Army outlasts Lehigh 3-2 in five set heartbreaker

Friday, September 20

West Point, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Lehigh University

9-4

Army

4-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Lehigh	25	22	25	27	9	2
Army	18	25	20	29	15	3

Photo by: Chester Toye '17

Army outlasts Lehigh 3-2 in five set heartbreaker

9/20/2013 9:30:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Lehigh volleyball team dropped a tough 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 27-29, 9-15) match to Army on Friday night. Three Mountain Hawks registered double-doubles during the match as Lehigh played their first road game of the season.

"We played really well the first four games," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "We had a couple of opportunities to win it in four but just couldn't put the match away. We had good performances from a number of players, but just had trouble sustaining our level of play through the fifth game. We will regroup and fortunately be able to play Army at home in the second half of league play."

The match opened with an exchange of points in the first set as the teams found themselves tied at 10. Lehigh picked up speed to go on an 8-2 run behind kills from four different Mountain Hawks. The Mountain Hawks remained in control for the rest of the set as the deficit proved to be too much for the Black Knights to overcome. Lehigh claimed a 25-18 victory to take a 1-0 advantage in the match.

The Black Knights regained momentum in the second set as they jumped out to a 14-10 lead. Army proceeded to go on a 10-4 run to take a 20-14 advantage. The Mountain Hawks began to rally with a 7-3 run of their own to put themselves back in the match, but the early deficit was too large for the Mountain Hawks to overcome. The Black Knights grabbed a 25-22 victory in set two to even the match up at one apiece.

The third set was an intense battle between the two teams with five lead changes and 10 ties until Lehigh and Army found themselves even at 19. A service ace from senior Rachel Charles gave the Mountain Hawks the momentum they needed to surge ahead. Thanks to three kills from junior Jade Van Streepen and two Army attack errors, the Mountain Hawks closed out the set on a 6-1 run to win the third set 25-20. Lehigh finished the set with an outstanding .552 hitting percentage and 19 kills.

The tight battle between Lehigh and Army resumed in the fourth set, which saw 19 ties and nine lead changes. The two teams were neck and neck throughout the entire set with neither opponent ever leading by more than four. The set was tied at 27 when Army's Nicole Perri recorded a block and a service ace to give the Black Knights the 29-27 victory.

The Black Knights got out to an early 6-3 start in the fifth and final set. Army never let up as the Mountain Hawks couldn't muster enough to battle back. The Black Knights took the decisive set 15-9 to claim the 3-2 match victory.

Senior Courtney McCutchan registered her third double-double of the season with 15 kills and 18 digs. Van Streepan claimed her fifth double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs, while Kaylynn Genemaras notched her first with 17 kills and 13 digs. Sophomore Amy Matula tied her season high with 51 assists. Charles tallied 21 digs, while senior Amanda Clark finished the match with an impressive .364 hitting percentage.

The Mountain Hawks continue their road trip tomorrow when they take on Holy Cross at 2 p.m. A live broadcast of the match will be available for free via the Patriot League Network.

Like Lehigh volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.