Eagles clip Mountain Hawks, 3-1

Friday, November 15

Washington, D.C.

7:00 PM

Lehigh University

20-8, 11-5

American

29-2, 14-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Lehigh	28	20	8	20	1
American	26	25	25	25	3

11/15/2013 9:31:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

WASHINGTON– American was able to snap Lehigh's three match win streak on Friday night, as the Mountain Hawks fell to the Eagles, 3-1 (28-26, 20-25, 8-25, 20-25). Lehigh won the first set in dramatic fashion, but American rallied to claim the following three.

"American is a very good team," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "I thought our team competed very well for at least three of the sets. American served and passed very well, which we weren't quite expecting."

The teams exchanged points in the beginning of the opening set until the scorewas knotted at seven. A service ace from sophomore Claire Bradshaw helped Lehigh score three unanswered points to take a 10-7 lead, until American took a 4-1 run of its own to tie the score at 11. After three more tie scores, the Mountain Hawks and Eagles were knotted at 19 before a 4-2 American run put the Eagles ahead 23-21. Three straight American attack errors gave the Mountain Hawks a 24-23 lead, but the Eagles answered with back-to-back kills from Allison Cappellino and Juliana Crum to gain a 25-24 advantage and force a Lehigh timeout. The score was tied again at 25 and 26, but a kill from junior Jade Van Streepen and a service ace from Courtney McCutchan lifted the Mountain Hawks past the Eagles, 28-26.

The Mountain Hawks gained an 8-5 lead early in the second set, but American responded with an 8-1 run to gain a 13-9 advantage. The Eagles increased their lead to five at 17-12, but three American errors allowed Lehigh to pull within two at 17-15. The Eagles closed out the second set on an 8-5 run to claim a 25-20 set victory and even the match at 1-1.

American kept its momentum to open the third set, using five straight points to claim a 9-2 lead and force an early Lehigh timeout. With the help of a .571 hitting percentage, the Eagles soared to a 25-8 set three victory and 2-1 match advantage.

Lehigh responded in the fourth set and was able to jump out to an 11-9 lead. Two kills from Crum helped the Eagles put up four unanswered points to take a 13-11 lead and force a Lehigh timeout. After four tied scores, American was able to pull ahead with a 19-16 lead . A kill from sophomore Leah Turner was able to trim the Eagles' lead to two at 21-19, but American closed out the match on a 4-1 run and secured a 25-20 final set victory.

Van Streepen led the Mountain Hawks with 16 kills, followed by senior Amanda Clark with eight. Sophomore Amy Matula notched 27 assists with two kills of her own. Senior Rachel Charles tallied a team-leading 12 digs.

The Eagles hit .275 compared to Lehigh's .130. Crum paced American with 16 kills, followed by Kristyna Lindovska with 15.

"We still have a number of things we'd like to get better at before the tournament next weekend," said Bertucci. "We have to play more consistently and keep pressure throughout the entire match. We'll work on those and hopefully be ready to play next weekend."

The Mountain Hawks will now begin preparations for the Patriot League Tournament, which begins on Nov. 23. The site of the tournament has yet to be determined and will depend on tomorrow's league results.

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