Sunday. Both matches are set to begin at 4 p.m. Entering this weekend's action, the Bison are 11-16 on the year, 4-8 in Patriot League play.

BISON VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK

About the Bison
- Senior Jenna Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif./Laguna Creek) currently leads the Bison in kills with an average of 4.51 per game and is hitting a team-best .271. This past weekend against Navy on Senior Night, Henderson broke the program's career kills record, previously held by Melissa Wharton (1,377). Henderson now has 1,386 career kills and with 415 on the season, is seven shy of breaking Bucknell's single season record, also held by Wharton, who had 421 in 1996. Henderson is five digs away from her 1,000th of her career, as well. If she reaches that milestone, she will join Brandi Trapasso '04 as the only two players in school history to total 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. Henderson ranks second in the league in kills per game and 11th in hitting percentage.
- Freshman Heidi Kamp (Springfield, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon) paces the Bison in blocks with 75 (0.79 per game) to rank 10th in the Patriot League, while junior setter Shannon Pitsch (Oak Brook, Ill./Fenwick) has a team-best 35 service aces on the year (0.39 per game). Pitsch is averaging 11.17 assists per game and is 287 shy of the program's career record, currently held by Amy Turnshek '98. She ranks third in the Patriot League in assists per game and ninth in service aces per game.
- Junior Sheena Czipri (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) holds a squad-best average of 3.00 digs per game. She set a new career high with 18 against Navy on Nov. 3.

Milestones for Opalski
- Cindy Opalski coached in her 500th match as head coach of the Bison on Sept. 1 at Duquesne. Then when Bucknell topped Morgan State, 3-1, on Sept. 5, it gave Opalski her 350th career victory. She is currently 357-284 in 21 seasons as a head coach. Bucknell's win over Lehigh on Sept. 21 gave Opalski her 100th Patriot League victory. She leads all active coaches in the league, currently with 103.

Scouting the Army Black Knights
- The Black Knights enter Saturday's match with a record of 22-4, 10-2 in league play. Army holds a 17-13 advantage in the all-time series with Bucknell that began in 1989. Earlier this season on Oct. 13, the Black Knights picked up a 3-1 victory in Lewisburg. In that match, the Bison won game one, 30-27, before dropping the next three, 30-24, 31-29 and 31-29.
- Rachael Breinling and Jamie Clark lead the Black Knights' attack with averages of 3.47 and 3.29 kills per game, respectively. Clark is also hitting a team-best .368 and has 91 blocks to her credit, while Breinling follows with 81 blocks.
- Setter Maureen Bannon holds an average of 11.78 assists per game and Shara Hoffman boasts a team-best average of 3.52 digs per game.

Scouting the Holy Cross Crusaders
- With a match against Colgate slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday, the Crusaders enter the weekend with a record of 4-22 (1-11 PL). Bucknell leads the all-time series against Holy Cross, which began in 1986, with a record of 23-9. The Bison have come away with a win in the last 12 meetings between the squads, including a 3-0 victory earlier this season on Oct. 12 in Lewisburg.
- Christine Strawson heads up the offense for Holy Cross with an average of 4.03 kills per game and a .286 hitting percentage.
- Setter Chelsey O'Donnell holds an average of 9.53 assists per game.
- Molly Anderson leads the squad in digs (3.78 per game), Meagan Merinder has a team-best 47 blocks on the year and Katie Fitzpatrick has 34 service aces, a team high.

Recapping Bucknell's Matches Against American and Navy
- On Friday, Nov. 2, Bucknell suffered a 3-0 setback against American in Davis Gym, dropping the games by the scores of 30-21, 30-16 and 30-28. Kamp was the lone Bucknell player to reach double-figures in kills as she totaled a team-high 12, followed by Henderson with eight. Henderson led the squad in digs with 13 and added three block assists. Pitsch and classmate Czipri contributed nine digs apiece, while Pitsch also dished 25 assists.
- On Saturday, Nov. 3, Henderson totaled 19 kills to help her break the program career record, but it was not enough as Bucknell fell to Navy, 3-0. The Midshipmen took the games by the scores of 32-30, 31-29 and 31-29. Henderson hit .395 for the Orange and Blue with her 19 kills coming with just four errors on 38 attempts, while also contributing 13 digs for a double-double. Behind Henderson, Kamp and junior Emilie Hardinge (Darien, Conn./Darien) followed with nine kills apiece on the night. Hardinge added 13 digs, which trailed only Czipri's total of 18. Setters Pitsch and Allison Gittings (Dayton, Md./Glenelg) chipped in with 33 and 11 assists, respectively.

2007 Awards and Honors
- Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week - Jenna Henderson (9/10/07)
- Patriot League Player of the Week - Jenna Henderson (9/10/07)
- Patriot League Rookie of the Week - Kaitlin Segal (9/24/07)
- ECAC Volleyball Player of the Week - Jenna Henderson (9/13/07)
- Patriot League Honorable Mention - Jenna Henderson (8/27/07 & 9/4/07, 9/29/07, 11/5/07)
- All Tournament Teams - Shannon Pitsch (Air Force Invitational), Jenna Henderson (Courtyard by Marriott Duquesne/RMU Invitational, Bucknell Invitational), Emilie Hardinge (Cornell Invitational, Bucknell Invitational)