Over the weekend, Bucknell Women’s Volleyball traveled to Williamsburg, Va. to compete in the Tribe Invitational. The Bison went 3-0 on the weekend defeating William & Mary, George Mason and Quinnipiac.
On Friday, Sept. 6, Bucknell beat William & Mary 3-2 in a back-and-forth match. The Bison won in set one 25-23, set two 25-16 and set five 19-17. The first set was the closest of them all. Bucknell had an early 12-7 lead, but William & Mary tied it up at 16-16 and the squads traded points until the end of the set.
During this matchup, Sidney Shaffer ’27 earned a career-high 18 kills and seven blocks, Tijana Kostic ’26 tallied 16 kills, Bri Frazilus ’26 had 13 kills, Caleigh O’Connell ’26 scored 49 assists and Jordan Hardy ’25 claimed 33 digs.
On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Bison continued their winning streak by defeating George Mason 3-0 and Quinnipiac 3-0.
Against George Mason, Frazilus led the attack for the Orange and Blue with 15 kills. In the first set, the Bison and GMU traded points until the score was 12-10. Immediately, Bucknell took off on a 13-7 run to clinch the set. During that run, Hardy collected her historic dig to break and set the new Bucknell record.
Hardy now has more than 1,616 career digs, landing her first place in the Bucknell record books and ninth in the Patriot League records.
In the second set, Bucknell took off with a 4-1 lead before GMU overpowered 6-5. That lead was the only one the Patriots would have for the remainder of the game. The Bison retook the advantage and carried out their strong performance to close out the set.
The third set saw a 5-5 draw in the beginning, followed by a large run by the Orange and Blue. George Mason had no opportunity to catch up to the Bison.
Heading into the second game of the day and last of the tournament, the Bison came in motivated to beat Quinnipiac.
Early in the first quarter, Bucknell trailed 10-5. The Bison then responded with an 11-5 run to earn the lead. Quinnipiac managed to come back and tie the game 24-24. However, a service error and a Hardy service ace won the Bison the set.
The second set was an even match-up as well, starting off at 8-8 with the teams trading points. Ultimately, the Orange and Blue won the set.
The third set, ending in a score of 25-13, came as an easier win for Bucknell. Despite being down 4-3 at the beginning, the Bison responded well and went on a 13-2 run. A Kostic kill gave her the match lead for kills and helped Bucknell secure its clean weekend sweep.
Next weekend, Bucknell will be traveling to Western New York to compete in a three-day non-conference tournament against Canisius, Youngstown State and Niagara University.
