Over the weekend, the Women’s Volleyball team hosted William & Mary, Cornell and Princeton at the Bucknell Invitational. The Bison defeated Cornell but fell to William & Mary and Princeton.
On Friday, Sept. 1, the Bison were defeated by William & Mary in four sets after Bucknell tied up the game in the second period (22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 19-25).
William & Mary started the match on a 4-1 run before the Bison counterattacked to gain a 11-9 lead. During the first period, the teams battled back-and-forth, and kills by Bri Frazilus ’26 and Riley Tucker ’27 tied the game, before the Bison snuck ahead 21-19. Unfortunately, William & Mary went on a run to grab the first set 25-22.
Starting off the second period, William & Mary gained a 6-3 lead, but after a tough battle, the Bison came back by commencing a 12-5 run. With a combined seven kills, Frazilus and Catherine Jamison ’24 led the Bison attack and earned Bucknell the advantage. Before Bucknell went on a 4-0 run to pull away for good, William & Mary crept to a score of 19-16. During the Bison’s final stretch of the period, Frazilus added two more kills, along with Sarah Ramirez ’24 to finish the set with a kill and a Bison win (25-19).
Right off the bat, William & Mary took control of the third set and immediately grabbed a 6-2 lead. However, Bucknell tied up the set at 14-14 on two straight kills and eventually gained a 17-16 advantage. Despite all of Bucknell’s hard work, William & Mary went on a 4-1 run. Throughout the rest of the set, the Bison trailed by only one point, until an attack error gave the set to William & Mary (25-23).
For the fourth set in a row, William & Mary came out of the gates securing a lead. They never let the Bison gain a lead and clinched the set 25-19.
Entering the second day of play, Bucknell was determined to turn their luck around. Fortunately for the Bison, they were able to sweep Cornell and secure the victory in three sets (25-22, 25-22, 26-24).
Jamison led both teams with 17 kills, while her teammate Tijana Kostic ’26 added 12 kills. Bucknell dominated the scores and the stat sheets, earning 49 kills to Cornell’s 34 and 61 digs to Cornell’s 42.
This was the team’s first win against Cornell since 2013 and the first sweep for the Bison since their win over Holy Cross on Sept. 24, 2022.
The first set locked in the tone for the entire game, as it was close and very tightly fought. Both teams battled to a 10-10 tie before Cornell went on two 3-0 runs, while Bucknell could only gain a single tally. However, the Bison turned it around and responded with a 3-0 stretch, while Cornell could only manage a single point. Now, with a tied score of 17-17, the Orange and Blue undertook a 5-2 run by three kills and two service errors. Two more kills by Jamison gave the Bison a 24-20 advantage. Before Jamison added another kill to win the set 25-22, Cornell managed two more points.
Once the second set was underway, Bucknell was up 10-7. However, Cornell came back to tie the set 12-12. With back-to-back kills by Jamison and Cameron Lloyd ’27, the Bison used a 4-1 run to squeeze ahead. Later, Cornell responded with a 8-3 run to take a 21-13 lead. With a Cornell attack error, a Laura Caro ’26 kill, and a Cornell kill, the score was at a 22-22 draw. Again, Jamison did not disappoint, completing two straight kills and a block to earn the 25-22 set victory.
Heading into the third set, Cornell came out hot and quickly took a 7-2 lead. After a critical timeout called by the Bison, there was a clear shift of momentum siding with the Bison. The Orange and Blue took off on a 10-2 run.
For most of the third set, the teams battled back and forth until the score was tied 20-20. As Cornell steamed ahead 24-20, the odds weren’t in the Bison’s favor. However, they never gave up and earned a service ace from Jordan Hardy ’25 and multiple kills from Kostic to make the score 26-24, giving Bucknell the overall match victory.
Before their third and final match of the invitational against Princeton, the Bison were 1-1. Unfortunately, they fell to Princeton in three sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-11).
From the opening serve of the match, the Orange and Blue kept up with Princeton. The teams battled to a 9-9 tie before Princeton began to pull ahead. Eventually, Princeton gained control and undertook a 4-0 run. The Bison managed to claw back and earned a total of 18 points before Princeton claimed the overall set 25-18.
In the second set, Princeton came out firing with a 4-1 lead. The Bison coaches called a wise timeout which helped the team grab a 7-5 advantage. Both teams battled closely for points, but Princeton took a slim 13-12 lead. However, the team made a comeback and used a 3-0 rally to take back the lead. This advantage marked the last time the Bison were ahead. Later in the set, the score was tied 19-19, but within moments, Princeton used a 6-1 run to clinch the set 25-20.
Entering the third period, Princeton was up by two sets, and quickly took control, grabbing a 7-1 lead. The Bison never gave up, however, with multiple Princeton kills, the Tigers were able to claim the set 25-11.
Despite the overall high score, individual team member highlights inlcude Jamison making the All-Tournament Team and Skye Battino ’27 making her collegiate debut.
On Friday, Sept. 8, the Bison will travel to Akron, Ohio to face off against The University of Akron at 6 p.m.
