Lehigh University
Bucknell
Mountain Hawks come up short against Bucknell
10/25/2008 5:30:00 PM | Volleyball
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Lehigh fell behind by two sets early before staging what had the makings of a comeback the final two sets. The Mountain Hawks battled back in the third set for a gritty 25-22 victory, which momentarily swung momentum the Lehigh side. The rally continued as the Brown and White jumped out to a 14-13 lead in the fourth set, before succumbing to the Bison by a score of 25-19.
“We battled back tonight,” Lehigh head coach Jenny Maurer said. “We could have easily dwelled on last night’s loss (to Colgate), but we didn’t. We fought hard for three of the four sets, and it’s something to build on.”
Angelika Kopacz bounced back from Friday’s match with Colgate by leading the Mountain Hawks in kills with 14 on the match. Kopacz also notched her sixth double-double of the season with 15 digs, just behind libero Emma Melendez for the team lead (16).
Brittany Thurston totaled six kills and seven digs on the match, but with co-captain Mo McReynolds out of the lineup, Maurer said Thurston’s abilities as a captain were put to test on Saturday.
“Brittany Thurston really stepped up for us,” Maurer said. “She found ways to score and she stayed composed. She did what a captain should do tonight.”
The Mountain Hawks showed signs of promise in the opening frame, jumping out to a 14-7 lead in the set. The Bison quickly chipped away at the lead, thanks in part to a Lehigh attack that made 14 errors. Bucknell did not hit much better in the set, registering just six kills while making seven errors, but they were able to prevail 25-23.
Lehigh cut down slightly on the errors in the second set, making just eight. However, Bucknell took control of the set early and ran away to the win by a score of 25-13.
In all, the Mountain Hawks made 33 errors, but the more telling number was the 14 service errors for a team that came into the weekend 34th in the nation in service aces.
“We definitely need to cut down on the service errors,” Maurer said. “There were too many mental errors behind the service line.”
Without question, the Mountain Hawks played their best set of the weekend after the intermission. Lehigh drove home 14 kills and made just two errors, good enough for a .414 hitting percentage and helping them roll to a 25-22 win.
Lehigh returns to action on Friday, October 31, for a Halloween night matchup with archrival
