Lehigh University
Lafayette
Mountain Hawks soar over Leopards 3-2
10/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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EASTON, Pa. – Second time’s a charm for Lehigh as it rallied to defeat Lafayette 3-2 Friday night to pick up a key Patriot League victory. After falling to the Leopards earlier in the season, the Mountain Hawks were able to even up the series and put a dent into their archrivals post season chances. With the win Lehigh is 12-13 on the season and back to .500 in the league with a 5-5 record.
“It was really awesome to see, we kept our composure after falling behind and took it to another level,” head coach Jenny Maurer said. “We kept improving and getting stronger as the match continued.”
The two teams showed why they are such big rivals as they battled it out from the very first set. With the scored tied 17-17 the Mountain Hawks were able to pull ahead for good and take the set 25-22.
Lafayette regrouped and came out strong in the second set. The Leopards were able to build an early lead and they never gave it up winning 25-21.
Lehigh was on its heels and wasn’t able to put everything together in the third set as it fell 27-25.
With their backs against the wall for the second consecutive match the Mountain Hawks responded and won the final two sets 25-16 and 15-6 to close out the match.
“We were in the same situation a week ago against Navy,” Maurer said. “It was their “Dig Pink” night and they had a good crowd, but we were able to fight and come back. We had good support for us and even though we did fall behind they were both close.”
Maurer continued, “The girls have done a great job of establishing their goals early in the season and they realized they have to take it one match at a time. As the season has gone on and fatigue has set in they have done a good job in understanding that it is a process.”
Leading the Mountain Hawks in what could be her last match against the Leopards was senior captain Mo McReynolds. She finished the match with 14 kills and five digs.
“Mo is without a doubt the leader of the team,” Maurer said. “She did a great job tonight and it could be her last match in this big rivalry. She was so composed at key moments and I am really proud of her.”
Sophomore Jessica Kudirka, who served as Lehigh’s primary setter in the match, set a new career-high in assists with 47. Her classmate Angelika Kopacz had a match-high 16 kills along with 15 digs for the double-double.
Overall the Mountain Hawks were able to get another complete effort as they showed off how many options they have on the court.
“We had a lot of players contribute tonight,” Maurer said. “When you have multiple people being effective it makes us that much more of a threat.”
Lehigh is fighting for a spot in the Patriot League tournament and knew this was an important win.
“It was a very crucial win,” Maurer said. “We had to take care of things today and I am so proud because we haven’t panicked when we’ve been put in these situations. We have to continue having confidence and come out and execute.”
The Mountain Hawks will return home next weekend as they host both Bucknell and Colgate. Lehigh will kick things off Friday night against the Bison at 7 p.m.
