Lehigh University Athletics
2013 Volleyball Season in Review
12/11/2013 12:37:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team capped off yet another successful season with its third straight appearance in the Patriot League Tournament. The Mountain Hawks finished the season with a 20-9 overall clip that included an 11-5 league record, marking the first time since 2002 that Lehigh has secured 20 wins in a season.
"The girls really trained hard physically and technically," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "They really made a commitment and we had the international trip in May that really helped us develop as a team. We've been building from one year to the next and had some good experienced players on the team who helped us perform so well this year."
Bertucci improved his record at Lehigh to an impressive 51-33 through just three seasons. On August 31, a 3-0 win over Rhode Island gave Bertucci his 700th career victory. He now owns a 718-416 record in a career that spans nearly 35 years.
The Mountain Hawks began the season on a high note, winning five of their first six matches in front of Lehigh's home crowd in Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Lehigh hosted three tournaments to kick off the season, and finished the year with a 9-4 non-league record and a 15-5 mark on its home court.
League play kicked off with a bang, as the Mountain Hawks hosted archrival Lafayette inside Leeman-Turner Arena. Lehigh topped the Leopards, 3-1, to claim its eighth straight win over Lafayette as their Mountain Hawks won their league opener for the first time since 2009.
The first half of league play was highlighted by straight set wins over Holy Cross, league newcomer Loyola and Bucknell. Lehigh wrapped up the first half with a 5-3 league mark.
The second half of Patriot League play began with another matchup with rival Lafayette. The Mountain Hawks quickly found themselves down 2-1, but rallied for an impressive 25-3 fourth set victory before winning the fifth set. The victory gave Lehigh its ninth straight over the Leopards as the four Mountain Hawk seniors will graduate without ever having lost to Lafayette.
Lehigh continued to roll, posting straight set wins over NJIT and Holy Cross, before welcoming Army into Leeman-Turner Arena on Senior Day. The Mountain Hawks were able to pull out a 3-2 win to capture their first victory over the Black Knights since Nov. 8, 2003. Lehigh halted Army's 21-match win streak over the Mountain Hawks and sent the Lehigh seniors out in style.
A few weeks later, the Mountain Hawks traveled to Hamilton, N.Y. to take on then first-place Colgate. Lehigh limited the Raiders' attack to a .119 hitting percentage to capture a 3-0 victory, which was the first straight set win over Colgate in program history. It marked the second time in the season that Lehigh had beaten a team in the second half of Patriot League play that it had lost to in the first half.
"These marquis wins for the program say a lot about our players' characters and determination," said Bertucci. "It never gets easier, it just gets harder. We have to continue to push forward if we want to make progress and we demonstrated that we can do that this season."
An unlucky tie-breaker situation led Lehigh to the fourth seed in the Patriot League Tournament, where the Mountain Hawks would have to face top-seeded American in Washington, D.C. The Eagles came out victorious and went on to claim the championship and reach the sweet sixteen of the NCAA Tournament as the Mountain Hawks ended their season with 20 wins.
The Mountain Hawks finished the season as the second-best serving team in the country, averaging 1.90 aces per set. Lehigh trailed only a Hampton team that averaged 1.99. Senior Rachel Charles finished her season ranked 15th in the nation in service aces per set, individually averaging 0.45 per set.
Lehigh finished the season in the top three of nearly all of the Patriot League's statistical measures. The Mountain Hawks ranked second in assists per set (12.41) and kills per set (13.09), and third in hitting percentage (.202), opponent hitting percentage (.168) and digs per set (15.66).
Charles claimed her third straight Patriot League Libero of the Year honor at the end of the season, while also garnering first team All-Patriot League recognition. The Farmington Hills, Mich. native finished her career as Lehigh's all-time career digs leader, tallying 1,693 throughout her four years in brown and white. She claimed the top spot in the record books on Sept. 7 when she recorded her 1,358th career dig against Wright State. Charles surpassed Sue Snyder's '95 who previously led the way with 1,357 digs.
Junior Jade Van Streepen garnered second team All-Patriot League recognition and landed a spot on the Academic All-Patriot League team. The environmental engineering major boasts an impressive 3.84 grade point average and was Lehigh's offensive leader throughout the regular season. Van Streepen tallied 291 kills and a 3.23 kills per set average that ranked fourth in the league. She also contributed 37 total blocks, 194 digs and 17 service aces.
Senior Courtney McCutchan was awarded for her performance in the Patriot League Tournament with All-Tournament Team laurels. McCutchan notched six kills and 11 digs while committing just one error in Lehigh's semifinal loss to American. The La Canada, Calif. native finished her Lehigh career with another strong season as she ranked second on the team in digs and was a top-four contributor in points, kills, assists and service aces to help the Mountain Hawks to their best record in over a decade.
Seniors Amanda Clark and Dana Raber also made their mark on Lehigh and will each graduate with their names on at least one of Lehigh's all-time career statistical leaders charts.
"This senior class has set a new standard for this program," said Bertucci. "These four girls set the tone from day one that they wanted the program to move forward and they were willing to make that happen. They conveyed that to the classes behind them and I think we have a great trend moving forward."
Two Mountain Hawks garnered weekly Patriot League honors after helping Lehigh to successful weekends of competition. Freshman Mariah Brantley earned Rookie of the Week recognition following her standout performance in the Crosstown Invitational. The freshman libero filled in for Charles, who was sidelined with an injury, and recorded 75 digs over four matches.
Sophomore Amy Matula earned Patriot League Player of the Week recognition after stellar performances in wins against Holy Cross and Army. The setter finished the season with 979 assists, averaging 9.15 per set, which was good for fourth in the league.
Bob Bertucci and the Mountain Hawks will look to continue their recent success in 2014 when Lehigh hunts for its fourth straight tournament appearance.
Like Lehigh volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
"The girls really trained hard physically and technically," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "They really made a commitment and we had the international trip in May that really helped us develop as a team. We've been building from one year to the next and had some good experienced players on the team who helped us perform so well this year."
Bertucci improved his record at Lehigh to an impressive 51-33 through just three seasons. On August 31, a 3-0 win over Rhode Island gave Bertucci his 700th career victory. He now owns a 718-416 record in a career that spans nearly 35 years.
The Mountain Hawks began the season on a high note, winning five of their first six matches in front of Lehigh's home crowd in Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Lehigh hosted three tournaments to kick off the season, and finished the year with a 9-4 non-league record and a 15-5 mark on its home court.
League play kicked off with a bang, as the Mountain Hawks hosted archrival Lafayette inside Leeman-Turner Arena. Lehigh topped the Leopards, 3-1, to claim its eighth straight win over Lafayette as their Mountain Hawks won their league opener for the first time since 2009.
The first half of league play was highlighted by straight set wins over Holy Cross, league newcomer Loyola and Bucknell. Lehigh wrapped up the first half with a 5-3 league mark.
The second half of Patriot League play began with another matchup with rival Lafayette. The Mountain Hawks quickly found themselves down 2-1, but rallied for an impressive 25-3 fourth set victory before winning the fifth set. The victory gave Lehigh its ninth straight over the Leopards as the four Mountain Hawk seniors will graduate without ever having lost to Lafayette.
Lehigh continued to roll, posting straight set wins over NJIT and Holy Cross, before welcoming Army into Leeman-Turner Arena on Senior Day. The Mountain Hawks were able to pull out a 3-2 win to capture their first victory over the Black Knights since Nov. 8, 2003. Lehigh halted Army's 21-match win streak over the Mountain Hawks and sent the Lehigh seniors out in style.
A few weeks later, the Mountain Hawks traveled to Hamilton, N.Y. to take on then first-place Colgate. Lehigh limited the Raiders' attack to a .119 hitting percentage to capture a 3-0 victory, which was the first straight set win over Colgate in program history. It marked the second time in the season that Lehigh had beaten a team in the second half of Patriot League play that it had lost to in the first half.
"These marquis wins for the program say a lot about our players' characters and determination," said Bertucci. "It never gets easier, it just gets harder. We have to continue to push forward if we want to make progress and we demonstrated that we can do that this season."
An unlucky tie-breaker situation led Lehigh to the fourth seed in the Patriot League Tournament, where the Mountain Hawks would have to face top-seeded American in Washington, D.C. The Eagles came out victorious and went on to claim the championship and reach the sweet sixteen of the NCAA Tournament as the Mountain Hawks ended their season with 20 wins.
The Mountain Hawks finished the season as the second-best serving team in the country, averaging 1.90 aces per set. Lehigh trailed only a Hampton team that averaged 1.99. Senior Rachel Charles finished her season ranked 15th in the nation in service aces per set, individually averaging 0.45 per set.
Lehigh finished the season in the top three of nearly all of the Patriot League's statistical measures. The Mountain Hawks ranked second in assists per set (12.41) and kills per set (13.09), and third in hitting percentage (.202), opponent hitting percentage (.168) and digs per set (15.66).
Charles claimed her third straight Patriot League Libero of the Year honor at the end of the season, while also garnering first team All-Patriot League recognition. The Farmington Hills, Mich. native finished her career as Lehigh's all-time career digs leader, tallying 1,693 throughout her four years in brown and white. She claimed the top spot in the record books on Sept. 7 when she recorded her 1,358th career dig against Wright State. Charles surpassed Sue Snyder's '95 who previously led the way with 1,357 digs.
Junior Jade Van Streepen garnered second team All-Patriot League recognition and landed a spot on the Academic All-Patriot League team. The environmental engineering major boasts an impressive 3.84 grade point average and was Lehigh's offensive leader throughout the regular season. Van Streepen tallied 291 kills and a 3.23 kills per set average that ranked fourth in the league. She also contributed 37 total blocks, 194 digs and 17 service aces.
Senior Courtney McCutchan was awarded for her performance in the Patriot League Tournament with All-Tournament Team laurels. McCutchan notched six kills and 11 digs while committing just one error in Lehigh's semifinal loss to American. The La Canada, Calif. native finished her Lehigh career with another strong season as she ranked second on the team in digs and was a top-four contributor in points, kills, assists and service aces to help the Mountain Hawks to their best record in over a decade.
Seniors Amanda Clark and Dana Raber also made their mark on Lehigh and will each graduate with their names on at least one of Lehigh's all-time career statistical leaders charts.
"This senior class has set a new standard for this program," said Bertucci. "These four girls set the tone from day one that they wanted the program to move forward and they were willing to make that happen. They conveyed that to the classes behind them and I think we have a great trend moving forward."
Two Mountain Hawks garnered weekly Patriot League honors after helping Lehigh to successful weekends of competition. Freshman Mariah Brantley earned Rookie of the Week recognition following her standout performance in the Crosstown Invitational. The freshman libero filled in for Charles, who was sidelined with an injury, and recorded 75 digs over four matches.
Sophomore Amy Matula earned Patriot League Player of the Week recognition after stellar performances in wins against Holy Cross and Army. The setter finished the season with 979 assists, averaging 9.15 per set, which was good for fourth in the league.
Bob Bertucci and the Mountain Hawks will look to continue their recent success in 2014 when Lehigh hunts for its fourth straight tournament appearance.
Like Lehigh volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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