The Bison volleyball team spent the weekend at home, hosting Navy on Oct. 1 and American University on Oct. 2 in Davis Gym. In two hard-fought match ups, the Bison came up short of victory, going 0-2 on the weekend. The Orange and Blue now sit at 1-5 in the Patriot League. 

On Friday, the Bison battled the Navy Midshipmen in a three-set match. Navy came out flying in the first set, beating the Bison by the largest margin of the night with a 25-15 victory. While the Bison converted back-to-back points on three separate runs, that was the most they were able to do in the first set. The Orange and Blue came out much stronger in the second set. While initially trailing Navy 21-15, a service ace by Lisa Zoch ’23 put the Bison within one point of the Mids at 21-20. Navy eventually pulled away, ending the set on a 4-1 run. Even in the third match, the Bison struggled to catch up to the Mids, with the closest score being 13-9 Navy. The Mids would go on to win the third set 25-16, leaving Lewisburg with a 3-0 victory against the Bison. 

Despite the loss, there were many notable performances by the Orange and Blue. Sophomore setter Sarah Ramierez led the team with 26 assists on the night, while rookie libero Jordan Hardy ’25 led the team in digs, totaling 11. Valentina Feigl ’24 also ended the night with a .400 hitting percentage. 

Less than 24 hours later, the Bison returned to Davis Gym on Saturday afternoon to take on American. After facing defeat the previous night, the Bison came out fired up, leading American 22-21. After back-to-back team errors, the score was evened to 25-25, but an American point and Bison error led American to victory in the first set. The next second was just as close, with American pulling away with a 25-23 victory. While the Bison held a .343 hitting percentage, they could not manage to gain an edge over American. The set was tied at 19-19, with points going back and forth until American put two points away, ending the second set. The Bison came out strong in the third set, holding a 4-0 lead, but could not keep up with American, letting them pull away with their largest victory of the night. The third set ended in a 25-16 American victory, closing out the night on a 3-0 defeat. 

Key performances for the Orange and Blue included a high of 12 kills by Catherine Jamison ’24 followed by Zoch with nine kills and Libby Nieporte ’24 with eight. Ramirez tallied a match-high of 37 assists, while Valentina Fiegl ’24 added five block assists. 

When asked about the two results, Allie Lopez ’24 said “this weekend showed that [they’re] just going to keep getting better — and although it wasn’t the results [they] wanted, [they] still didn’t go down without a fight.”

The Bison will look to bounce back next weekend, with two more home match-ups slated in Davis Gym. The Orange and Blue will first face off against Loyola (Md.) on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m., followed by Colgate on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 3 p.m.