By Colin Fields

Contributing Writer

Last Friday, Morgan Mientus ’14 led the women’s volleyball team against American in Washington, D.C. Mientus performed well at the net with 10 kills and five digs. The Bison then traveled to Annapolis, Md. where they took Navy to five sets in a hotly contested match. Jessica Serrato ’14 racked up a personal-best 21 kills.

At American, the Bison lost to the Eagles 25-22 in the first set. The Bison trailed early, but blocks from Kat Tauscher ’13 and Anne Ellenberger ’12 pulled the Orange and Blue within one before dropping the first set to American. The Eagles pulled away 25-11 in the second set. The Orange and Blue tried to mount a comeback in the third with back-to-back kills from Ellenberger and Serrato but could only pull within three and lost 25-16.

“It felt really good to be able to go up against a great team such as American and be able to perform. We definitely have a lot to improve on for next time and hopefully a few things will start to go our way. Moving forward we need to stop making unforced errors, and also we need to play more relaxed,” Mientus said.

The Bison traveled to Annapolis Saturday to face Navy. The Orange and Blue won the first two sets easily, 25-18 and 25-19. Errors and a motivated comeback by the Midshipmen evened the match at two sets apiece. The Bison lost the third set 25-19 but came painstakingly close in the fourth, losing 26-24. The Orange and Blue opened the fifth set 7-2, but eventually lost 15-13. The Bison have lost three matches this year in five sets.

“Our team needs to learn how to finish games. We should have beaten Navy in the third set instead of playing down to their level in the third and fourth sets. We came out strong against them and need to learn to maintain that strength in all three games,” Tauscher said.

The Bison host league rivals Lehigh and Lafayette in a crucial pair of games this weekend in Davis Gymnasium.

“No one knows what’s going to happen, but we have now dug ourselves into a hole. This weekend is really important. We have to beat Lehigh and Lafayette at home so that they are on their heels when we play them later in the season at their house,” Tauscher said.