Another weekend of Bison volleyball has concluded, where the Orange and Blue faced two tough losses against Loyola and American. The Bison fought hard against the Greyhounds, breaking five sets before they surrendered. The Bison then traveled down to American where they were swept 3-0. These matches contributed to a total of five consecutive Patriot League losses for the season so far.

On Friday, Oct. 24, the Bison faced off against the Greyhounds for an intense five-set matchup. The Greyhounds outnumbered their opponents in kills with 67 to the Bison’s 61. This repeated in hitting percentage, where the Orange and Blue’s .197 was outmatched by Loyola’s .239. Middle blocker Sidney Shaffer ’27 scored a new career-high kills per game; her 19 total led the entire team. Riley Tucker ’26 made her own contribution of 13 at the net, and Kaitlyn Taylor ’27 earned 10, giving the Bison three scorers in the double-digits. 

The match itself started strong in the first set for the Bison with a hefty 9-2 lead, keeping the pace during the set to 19-10. Despite Loyola’s five-point run, the Orange and Blue came out to win the first set 25-21. The second set consisted of a lot more lead exchanges between the teams, but a 20-20 tie was found towards the end of the set. However, a 3-1 run for Loyola caused them to snatch the set and tie with the Bison so far. The Orange and Blue then utilized the next set, starting with 5-0. They carried this momentum for the rest of the set as they led the remainder until they settled it, 25-20. The Orange and Blue tried to push this victory into the fourth, but ultimately lost 22-25 after a rough 5-0 run by Loyola. This energy carried into the fifth set, where the Greyhounds came out on top, 15-7.

The matchup against American proved much rougher for the Bison. Bri Frazilus ’26 stepped up as the kill leader for Bucknell with seven and setter Laura Caro Sanchez ’26 aided with 13 assists for the game. 

The match was tight at the beginning of the first set, where both teams tied quickly at 3-3. The Eagles took flight afterward to dominate the set, 25-17. The second set proved a similar ending, where American closed the set 25-13. The Bison put up their best fight in the third set, but still fell short, 18-25. 

Volleyball will be back in action this Saturday in Davis Gym against Lafayette.