Women’s volleyball travelled to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Sept. 11-12 to participate in the Volley in the Valley, hosted by Marist, and kicked off the weekend with a 3-0 victory. The Bison boast one of the strongest teams in the program’s history. The first of three matches took place Sept. 11, where the Orange and Blue immediately swept La Salle, winning 25-20, 25-15, 25-19. This improved the Bison to a 5-1 record, the best through six matches since 1998. Notable performances include Hailey Stout ’18 who had nine kills and five digs. Blake Buchholz ’19 completed seven kills and four digs. Impressively, Meghan Wentzel ’16 tallied 32 assists during this first match of the tournament. Karen Campbell ’16, who continues to excel during her last season as a Bison, already earned MVP honors at the SHU Hampton Inn Shelton Invitational, Patriot League Player of the Week, and All-Tournament Team recognition at the CCSU Blue Devil Classic this season.

“Having faced some tougher teams, we lost a few games. But we learned a lot about what we need to work on for the Patriot League Championship. We have a whole week of practice to improve our skills for our home tournament, which I am really excited for,” Stephanie Occhiogrosso ’19 said. 

The second two matches of Volley in the Valley took place Sept. 12, beginning with a game against Bryant and finishing with a game against Marist. Unfortunately, the Bison saw their four-match winning streak conclude when they lost to both Bryant and Marist. The Blue and Orange fell 3-0 in the first match against Bryant. Later that day, they dropped 3-1 against the hosting team.

Despite this setback, the women are only two victories shy of their total wins throughout all of last year. The Bison also eagerly await the return of multiple starters who have missed the previous games due to injury. Notable performances from the match against Bryant include Stout with six kills, Buchholz and Occhiogrosso with five kills apiece. Wentzel also tallied 27 assists. During the Marist match, two players led the team despite the unfavorable outcome. Buchholz and Stout both finished with 11 kills, and Stout had 16 digs while Buchholz tallied nine. The women are ready to continue with a strong season despite this two-match upset.

The Bison will return Sept. 18-19 at the Bucknell Invitational, where they will face Colgate, Providence, and Delaware State.