Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh University
7-3
St. Francis (N.Y.)
3-8
Lehigh grabs two wins in final day of tournament play
9/14/2013 6:52:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball claimed a 3-0 (26-24, 25-11, 25-22) win over St. Francis (N.Y.) and a 3-2 (25-16, 22-25, 25-17, 27-25, 15-11) victory over Marist on Saturday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The two wins gave Lehigh a 3-1 record in this weekend's Crosstown Invitational.
"I'm very pleased with our two wins today," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "I'm excited about the fact that our girls are excited and performing well, especially when it comes down to clutch situations. The girls did a great job executing today."
The Mountain Hawks began the day with a morning match against St. Francis (N.Y.) in which they were able to cruise to a 3-0 victory. Lehigh got out to an early 4-0 start in set one and controlled the lead until the Terriers slowly fought back to tie it at 23. A service ace from Terriers' Saleesha Matthews gave St. Francis a 24-23 lead before a kill from Mountain Hawk senior Courtney McCutchan and two kills from junior Jade Van Streepan gave Lehigh the 26-24 victory.
The Mountain Hawks soared in set two and strung together large runs to find themselves ahead by as much as 15 points. The Terriers could never recover as Lehigh dominated the set 25-11. The Mountain Hawks hit .385 in the second set, which proved to be their highest hitting percentage of the match.
The two teams exchanged points in the beginning of the third set before Lehigh went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-10 lead. The Terriers fought back and were able to tie it up at 20. The Mountain Hawks finished strongly thanks to St. Francis attack errors and a kill from Lehigh sophomore Ana Vrhel. Lehigh took the 25-22 set win, and 3-0 victory over the Terriers.
Four Mountain Hawks ended the first match with a hitting percentage on or above .500. Ana Vrhel (.600), Kianna Carroll (.571), Kaylynn Genemaras (.538) and Leah Turner (.500) all contributed to the Mountain Hawks' .274 cumulative hitting percentage. McCutchan secured nine digs for Lehigh while Genemaras notched eight. Van Streepan recorded three service aces and senior Amanda Clark finished the match with three total blocks.
Lehigh's second victory of the day came in the form of a close match against Marist. After a few exchanges of points in the first set, Lehigh was able to take control and jump ahead 15-10. The Red Foxes couldn't regain momentum as the Mountain Hawks took the first set 25-16. Lehigh recorded four service aces in the opening set.
Lehigh continued its swing early on in the second set until Marist went on a 7-2 run to tie up the set at 13. The Red Foxes eventually took the lead on a kill from Kelsey Lahey, and the Mountain Hawks couldn't catch up as they suffered a 25-22 loss.
Early on in the third set, the two teams found themselves tied at five until Lehigh went on a 7-0 run to secure a 12-5 lead. Once again, the lead proved to be too much for Marist to overcome as Lehigh won the set 25-17. The Mountain Hawks recorded four service aces in the third set.
The fourth set was a constant back and forth battle between the two teams. There were six different lead changes in the set, but Marist came out on top 27-25 thanks to a kill from Lahey and a service ace from Becca Jones.
The close battle carried over into the fifth set as the teams exchanged points until they were tied at 10. Lehigh proceeded to forge ahead as it closed out the set with two kills from Clark and one kill from Van Streepen. Lehigh captured the 15-11 set victory, and 3-2 match victory.
Van Streepen recorded her third season double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs during the Marist match. Genemaras and Clark also recorded 12 kills apiece, while freshman Mariah Brantley recorded 20 digs. The team totaled an impressive 11 service aces and 12 team blocks for the match.
Lehigh returns to action on Wednesday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena when it hosts Lafayette to open up Patriot League play. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start time.
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