Bison Women’s Water Polo began their weekend with a close victory against Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers. The Orange and Blue now have three straight wins with a record of 3-1.
Olivia Hopper ’28 has continued on her train of success, scoring three goals for the Bison, in addition to Gwen Kallmeyer’s ’26 three goals. Hopper now leads the team with a high of eight points.
Within the first period, Hopper, Kallmeyer and Hayden Hedstrom ’28 led the Bison to a score of 3-2. Hopper added two more goals with Campbell Collins ’27 tallying up an extra point, ending at half with a score of 6-3. The Orange and Blue struggled to push forward but were able to maintain their lead at the end of the third period with Kallmeyer’s goal, moving to a score of 7-6. In the final period, Boati Matau ’25, Caitlin Stott ’27 and Kallmeyer earned points with Mount falling behind, resulting in a score of 10-7. The Mountaineers refused to give up, though, tightening the score to a 10-9 deficit, but the Bison stood tall, earning the overall win.
On Feb. 2, the Orange and Blue extended their winning streak, dominating over Gannon University and McKendree University. 12 different Bison women scored in the Gannon match. Ava Bayne ’28 and Collins each tallied a high of three points. Again, Collins, Kallmeyer and Hopper opened up the first quarter with a charge. Gannon only scored a couple of points, allowing the Orange and the Blue to maintain a gallant lead.
Malli Challa ’26, Izzy Lippolis ’25 and Kallmeyer furiously fought in the second period, extending their lead to 7-3 at the half. The third quarter was just the same: Bucknell outscored Gannon with Collins, Motau, Amy Pischke ’27 and Bella Schraa ’26 all scoring one goal. The fourth period was, by far, the Bison’s best showing. Bayne scored all three of her goals, Rhys Beutler ’28 supplied two and Sidney Finkler ’25 and Hopper both added one more. The final score was 18-6, a huge Bison win.
Next up, the Orange and Blue faced McKendree and, again, took a dominant position and kept it. Six different Bucknellians scored, with Ashley Hopper ’28 tallying three. The first four goals were scored by an array of women: Shraa, Kallmeyer, Motau and Lehua Bender ’27, pushing the Bison to a 6-0 lead. The first-year twin Hopper sisters, Olivia and Ashley went on a rampage, quickly scoring four points. McKendree followed with two more goals to end the half at a score of 7-2. The third quarter consisted of three goals total, one by O. Hopper, Kallmeyer and McKendree. The fourth quarter concluded with Bender’s and McKendree’s three points, ending the match as a Bison win of 10-3.
This was a dominant showing for the Bison. Their season is off to a strong start, even being the best start since 2020. Catch them on Feb. 8 and 9 at home for the Bucknell Invitational.
