Lehigh downs Holy Cross 3-0 for second time this season

Friday, October 25

7:00 PM

Lehigh University

16-6, 7-3PL

Holy Cross

7-15, 2-8PL

Holy Cross

Lehigh

Lehigh downs Holy Cross 3-0 for second time this season

10/25/2013 8:57:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team captured a 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-18) win over Holy Cross on Friday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena as the Mountain Hawks secured their seventh Patriot League win of the season. The Lehigh offense shined as it hit .310 while limiting Holy Cross to just .045 as the Mountain Hawks grabbed their 12th straight win over the Crusaders.

"The girls really were ready to play," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "They came out very aggressively and put a lot of pressure on Holy Cross. We hit very well and the offense has been starting to click a little bit."

The teams exchanged points in the early goings of the first set and found themselves tied at four before Lehigh used a 6-2 run to take a 10-6 advantage. After a kill from Holy Cross' Katie McKernan, five straight Mountain Hawk points gave Lehigh an even larger advantage at 15-7. The Mountain Hawks used another large run of six unanswered points to shut down the Crusaders and claim a 25-10 set one victory. Sophomore Ana Vrhel led the way during the set, tallying three kills and three total blocks to register a .600 hitting percentage.

The Mountain Hawks led early in set two, 7-5, before eight unanswered points gave them a 15-7 advantage. From there, Lehigh never let Holy Cross get within five as a kill from senior Amanda Clark put the final point on the board to give Lehigh the 25-15 set two victory and 2-0 match advantage. The Mountain Hawks hit an impressive .364 in the second set, tallying 15 kills along the way.

The Crusaders and Mountain Hawks battled to a 7-7 tie in the beginning of the third set before Lehigh went on a 9-0 run thanks to kills from three different Mountain Hawks, including two from sophomore Stephanie Slater. The Crusaders tried to battle back, but the deficit proved to be too large as Holy Cross never got within five points of Lehigh's lead. Two straight Crusader attack errors ended the match as Lehigh grabbed a 25-18 set three victory and straight set win.

Clark tallied eight kills, three service aces, two total blocks and an impressive .500 hitting percentage to lead the Mountain Hawks. Vrhel notched five kills and four total blocks, two of which were solo stuffs. Sophomore Amy Matula recorded 26 assists.

The Mountain Hawks are back in action Saturday at 4 p.m. when they host Army inside Leeman-Turner Arena. The match will serve as Senior Day for the Mountain Hawks as the program's four seniors will be honored before the game. A live broadcast will be available for free via the Patriot League Network. Live stats will also be available.

"Army is a good team and we're going to have to play very differently," said Bertucci. "We have to block and hit well tomorrow like we did today."

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