Lehigh claims 3-1 win over Navy for best Patriot League start since 2002

Saturday, September 28

4:00 PM

Lehigh University

12-4,4-1PL

Navy

6-8, 2-1PL

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Navy	24	25	23	15	1
Lehigh	26	23	25	25	3

Lehigh claims 3-1 win over Navy for best Patriot League start since 2002

9/28/2013 6:34:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa – The Lehigh volleyball team claimed a 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15) win over Navy on Saturday afternoon inside Leeman-Turner Arena. The Mountain Hawks improved to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in the Patriot League, which is the team's best start to Patriot League play since 2002. The victory served as Lehigh's eighth win over Navy in the last nine meetings.

"The girls made adjustments very well, which is something that we haven't done yet," said head coach Bob Bertucci. Some of the players off the bench played outstanding for us. I think that was the difference between winning and losing."

The game began with a battle between the Mountain Hawks and Mids in a set that saw ten ties and five lead changes. The Mountain Hawks were down 24-19 when they surged ahead on a 7-0 run thanks to three service aces and two Lehigh kills. Lehigh's late rally gave it the first set win, 26-24, to take a 1-0 advantage in the match.

Lehigh kept the momentum to remain in the lead for the majority of the second set. The Mountain Hawks led 21-17 before the Mids rallied back on a 7-1 run to take a 24-22 lead. A kill from Navy's Katie Sylakowski put the set away for the Mids 25-23, evening the match up at one.

The third set continued to be a tight battle between the two teams, until Navy began to pull away to take an 18-14 lead. The Mountain Hawks rallied back yet again on a 6-2 run to tie it up at 20. After an exchange of points, the set was tied at 23. Two Navy attack errors allowed the Mountain Hawks to take a 25-23 victory and 2-1 lead in the match. Lehigh hit .321 in the set, which proved to be its best of the match.

Lehigh silenced the Mids early in the fourth set as the Mountain Hawks put the first five points on the board. From there, Lehigh held onto its dominant lead to never let the Mids get within six. A kill from sophomore Leah Turner put the set away 25-15, and gave Lehigh its third straight win.

Turner came off the bench in the second set and tallied an impressive 11 kills and a .409 hitting percentage. Junior Kaylynn Genemaras tallied 16 kills and hit .433, while junior Jade Van Streepen added 13 kills. Sophomore Amy Matula notched 48 assists, while senior Rachel Charles tallied 21 digs. Senior Amanda Clark recorded five total blocks. As a team, the Mountain Hawks finished the match with a .280 hitting percentage. Lehigh also dealt eight service aces, four of which came off the hand of sophomore Claire Bradshaw.

The Mountain Hawks return to action next Friday (October 4) at 7 p.m. when they host defending Patriot League Champion Colgate before traveling to Bucknell on Saturday.

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