HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Niagara volleyball won their first set of the season, but it was not enough falling to Bucknell 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 21-25, 17-25) on Saturday at Cam Henderson Center.
The Purple Eagles fell to 0-3, while the Bison improved to 1-2.
Set 1:
Niagara fell behind 19-11 to start the first set, but went on an eight point run behind kills from Kadee Goolsby and Katelynn Rottman to knot the set up at 19. Bucknell called a timeout and scored the first point out of the break, but the Purple Eagles scored the last six points of the set with multiple kills from Payton Lee and Rottman to take the set 25-20.
Set 2:
Niagara came out of the gate hot, scoring the first four points and building a 7-1 lead behind kills from Karlotta Kattai and Taylor Jenkins as well as an ace from Rottman. Jakayla Brown and Lee added kills of their own to push the lead to 10-4. But Bucknell answered with a serving run from Emily Kearney that included an ace and four straight points, part of a closing surge that saw the Bison outscore Niagara 15-3 the rest of the way for a 25-18 win that evened the match.
Set 3:
This time Bucknell came out of the gates on fire, getting out to a 6-2 lead, before Kattai ended their run with a kill, followed by an ace from Noel Perkins. The Bison grew their lead back to 10-6, before the Purple Eagles put together four straight points behind kills from Rottman and Jenkins to knot things up at 10. Bucknell inched ahead down the stretch, and after Niagara pulled within 21-19 on a Cameron Lloyd attack error, the Bison closed out the 25-21 win to take a 2-1 match lead.
Set 4:
Bucknell jumped ahead 12-2 out of the gate, and while Niagara chipped away — cutting the deficit to 16-8 on a Moreland attack-error point and getting kills from Kattai and Rottman to stay within striking distance — the Bison never let the Purple Eagles fully close the gap, closing out the match 25-17.
Niagara Notes
Niagara is now 3-10 all-time against Bucknell
Katelynn Rottman and Karlotta Kattai each finished with career-high 14 kills
Paisley Ka'ahanui dished a season-high 24 assists
Ashley Moreland led with 14 digs
Payton Lee and Rottman led the Purple and White with three blocks a piece
Up Next
Niagara heads to Erie, Pa to take part in the Mercyhurst Invitational September 11-12 to face Kent State, Columbia and host Mercyhurst.
