Lehigh battles for big 3-2 road win at Holy Cross

Saturday, October 25

Worcester, Mass.

4 p.m.

Lehigh University

16-9, 9-2PL

Holy Cross

6-15, 5-6PL

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Lehigh	20	25	23	25	15	3
Holy Cross	25	17	25	20	10	2

Lehigh battles for big 3-2 road win at Holy Cross

10/25/2014 7:07:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Lehigh volleyball team captured a tough 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10) road win at Holy Cross Saturday afternoon as the Mountain Hawks extended their winning streak to four. The victory also marked Lehigh's 14th-consecutive win over the Crusaders and the Mountain Hawks wrap up their weekend road trip with an impressive 2-0 record. Lehigh improves to 16-9 overall and 9-2 in the Patriot League while Holy Cross falls to 6-16 overall and 5-6 in league play.

"The team really showed a lot of character today," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "They didn't get flustered and they just hung in there. This was a tough road trip and the girls performed very well."

Junior Leah Turner posted a team-high 19 kills to go along with a .326 hitting percentage and ten digs to register a double-double. Classmate Ana Vrhel followed with an outstanding .448 attack percentage and 17 kills to tie her career high, while Stephanie Slater followed with 14 spikes and a .312 average.

"Leah was unbelievable tonight," said Bertucci. "We've had different people stepping in this weekend and they've done a great job."

Junior Amy Matula posted a career-high 59 assists as well as 16 digs to register her 13th double-double of the season. Sophomore Mariah Brantley tied her career high with 29 digs to lead the Lehigh defense.

Holy Cross got off to a quick 2-0 lead in the first set, but Lehigh scored three of the next four points as a Matula service ace tied the score at three. The Crusaders answered with the next two points and 10 of the next 13 to take a 14-6 advantage. Lehigh attempted to pull back into the set as a kill from senior Jade Van Streepen made it 15-9. From there, the Holy Cross lead stood between six and nine until the Mountain Hawks made a late charge. A 5-0 run capped off by a kill from Vrhel pulled Lehigh within 21-18. With Holy Cross leading 23-20, the Crusaders clinched the 25-20 first set victory with a kill followed by attack error.

Lehigh rebounded in the second set, scoring the first three points behind kills from Leah Turner and Vrhel, with an attack error sandwiched in between. The Mountain Hawks held that three-point lead until two consecutive attack errors pulled Holy Cross within 7-6. Lehigh regained a two-point lead, which stood until midway through the set when the Mountain Hawks staged a 4-0 run to take a 15-10 advantage following a Brantley service ace. The Lehigh lead eventually swelled to seven at 19-12 and it reached eight at 23-15 following kills from Slater and Vrhel. The teams traded points from there as a Slater kill wrapped up Lehigh's 25-17 second-set win.

The third set started out closely as the Crusaders held an early 6-5 lead before Holy Cross scored the next five points to extend its advantage to 11-6. The Mountain Hawks responded with a 7-3 run that was capped off by a Crusader attack error to pull back within one at 14-13. Lehigh tied the score at 17, but the Crusaders answered with a 6-1 run before a kill from Turner stopped the streak. Lehigh narrowed the lead to two at 23-21, but the Crusaders set up set point with a spike from Mary Mullen. The Mountain Hawks fought off set point twice with kills from Vrhel and Slater, but a Lehigh attack error sealed the deal for Holy Cross and claimed a 25-23 set-three win and 2-1 match advantage.

A pair of kills from Vrhel and a spike from sophomore Taylor Carroll helped the Mountain Hawks to an early 6-2 advantage in the fourth set. A pair of kills from Emily Oliver eventually helped Holy Cross take a 10-9 lead before a spike from Turner evened the score at ten. After another tie at 11, Lehigh answered with the next three points to take a 14-11 lead thanks to two kills from Turner and one from Vrhel as the Crusaders were forced to call a timeout. The Mountain Hawks were able to lengthen their lead to five at 17-12, but the Crusaders narrowed it back to two at 19-17 following a Mandy Sifferlen service ace to force a Lehigh timeout. The Mountain Hawks tallied the next three points out of the break to surge ahead 22-17. A Turner kill set up set point at 24-18, but the Crusaders still had some fight in them and scored the next two points, but another kill from Turner secured a 25-20 set-four win and evened the match at two.

Kills from Vrhel, Van Streepen and Turner helped Lehigh to a 3-0 lead in the fifth and decisive set. The Mountain Hawks continued their momentum and took an 8-3 lead as the teams switched sides midway through the set. Following a Matula spike, the Crusaders scored the next three points to pull within three at 9-6 and force a Lehigh timeout. The teams exchanged the next few points before a Turner spike put Lehigh's lead at 12-8 and Holy Cross called its final timeout. A kill from Van Streepen set up match point at 14-9 before the Crusaders scored the next two, but another Van Streepen spike followed as the Mountain Hawks grabbed a 15-10 set-five victory and 3-2 match win.

Lehigh returns home next weekend for contests against Loyola and Navy. The Mountain Hawks host the Greyhounds Friday at 7 p.m. before welcoming Navy at 4 p.m. Saturday. Both matches can be viewed for free on the Patriot League Network.

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