BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Although Lehigh came close to their first victory of the 2006 season, and the first of Patriot League play since 2004, the efforts of three Mountain Hawks did not go unnoticed by the Patriot League. Senior Michelle Schwendenmann and freshmen Brittany Thurston and Sarah Wolfe all received honorable mentions in the Patriot League’s weekly awards, as announced on Monday. It was the second honorable mention of the season for Schwendenmann, while Thurston and Wolfe pick up their first honors.
Schwendenmann recorded a double-double in each of the team’s matches against American and Navy. Against American, the senior captain from Cincinnati, Ohio put up team-highs of 14 kills and 15 digs. Two nights later against Navy, Schwendenmann had a match-high 24 kills and totaled 15 digs for her third double-double of the season. Her 24 kills against Navy is currently the league’s top kill total against Patriot League opponents for an individual match and is tied for fourth as top kill total for an individual match for the overall season. Schwendenmann is currently the only Mountain Hawk to have over 100 kills and digs for the season. She has a team-high 149 kills and is second on the team with 115 digs.
Thurston gave the Mountain Hawks a strong offensive punch this last week, notching a total of 29 kills and 24 digs. Her 13 kills against American trailed only Schwendenmann on the team. Additionally, the San Diego, Calif. native recorded her first collegiate double-double against Navy, racking up 16 kills and 16 digs. Thurston is currently the team’s leader in service aces with 10. Among the Patriot League leaders, Thurston’s 29 kills against Patriot League opponents ranks 10th.
Pacing the Mountain Hawks offense throughout the entire season has been Wolfe who has amounted 283 assists on the season and a team-best .272 hitting percentage. Wolfe compiled 95 assists in the matches against American (39) and Navy (56), while hitting .274. Her 5.78 assist-per-game average ranks fourth among the Patriot League’s freshmen and is 10th among the overall standings. The San Diego, Calif. native’s 56 assists for one match is the fourth-highest match total for the overall season. However, her 56 assists is the highest-match total amongst Patriot League opponents and the most recorded in a league five-game match.
Lehigh will return to action on Friday night at the Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall when the Mountain Hawks host Bucknell at 7:00 pm. With the match scheduled for a 7:00 pm start, there will be live audio and video at lehighsports.com with streaming provided by Yahoo! Sports.
