Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh hosts Navy, American as PL play hits halfway mark
10/13/2011 9:18:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team has won two Patriot League matches in a row and will look to keep the trend going when it hosts Navy on Friday at 7 p.m. and American on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Leeman-Turner Arena. This weekend will mark the halfway point in league play with the Mountain Hawks battling for one of the coveted top four spots in the standings and accompanying berth to the League Tournament.
“It's critical, we have no wiggle room,” said head coach Bob Bertucci. “We have to win at least one match this weekend just to stay in that fourth place spot. And then we are going to have to continue to beat the teams we beat in the first half of the schedule on the road so we really have to get it done at home this weekend.”
Lehigh is coming off an exciting five-set victory against Lafayette last weekend in which the Mountain Hawks were up 2-0 before dropping the next two sets. But Lehigh rebounded and cruised to victory in the decisive set as the Mountain Hawks were led by sophomore Lizzy Silverstein who posted a career-high 18 kills (her previous high was nine) while sophomore Rachel Charles tied a career high with six service aces.Lehigh ranks No. 4 in the nation service aces (1.94 per set) as Charles ranks No.7 in the category (0.55 per set).
The Mountain Hawks have had contributions from different players every match. Senior Angelika Kopacz leads the team in kills (2.83 per set) while sophomore Amanda Clark is first in the league in blocks (1.12 per set) and fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.276). And in Lehigh's three league wins this season, junior Taylor Poole has had a stellar .525 attack percentage.
“If we are going to be successful, we are going to have to hit on all cylinders from all those players who have had great games throughout the season,” said Bertucci. “We need to be more consistent with our play. We can't just have two players playing well; we need everyone to click together at the same time.”
Lehigh will take on Navy to start the weekend. The Midshipmen have struggled recently, dropping four of its first five league games. Navy is tied for sixth in the league right now and is led by Carolyn Ewert who ranks sixth in the league with 3.08 kills per set while Erin Fortner ranks sixth in assists with 8.22 per set and Holly Berger ranks sixth in digs with 3.86 per set.
It will be the 44th meeting between the schools. While Navy holds the all-time edge 27-17, Lehigh has won the previous four meetings sweeping Navy in 2010 and 2009. Last season, the Mountain Hawks won both matches by a combined score of 6-1.
“Navy is a much improved team over the past couple years,” said Bertucci. “I think we match up evenly with them and I am anticipating it will be a pretty tough and hard fought match.”
The following day, Lehigh will take on a first-place American team that has won seven straight matches including five straight in league play. It will be the 27th meeting between the schools as Lehigh has only managed two wins all-time against the Eagles. The Mountain Hawks' most recent win came in 2009 in four sets and the other lone win came in 1996. Lehigh dropped both matches in straight sets last season.American ranks first in the league in hitting percentage (.246) and is led by Sara Rishell who ranks first with a .310 hitting percentage while Morgan Hendrix ranks sixth (.275). Rishell also ranks fourth in the league in kills (3.25 per set) while teammate Juliana Crum sits right behind her in fifth (3.09 pet set). And Rishell also is a factor on the defensive end as she ranks fourth in the league in blocks (0.89 per set). Most recently, Rebecca Heath was named the league Player of the Week as she has recorded double-digit kills in seven of her last eight matches.
“American is leading the league and looks very strong right now,” said Bertucci. “We have to rise to the occasion to be successful against them and hopefully we will.”
There will be LIVE stats for both matches, but for Friday's match against Navy there will be LIVE streaming video on Lehighsports.com.
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