Lehigh University
American
Late Lehigh rally falls short against American
10/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Maxie McCoy led the Mountain Hawks in hitting percentage for the third time in the last four matches. The junior hit .875 on the day, totaling seven kills on eight attacks without making a single error. McCoy’s seven kills were the most on the team.
Lehigh rallied in the third set, trailing by two and facing long odds to battle back into the match. But the Mountain Hawks were not fazed by the deficit, and they showed their determination in the final frame.
“We weren’t happy with the way we played,” Lehigh head coach Jenny Maurer said. “We knew we were capable of more, so it wasn’t hard to keep motivated.”
The Brown and White had little to play for in the third set, but they forced the issue and made American fight to close out the win. Lehigh still only hit .161 on its attacks in the third set, but the Mountain Hawks were able to force American to make mistakes for the first time in the match, leading to six errors by the Eagles.
“They had been going on serving runs,” Maurer said. “But finally we just started attacking and asserting ourselves, and we started to pass the ball very well.”
The Mountain Hawks struggled in the opening set, recording more errors (eight) than kills (five). American, on the other hand, racked up 12 kills and made just two errors in the opening frame for a .526 hitting percentage.
Lehigh improved its hitting percentage in the second set, putting up 10 kills and just two errors. But even though the Mountain Hawks were more efficient from the floor, the Eagles hit even better in the second frame. American scored 19 kills in the second set and made just one error for an impressive .643 from the floor.
Even in defeat, Maurer said her team is showing signs of improvement with every match.
“We continue to prove ourselves against so many good teams,” Maurer said. “When we play a team like that and we lay it all out there, we know how close we are. It’s just a matter of doing it from the beginning."
Lehigh returns to action on Tuesday, when the Mountain Hawks square off with NJIT at 7 p.m. in Newark, N.J.
