Mountain Hawks claim a pair of 3-0 victories at Lehigh Classic

Saturday, August 31

12:30 PM

Lehigh University

1-1

Saint Peter's

0-2

Team	1	2	3	Final F
St. Peter's	15	24	16	0
Lehigh	25	26	25	3

Mountain Hawks claim a pair of 3-0 victories at Lehigh Classic

8/31/2013 9:01:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team was crowned champions of the Lehigh Classic on Saturday after two 3-0 victories against Saint Peter's (25-15, 26-24, 25-16) and Rhode Island (25-23, 27-25, 25-19) at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks finished 2-1 in the tournament that was highlighted by a victory over previously 2-0 Rhode Island. The win over the Rams was the 700th of head coach Bob Bertucci's career. He now owns a 700-408 record in a career that spans nearly 35 years.

"I'm really happy and proud of the way the girls played all weekend," said Bertucci. "Even our first match against New Hampshire which was a five game match that could have went either way. The girls regrouped and came back to do a great job. We just kept getting better and better, and that's indicative of how the girls trained during preseason. They're showing so much maturity as still a relatively young team."

Coming off a loss to New Hampshire the night before, Lehigh beat Saint Peter's in three straight sets in their first match of day. The Mountain Hawks held a commanding lead throughout the first set, and the Peahens could never close the gap and Lehigh took the set 25-15. The Mountain Hawks hit .265 in the opening set, its best attack percentage of a set in the match.

Lehigh quickly went down 3-0 in the second set, and stayed behind the Peahens until pulling even at 9-9 thanks to a kill from Mountain Hawk freshman Taylor Carroll. The two teams battled back and forth until Saint Peter's pulled ahead to take a 20-15 lead. Kills by five separate Mountain Hawks brought them back into it, with the help of a ball handling error by the Peahens' Lauren Behrens. After a few point exchanges, a kill by sophomore Ana Vrhel gave Lehigh the 26-24 victory. Vrhel finished the match with an impressive .643 attack percentage, tallying ten kills and just one error on 14 total attacks.

The Mountain Hawks carried their momentum into the third set and were quickly able to put away the Peahens 25-16. 15 different Lehigh players saw action in the match as Courtney McCutchan led the way with 11 kills and 29 total attacks. Junior Kaylynn Genemaras picked up three solo blocks to help the team to victory.

Lehigh then faced the Rams, who earlier in the day had beaten New Hampshire in a five set thriller to remain undefeated. The Mountain Hawks trailed Rhode Island in much of the first set. At the 20-17 mark Lehigh sophomore Leah Turner dealt a service ace which gave the Mountain Hawks the momentum swing that they needed. Three more points were scored off of Turner's serves to tie up the game. A few points went back and forth until a kill by Genemaras and an attack error by Rhode Island gave Lehigh the 25-23 victory.

Lehigh carried its momentum into the second set, but three straight blocks by Rhode Island quickly put the Rams back on top. The Rams picked up speed, and Lehigh quickly found themselves down by as much as eight points at 16-8. The Mountain Hawks were able to slowly close the deficit and eventually tied it up at 23-23. A kill by freshman Katie Jennison and two kills from Genemaras allowed Lehigh to take the 27-25 victory, and a 2-0 lead on the Rams.

The two teams were relatively even early in the third set, before Lehigh began to pull away. The Mountain Hawks hit their match high .281 attack percentage during the third set, and cruised to a 25-19 victory. Genemaras led the way with 17 kills and a .333 attack percentage. Turner just missed a double-double with nine kills and 14 digs, and sophomore Amy Matula finished the match with 32 assists.

Senior Rachel Charles was named tournament MVP, as voted on by the coaches of the four participating teams. Charles recorded 50 digs throughout the three matches, and is now only 36 away from being Lehigh's all-time career digs leader. Matula and Turner were both named to the All-Tournament Team. A full list of competitors on the All-Tournament Team is listed below.

Next weekend the Mountain Hawks will host co-host the Lafayette College Tournament, and will welcome competitors Fairleigh Dickinson, Wright State, and Saint Peter's, beginning with a 5 p.m. match against FDU Friday night.

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Lehigh Classic All-Tournament Team
Lauren Behren – Saint Peter's
Morgan Thatcher – New Hampshire
Destiny Tolliver – New Hampshire
Jill Anderson – Rhode Island
Franki Darnold – Rhode Island
Amy Matula – Lehigh
Leah Turner – Lehigh
Tournament MVP: Rachel Charles - Lehigh