Mountain Hawks get ready for busy weekend
10/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team will once again hit the road for another important weekend in Patriot League play. The Mountain Hawks (3-4 in league play) currently sit in fifth place in the league standings and will look to get back to their winning ways Friday night against American at 7 p.m. The action will continue Saturday as Lehigh will do battle with Navy at 12 p.m.
Lehigh (10-12), who is in the midst of a five-game road trip, will look to bounce back from losses to Colgate (3-0) and Bucknell (3-0) in last weekends’ action. The Mountain Hawks struggled to seize momentum in both matches and were too inconsistent offensively and defensively to pull out a victory. Coach Jenny Maurer worked on refocusing the team this week in practice.
“We’ve tried to keep it fun because the girls have gone through an intense last few weeks,” she said. “This is the point in the season where fatigue kicks in and we have tried to keep practices shorter, but more intense to give the team some more rest. Everything has been going well and I am pleased with the energy.”
American (10-11) is one of the four teams that sit ahead of Lehigh in the Patriot League standings and will be looking to seek revenge from a 3-1 loss the Eagles suffered a few weeks back in Bethlehem. The win for the Mountain Hawks was their first over American since they joined the Patriot League in 2001. The Eagles are led by junior Angelina Waterman who has 259 kills on the season. Right behind her is classmate Magdalena Tekiel with 237 kills and American is led defensively by senior Cynammon Burns who has 184 digs.
Navy (6-16) also fell victim to the Mountain Hawks earlier this season when the Midshipmen suffered a 3-1 loss in Leeman-Turner Arena. It marked the first time Lehigh defeated Navy since the 2003 season. The Midshipmen’s attack is led by sophomore Meghan Carpenter who has 187 kills on the season. Setting up the attack is classmate Holly Berger who has a team-leading 210 assists.
Even though the Mountain Hawks earned victories against both teams earlier in the season Maurer knows it is still going to be a battle.
“You never know who is going to be healthy or what adjustments have been made, but we have to be ready because a totally different team can show up. A lot can happen in a month and we can only worry about ourselves and prepare to play our best.”
If the Mountain Hawks hope to return to the Patriot League Tournament this weekend’s matches will provide a big opportunity for the Brown and White to take a step closer to its goal.
“We don’t have to talk much about it because the girls know how important every match is,” Maurer said. “This doesn’t mean we can sit back, we have to use it as motivation and step-up our game. We did take a step back in the last few weeks, but I feel good about where we stand moving forward.”
Check back to Lehighsports.com for the latest news and updates dealing with the upcoming matches.
