Lehigh University Athletics
Season Preview: Young Mountain Hawks look to continue recent success in 2014
8/26/2014 3:57:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Looking to build upon last year's 20-win season, the Lehigh volleyball team aims to make its fourth-straight Patriot League Tournament appearance during the 2014 campaign. The Mountain Hawks open up the season at the Buffalo Invitational on August 29-30.
Head Coach Bob Bertucci enters his fourth season at the helm with a relatively young Lehigh squad. A small senior class of two looks to lead six juniors, five sophomores and six freshmen. The team is faced with the task of replacing four talented graduated seniors.
"The team came back for preseason in really good shape," said Bertucci. "That's allowed us to do a lot during preseason. As soon as their bodies start to recover from all the training, I think we'll see a real big jump in their level of play. Their fitness level is definitely one of their strengths right now."
Perhaps the biggest hole to fill will be that of the libero. With the departure of three-time Patriot League Libero of the Year Rachel Charles, Bertucci and the coaching staff are trying to figure out who will fill her shoes.
"We have some nice potential liberos, but we're not sure who exactly will step in yet because losing the three-time Patriot League Libero of the Year is a tough position to fill," said Bertucci.
In the mix are junior Katie Troyan, sophomore Mariah Brantley and freshman Hannah Chalk. Brantley earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week recognition last season after filling in for Charles and recording 85 digs through the four-match Crosstown Invitational. Troyan has battled through injury her past two seasons, but seen action in 27 matches.
"It's going to be a matter of who's playing well at any given time and that's who we'll use in that game," said Bertucci. "It might change within any given match as well. I think all of them are very good and capable of stepping in there and doing a good job."
Junior Amy Matula will return as the team's starting setter after a successful 2013 season in which she tallied 979 assists and 9.15 assists per set, which was good for fourth-best in the Patriot League. Matula will have two new additions to help support her in freshmen Stephanie Stieber and Bonaire Berry.
"Steph and Bonaire have been able to come in and really compete and contribute right away," said Bertucci. "It's undetermined at this point whether we're running with a 5-1 system or a 6-2 system, and we do have the option to go either direction. As we move into league play I think it'll start to shake out for us and things will come together."
Bertucci feels good about the depth at the middle blocker position that will be led by junior Ana Vrhel. The junior led the team in blocks last season with a total of 75, 21 of which were solo stuffs. In addition to Vhrel, the coaching staff expects sophomores Taylor Carroll and Katie Jennison, as well as freshman Kelly Bennett, to make significant contributions.
"Taylor got some playing time last year and she's looking very good," said Bertucci. "Katie played very well this spring and has been working all summer to come back in the best possible shape she can be. Kelly is a great new addition and she's shown a lot of improvement over the course of the season already. We have some good depth in the middle."
Preseason All-League honoree senior Jade Van Streepen looks to lead the outside hitters after a successful 2013 season. Van Streepen garnered second team All-Patriot League recognition after leading the team with 291 kills in addition to being named to the Academic All-League team. Bertucci is also expecting a lot from junior Leah Turner, who he says is probably one of the most powerful hitters in the Patriot League. Also in the core of hitters are sophomore Morgan Lowe and freshman Whitney Krantz.
"Morgan didn't have a lot of playing time last year because of an injury, but has come back in good shape and looks like she's at the top of her game right now," explained Bertucci. "Whitney is the newcomer and she's got quite a bit of experience coming from a good club program out of Colorado. I think she's going to add a lot of depth to our team."
Senior Kaylynn Genemaras will lead the right-side hitters. Genemaras played in all 29 matches for the Mountain Hawks a season ago and finished second on the team in kills with 247. Joining Genemaras on the right side will be sophomore Kianna Carroll and junior Stephanie Slater.
"We have some very talented players on the right side which makes it difficult to determine whether we're going to run a 5-1 or 6-2," said Bertucci. "Kaylynn has been doing very well, as expected. If Kianna continues to develop as a player, she could really make an impact for us. One of our best competitors on the team is Steph Slater. We have some good depth at the position and it's just a matter of which one of them develops the best."
Bertucci also has a pair of players that he can use just about anywhere as utility players in junior Claire Bradshaw and freshman Natasha Van Streepen, who will provide good all-around depth to the Mountain Hawk squad. Bradshaw saw action in all 29 matches last season and proved to be one of Lehigh's most reliable servers, ranking third on the team with 30 aces.
"We've used Claire as a defensive specialist and a serving specialist, but she is a setter by trade," said Bertucci. "She can play just about any position and was very instrumental in a number of our wins last year. Natasha is like Claire in that she can play pretty much anywhere. Because she's such a good athlete, I think she's really going to develop into a nice all-around player."
The team has elected Matula and Jade Van Streepen as the captains for the 2014 season.
"Though different in their leadership styles and different in their approach, I think they complement each other and usually have a good understanding of where the team is coming from, where we need to go and how to get there," said Bertucci.
The coaching staff expects the freshmen class to have an impact on the young Mountain Hawk squad and hopes that they'll compliment the upperclassmen.
"They're definitely going to add to the depth of the team," explained Bertucci. "We have such a young team and such a small senior class that it wouldn't surprise me to have the freshmen and sophomores step up and fill significant roles."
The Mountain Hawks will spend the first three weekends of the season in tournaments, including their home debut at the Crosstown Invitational in Leeman-Turner Arena on Sept. 12-13. Lehigh opens the season at the Buffalo Invitational on Aug. 29-30 and will begin league play on Sept. 17 at archrival Lafayette.
"Our non-league schedule is very good," said Bertucci. "There's not an automatic win in any of the games that we're playing. They're all going to challenge us and they're all going to get us prepared for the league."
After a successful 2013 season, Bertucci feels the Patriot League is better than ever and is excited to get the season started on Aug. 29.
"The Patriot League has gotten a whole lot better in the past few years," said Bertucci. "It really hasn't been recognized for the level of volleyball that is being played in the league, but we hope to continue our success and show that we're a force to be reckoned with within the Patriot League."
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Head Coach Bob Bertucci enters his fourth season at the helm with a relatively young Lehigh squad. A small senior class of two looks to lead six juniors, five sophomores and six freshmen. The team is faced with the task of replacing four talented graduated seniors.
"The team came back for preseason in really good shape," said Bertucci. "That's allowed us to do a lot during preseason. As soon as their bodies start to recover from all the training, I think we'll see a real big jump in their level of play. Their fitness level is definitely one of their strengths right now."
Perhaps the biggest hole to fill will be that of the libero. With the departure of three-time Patriot League Libero of the Year Rachel Charles, Bertucci and the coaching staff are trying to figure out who will fill her shoes.
"We have some nice potential liberos, but we're not sure who exactly will step in yet because losing the three-time Patriot League Libero of the Year is a tough position to fill," said Bertucci.
In the mix are junior Katie Troyan, sophomore Mariah Brantley and freshman Hannah Chalk. Brantley earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week recognition last season after filling in for Charles and recording 85 digs through the four-match Crosstown Invitational. Troyan has battled through injury her past two seasons, but seen action in 27 matches.
"It's going to be a matter of who's playing well at any given time and that's who we'll use in that game," said Bertucci. "It might change within any given match as well. I think all of them are very good and capable of stepping in there and doing a good job."
Junior Amy Matula will return as the team's starting setter after a successful 2013 season in which she tallied 979 assists and 9.15 assists per set, which was good for fourth-best in the Patriot League. Matula will have two new additions to help support her in freshmen Stephanie Stieber and Bonaire Berry.
"Steph and Bonaire have been able to come in and really compete and contribute right away," said Bertucci. "It's undetermined at this point whether we're running with a 5-1 system or a 6-2 system, and we do have the option to go either direction. As we move into league play I think it'll start to shake out for us and things will come together."
Bertucci feels good about the depth at the middle blocker position that will be led by junior Ana Vrhel. The junior led the team in blocks last season with a total of 75, 21 of which were solo stuffs. In addition to Vhrel, the coaching staff expects sophomores Taylor Carroll and Katie Jennison, as well as freshman Kelly Bennett, to make significant contributions.
"Taylor got some playing time last year and she's looking very good," said Bertucci. "Katie played very well this spring and has been working all summer to come back in the best possible shape she can be. Kelly is a great new addition and she's shown a lot of improvement over the course of the season already. We have some good depth in the middle."
Preseason All-League honoree senior Jade Van Streepen looks to lead the outside hitters after a successful 2013 season. Van Streepen garnered second team All-Patriot League recognition after leading the team with 291 kills in addition to being named to the Academic All-League team. Bertucci is also expecting a lot from junior Leah Turner, who he says is probably one of the most powerful hitters in the Patriot League. Also in the core of hitters are sophomore Morgan Lowe and freshman Whitney Krantz.
"Morgan didn't have a lot of playing time last year because of an injury, but has come back in good shape and looks like she's at the top of her game right now," explained Bertucci. "Whitney is the newcomer and she's got quite a bit of experience coming from a good club program out of Colorado. I think she's going to add a lot of depth to our team."
Senior Kaylynn Genemaras will lead the right-side hitters. Genemaras played in all 29 matches for the Mountain Hawks a season ago and finished second on the team in kills with 247. Joining Genemaras on the right side will be sophomore Kianna Carroll and junior Stephanie Slater.
"We have some very talented players on the right side which makes it difficult to determine whether we're going to run a 5-1 or 6-2," said Bertucci. "Kaylynn has been doing very well, as expected. If Kianna continues to develop as a player, she could really make an impact for us. One of our best competitors on the team is Steph Slater. We have some good depth at the position and it's just a matter of which one of them develops the best."
Bertucci also has a pair of players that he can use just about anywhere as utility players in junior Claire Bradshaw and freshman Natasha Van Streepen, who will provide good all-around depth to the Mountain Hawk squad. Bradshaw saw action in all 29 matches last season and proved to be one of Lehigh's most reliable servers, ranking third on the team with 30 aces.
"We've used Claire as a defensive specialist and a serving specialist, but she is a setter by trade," said Bertucci. "She can play just about any position and was very instrumental in a number of our wins last year. Natasha is like Claire in that she can play pretty much anywhere. Because she's such a good athlete, I think she's really going to develop into a nice all-around player."
The team has elected Matula and Jade Van Streepen as the captains for the 2014 season.
"Though different in their leadership styles and different in their approach, I think they complement each other and usually have a good understanding of where the team is coming from, where we need to go and how to get there," said Bertucci.
The coaching staff expects the freshmen class to have an impact on the young Mountain Hawk squad and hopes that they'll compliment the upperclassmen.
"They're definitely going to add to the depth of the team," explained Bertucci. "We have such a young team and such a small senior class that it wouldn't surprise me to have the freshmen and sophomores step up and fill significant roles."
The Mountain Hawks will spend the first three weekends of the season in tournaments, including their home debut at the Crosstown Invitational in Leeman-Turner Arena on Sept. 12-13. Lehigh opens the season at the Buffalo Invitational on Aug. 29-30 and will begin league play on Sept. 17 at archrival Lafayette.
"Our non-league schedule is very good," said Bertucci. "There's not an automatic win in any of the games that we're playing. They're all going to challenge us and they're all going to get us prepared for the league."
After a successful 2013 season, Bertucci feels the Patriot League is better than ever and is excited to get the season started on Aug. 29.
"The Patriot League has gotten a whole lot better in the past few years," said Bertucci. "It really hasn't been recognized for the level of volleyball that is being played in the league, but we hope to continue our success and show that we're a force to be reckoned with within the Patriot League."
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