One is McAhren’s administration qualities. She’s a co-captain for the Bison — one of the best in that accommodation that Opalski has had in a connected time in agreement of extending that administration throughout the aggregation and dispatch up into a position of actuality a role archetypal for Bucknell.
The abutting is McAhren’s competitiveness, the actuality that she brand to win.
“Not alone does she like to win, but she absolutely aloof acts as a agitator for that competitiveness and others about her,” Opalski said from the Lewisburg, Pa., school. “It’s a absolutely acceptable activity for the blow of our aggregation aback Kyleigh gets herself in that affectionate of mode, area she’s in a acceptable canal and actuality aggressive and aloof accomplishing able-bodied in games. It transcends to the blow of the team.”
The third is McAhren’s volleyball skills. The chief from Napa can comedy all around, as a hitter and acquaintance on the advanced row, as able-bodied as a dependable amateur in the aback row. The Bison can calculation on her for putting the brawl bottomward with accurateness and authority. They can calculation on her for digs.
“She’s consistently done a nice job on the court, both on the abhorrent and arresting ends of her game,” said Opalski. “Her bold is actual balanced. She’s not aloof one of those players that plays in the advanced row or aloof the aback row, she plays all the way around. She does a absolute acceptable job of accidental on both abandon of the ball.”
It’s adamantine for McAhren to accept that it’s her aftermost year for Bucknell, that alone a few weeks abide in the season, that in May she will be admission from the small, clandestine academy with a amount in accounting.
The 2008 Justin-Siena Aerial Academy alum and above multi-sport amateur for the Braves is accepting a lot of fun arena for the Bison.
“It’s aggregate that I hoped it would be,” said McAhren, 22. “I’ve fabricated some abundant friends, abnormally on my aggregation here, that will be my constant friends. Overall, my acquaintance has been great. I couldn’t accept asked for more.
“Overall, I’m absolutely blessed with the bodies and the aggregation and the academy here.”
McAhren and four others were accustomed Friday afore Bucknell’s Patriot League bout adjoin Navy during “Senior Night” at Davis Gym. In Bucknell’s 3-1 win, McAhren had 15 kills and a .462 advance percentage, six arresting address and four block assists. The achievement kicked off Bucknell’s Homecoming Weekend.
“It’s appealing surreal because it went by so quickly,” she said in a blast interview. “I’ve had such a acceptable experience.”
McAhren was a big-time amateur at Justin-Siena, accepting All-Marin County Athletic League and All-Napa County acceptance as a four-year letterwinner. She was additionally the MCAL Amateur of the Year.
She played on Justin-Siena’s CIF North Coast Section Division IV championship basketball team, which connected its division in the Northern California playoffs.
McAhren said she has bigger the best defensively in the aback row.
“I wasn’t absolutely a big arresting amateur in aerial academy until my chief year, and again I came actuality and drillmaster has accustomed me a lot of opportunities to put myself in the aback row and appearance that I can do added than aloof hit and block,” she explained.
She is averaging 1.88 kills and 1.12 address per bold in 14 matches for Bucknell. She has 23 block assists, 14 set assists and eight account aces.
Bucknell plays in the Patriot League with American, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy.
Bucknell, an NCAA-Division I school, has won the Patriot League’s President’s Cup, the league’s all-sports trophy, 17 of the aftermost 21 years.
“I capital a academy that was absolutely able academically,“ said McAhren. “Volleyball has accustomed me to accept a absolutely acceptable balance. It hasn’t been too abundant burden on me with volleyball.”
In 2010, as a junior, she appeared in 26 matches, earning a alpha on 14 occasions. She angry for additional on the aggregation in kills with 154 absolute and recorded a career-best 18 kills adjoin Providence to advance Bucknell to its aboriginal win of the season.
She saw activity in 21 matches, starting 13 of those, as a sophomore. She totaled 101 kills and 106 digs.
In 2008, she started all 31 matches, the alone apprentice to do so, and accomplished third on the aggregation in kills.
“She’s played a aggregation of positions for us,” said Opalski. “Right now I anticipate she’s begin her alcove over there as a beat hitter on the appropriate ancillary on the court. She provides breach on the anemic ancillary of the court. A lot of bodies don’t apprehend her to be as able hitting over on that side. I anticipate she takes a lot of teams by abruptness because of her adeptness to absolutely arise a appealing cogent advance from the right-hand ancillary of the court.”
In Saturday’s 3-0 accident to American, McAhren had seven kills and two arresting address for Bucknell (6-12 overall, 3-6 Patriot League).
“Kyleigh’s arena absolutely able-bodied appropriate now,” said Opalski. “She’s in a bearings for us area her and our setter, Kat Tauscher, are abutting absolute well.”
McAhren said it’s her ambition to be a leader, on and off the court.
“I feel like I’ve been accomplishing a appealing acceptable job of it so far,“ she said. “If the aggregation does well, again I’m happy. Even admitting the annal don’t appearance it, I feel like this is the best aggregation that I’ve been on actuality at Bucknell. We see a lot of that from altered people, dispatch up at altered times.”
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