WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL at Valley Forge Sports Penn Invitational Tournament
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 9-Saturday, Sept. 10
WHERE: The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pa (University of Pennsylvania)
OPPONENTS: Howard (4-3) – Friday, 12 p.m.; Lafayette (2-2) – Friday, 5 p.m.; Bucknell (2-4) – Saturday, 10 a.m.; Penn (0-4) (host) – Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's women's volleyball team will enter the busiest portion of its season schedule this weekend as it prepares to play four matches in the time span of 29 hours in the Valley Forge Sports Penn Invitational Volleyball Tournament.
Mason will begin the long weekend with a rematch against neighbor Howard after falling to the Bison in its season opener on August 26. Friday will be completed with a match against Lafayette, which is on its first road trip of the season.
Saturday will be just as busy for head coach Jackie Simpson-Kirr's team as they will have two more matches, against Bucknell in the morning and against host Penn in the afternoon.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior setter Caitlyn Hipsher, who started for the Patriots for the majority of last season, returned in the lineup last weekend after missing the first weekend of the season. She started in all of Mason's three matches and made an immediate impact, registering 48 assists, 12 digs, and 2 service aces. As a result of her efforts, Hipsher was named to the All-Tournament Team and will look to build on her momentum in Philadelphia.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE NET
After its perfect 3-0 start to the season in the D.C. Volleyball Challenge, Howard prevailed over UMBC in four sets to pick up even more momentum. Last weekend the Bison participated in the competitive Shamrock Invitational, where it played Purdue, Notre Dame, and Coastal Caroline. Howard was a set away from defeating the Fighting Irish after winning the first two sets in their second match of the weekend but could not hold on to their lead. Straight-set losses to the other two opponents in the event sent the Bison on a three-match losing streak and will give the 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion additional motivation to record second-straight win against the Patriots this season. Junior Khaila Donaldson is still dominating the Bison's offense and is the only Howard player with over 3.0 kills per set, boasting a 3.30 rate. Donaldson is just as strong defensively and with her 67 digs is the Bison's best non-libero defender. The outside hitter also has 10 aces, which has her tied for most on the team.
Lafayette opened its season with a straight-set loss to Mason's Atlantic 10 Conference rival La Salle, but rebounded with a 2-1 record over the course of the Crosstown Tournament – which it hosted – to come into the Penn Invitational with a 2-2 record. The Leopards opened play with a four-set victory against Fairleigh Dickinson in Easton, Pa. and followed up with straight-set loss and triumph against Providence and Saint Peters, respectively. The contest against Mason on Friday will be Lafayette's first road match of the campaign. Only junior opposite hitter Tori Smith and freshman outside hitter Sonia Musso have played in each of Lafayette's 13 sets this season and are the Leopards' attack leaders with 83 and 98 total kills, respectively. Junior Katie Kidder has established herself as the team's best defender with 55 digs, 31 more than the two players tied for second in that category.
Bucknell is another team that has been sticking around Pennsylvania for the start of the season as it hosted the Bucknell Tournament in Lewisburg two weekends ago and then participated in the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational which took place in Pittsburg and Moon Township. The Bison started the campaign with a 3-0 win against Fairleigh Dickinson, but have won only one of the last five contests, beating Coppin State last weekend. In their latest contest, Bucknell had a 2-1 set lead over Robert Morris, but dropped the fourth set and then lost the decisive fifth set in extra points to allow the Patriots to escape with the victory. Bucknell has a competitive lineup which features three players with at least 57 kills, two of them – junior outside hitter Hailey Stout and freshman middle blocker Bridgette Holland – hitting over .200. The competition carries over to the defensive duties as well, where four players already have over 50 digs in the young season. They are led by Stout with 84 digs.
The tournament host Penn started their season another four-match tournament in Texas last weekend. Despite coming back from two sets down against Toledo in their tournament opener, the Quakers lost the fifth set 15-10, which was the start to a ten-set losing streak, which also featured 3-0 losses against Houston Baptist, North Florida, and Northern Colorado. Sophomore outside hitter Courtney Quinn leads Penn in both total kills (40) and kills per set (2.86), while junior outside hitter Michelle Pereira has a team-high 51 digs.\
