Lehigh University
Holy Cross
Volleyball bounces back and sweeps Holy Cross
10/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh volleyball bounced back Saturday afternoon as it took down Holy Cross in straight sets to improve its record to 10-8 on the season. The Mountain Hawks’ 3-1 Patriot League start is the best start since 2002 when the team went 4-0 to start things off. Lehigh lost a tough match with Army (3-1) Friday night and the team knew they had to bounce back today.
“Last night after the match we said today would be a test,” head coach Jenny Maurer said. “We wanted to carry our disappointment over to today and turn it around. The girls really respond to adversity and they can recover quickly to get out of funks.”
In the first set the Mountain Hawks were able to get out to a 15-9 lead and never look back as they took the set 25-14. Lehigh was able to start the second set the way it finished the first and built an 8-1 lead. The closest the Crusaders could get to the Mountain Hawks was five points as Lehigh closed out the set 25-14.
Holy Cross did not give up in the third set as it pushed Lehigh, but in the end the Mountain Hawks came out on top 25-21. Lehigh was able to regroup and finish strong and Maurer was able to rely on her bench to finish the job.
“Rebecca Slegers and Hannah Bennett were able to come in and play well,” Maurer said. “In practice they respond to everything and when we put them in they did exactly what we expected. No matter how deep your team is you’re going to have to go to your bench at some point in the season and they responded. I am proud of them.”
The Mountain Hawks had a strong game at the net as their front line was able to keep Holy Cross off its game.
“We didn’t have a lot of blocks for points, but we got a lot of touches on the ball and it helped change the pace of the match,” Maurer said.
Senior captain Mo McReynolds had a match-high 13 kills and finished with a .500 hitting percentage. Lehigh was able to get contributions from both of its setters as sophomore Jessica Kurdika finished with 21 assists and junior captain Brittany Dickinson had 23.
Defensively sophomore Angelika Kopacz had a match-high 15 digs and classmate Emma Melendez finished with 12.
Lehigh, now with 10 wins on the season is on pace for a very successful year and it is a credit to the hard work of the team.
“If you told me last year that we would start 3-1 in the league and have 10 wins I would have been ecstatic,” Maurer said. We have set goals and are working hard to achieve them. This great start only puts us in better position to reach them.”
The Mountain Hawks will continue play Tuesday night when they host Delaware State in a non-conference match at 7 p.m. at Leeman-Turner Arena.
Lehigh - Holy Cross Post-Match Extra
