Saturday, November 22
Washington, D.C.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
No. 3 Navy
Second-seeded Lehigh opens Patriot League Tournament against No. 3 Navy Saturday
11/21/2014 11:07:00 AM | Volleyball
Watch Live | Live Stats for Lehigh vs. Navy
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The second-seeded Lehigh volleyball team will open up the Patriot League Tournament against No. 3 Navy Saturday at 4 p.m. in a semifinal matchup. The winner will advance to Sunday's championship match against the winner of No. 1 American/No. 4 Navy. The tournament is hosted by top-seeded American in the Eagles' Bender Arena and all matches can be viewed for free on the Patriot League Network. The Patriot League champion will earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Lehigh will be making its fourth-straight Patriot League Tournament appearance under Patriot League Coach of the Year Bob Bertucci. The Mountain Hawks look to advance to the championship match for the first time since 2002. Lehigh finished the regular season with a 21-9 overall record that included a 14-2 Patriot League mark. After a 20-win season last year, the Mountain Hawks secured back-to-back 20-plus win campaigns for just the second time in program history. A pair of 22-win seasons in 1981 and 1982 was the only other time Lehigh accomplished the feat. The Mountain Hawks' 14 Patriot League victories are the most in program history as Lehigh qualified for its fourth-straight Patriot League Tournament after making the postseason just once in the seven years prior to Bertucci's start at Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks ended the regular season on a nine-match winning streak, the longest since a nine-match run in 1978.
In addition to Bertucci's Coach of the Year honor, sophomore Mariah Brantley earned Patriot League Libero of the Year recognition. The sophomore set broke Lehigh's single-season digs record on Nov. 1 against Navy as she recorded her 499th dig of the season to surpass the previous record of 488 that was set in 1987 by Bonnie Bejsovec. Brantley finished the regular season with 560 digs, which currently ranks fourth on the Patriot League's single-season digs leaderboard. Her 5.33 digs per set average ranks 16th-best in all of Division I. Senior Jade Van Streepen and juniors Amy Matula and Stephanie Slater earned first team All-Patriot League honors.
Van Streepen leads Lehigh with 285 kills and a 3.00 kills per set average that ranks fifth in the Patriot League. Matula has registered an impressive 16 double-doubles this season. The setter has tallied 1,024 assists in 104 sets, good for an average of 9.85 assists per set that ranks second in the Patriot League. She recorded an average of 10.14 assists per set during Patriot League play to help Lehigh to its program-record 14 wins. Slater emerged as one of Lehigh's most consistent offensive weapons this season as the right-side hitter tallied 253 kills and a .284 hitting percentage that ranks sixth in the league. The McDonald, Pa. native recorded an impressive .337 hitting percentage and 3.21 kills per set in Patriot League play to help Lehigh to a second-place finish. Sophomore Taylor Carroll leads the squad in blocks with 63 total stuffs.
Navy closed the regular season on a three-match win streak to secure the No. 3 seed with an 11-5 league mark and 14-11 overall record. The Mids are making their first postseason appearance since 2007. Navy junior middle blocker Katie Sylakowski and sophomore libero Alli Graf garnered All-Patriot League recognition following the regular season. Sylakowski, a first team All-League honoree, ranks third in the league with a .311 hitting percentage and leads the Mids in kills (235), kills per set (2.53) and total blocks (63). Graf, a second team All-League member, ranks fourth in the league with an average of 4.84 digs per set.
The Mountain Hawks swept the regular season series between Lehigh and Navy. Lehigh rolled to a 3-0 win in Annapolis in the season's first meeting on Sept. 26 before defeating the Mids 3-1 in Bethlehem on Nov. 1. Slater led Lehigh in both matches, tallying a combined 22 kills.
Top-seeded American finished the regular season with a 15-1 Patriot League record that was part of a 24-6 overall mark. The Eagles' only league loss was against Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks captured a thrilling 3-2 win in the final match of the regular season. Senior Monika Smidova was awarded the Patriot League Player and Setter of the Year awards and joined Allison Cappellino and Kelly McCaddin on the first team All-Patriot League squad. Kristyna Lindovska rounded out the group of All-League Eagles by earning a spot on the second team. American finished the regular season ranked first in the Patriot League in a number of statistical categories including hitting percentage (.268), opponent hitting percentage (.144), kills (13.20 per set) and service aces (1.73 per set). American and Lehigh split the regular-season series as the Eagles captured a straight-set win in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 11 before the Mountain Hawks pulled out a 3-2 victory in Bethlehem on Nov. 15.
No. 4 Army will be making its 16th-consecutive Patriot League Tournament appearance as the Black Knights finished the regular season with a 9-7 Patriot League mark and 14-15 overall mark. Freshman Carolyn Bockrath was tabbed as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year after tallying a league-leading .391 hitting percentage and ranking third among league freshmen with 2.61 kills per set. Nicole Perri earned first team All-League recognition after finishing second in the league with 318 kills, while Vanessa Edwards accompanied Bockrath on the second team All-Patriot League. Lehigh swept the regular-season series between the two teams after cruising to a 3-0 victory in Bethlehem on Sept. 20 and capturing a 3-1 win in West Point on Oct. 24.
Tickets for each day of the tournament will be $8 for adults and $5 for both children and senior citizens (65+). Students from any of the participating schools will be admitted free with a valid school ID. Tickets will be available for purchase at the Bender Arena box office on Saturday. Free video of all three matches will be available on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates and team content.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The second-seeded Lehigh volleyball team will open up the Patriot League Tournament against No. 3 Navy Saturday at 4 p.m. in a semifinal matchup. The winner will advance to Sunday's championship match against the winner of No. 1 American/No. 4 Navy. The tournament is hosted by top-seeded American in the Eagles' Bender Arena and all matches can be viewed for free on the Patriot League Network. The Patriot League champion will earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Lehigh will be making its fourth-straight Patriot League Tournament appearance under Patriot League Coach of the Year Bob Bertucci. The Mountain Hawks look to advance to the championship match for the first time since 2002. Lehigh finished the regular season with a 21-9 overall record that included a 14-2 Patriot League mark. After a 20-win season last year, the Mountain Hawks secured back-to-back 20-plus win campaigns for just the second time in program history. A pair of 22-win seasons in 1981 and 1982 was the only other time Lehigh accomplished the feat. The Mountain Hawks' 14 Patriot League victories are the most in program history as Lehigh qualified for its fourth-straight Patriot League Tournament after making the postseason just once in the seven years prior to Bertucci's start at Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks ended the regular season on a nine-match winning streak, the longest since a nine-match run in 1978.
In addition to Bertucci's Coach of the Year honor, sophomore Mariah Brantley earned Patriot League Libero of the Year recognition. The sophomore set broke Lehigh's single-season digs record on Nov. 1 against Navy as she recorded her 499th dig of the season to surpass the previous record of 488 that was set in 1987 by Bonnie Bejsovec. Brantley finished the regular season with 560 digs, which currently ranks fourth on the Patriot League's single-season digs leaderboard. Her 5.33 digs per set average ranks 16th-best in all of Division I. Senior Jade Van Streepen and juniors Amy Matula and Stephanie Slater earned first team All-Patriot League honors.
Van Streepen leads Lehigh with 285 kills and a 3.00 kills per set average that ranks fifth in the Patriot League. Matula has registered an impressive 16 double-doubles this season. The setter has tallied 1,024 assists in 104 sets, good for an average of 9.85 assists per set that ranks second in the Patriot League. She recorded an average of 10.14 assists per set during Patriot League play to help Lehigh to its program-record 14 wins. Slater emerged as one of Lehigh's most consistent offensive weapons this season as the right-side hitter tallied 253 kills and a .284 hitting percentage that ranks sixth in the league. The McDonald, Pa. native recorded an impressive .337 hitting percentage and 3.21 kills per set in Patriot League play to help Lehigh to a second-place finish. Sophomore Taylor Carroll leads the squad in blocks with 63 total stuffs.
Navy closed the regular season on a three-match win streak to secure the No. 3 seed with an 11-5 league mark and 14-11 overall record. The Mids are making their first postseason appearance since 2007. Navy junior middle blocker Katie Sylakowski and sophomore libero Alli Graf garnered All-Patriot League recognition following the regular season. Sylakowski, a first team All-League honoree, ranks third in the league with a .311 hitting percentage and leads the Mids in kills (235), kills per set (2.53) and total blocks (63). Graf, a second team All-League member, ranks fourth in the league with an average of 4.84 digs per set.
The Mountain Hawks swept the regular season series between Lehigh and Navy. Lehigh rolled to a 3-0 win in Annapolis in the season's first meeting on Sept. 26 before defeating the Mids 3-1 in Bethlehem on Nov. 1. Slater led Lehigh in both matches, tallying a combined 22 kills.
Top-seeded American finished the regular season with a 15-1 Patriot League record that was part of a 24-6 overall mark. The Eagles' only league loss was against Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks captured a thrilling 3-2 win in the final match of the regular season. Senior Monika Smidova was awarded the Patriot League Player and Setter of the Year awards and joined Allison Cappellino and Kelly McCaddin on the first team All-Patriot League squad. Kristyna Lindovska rounded out the group of All-League Eagles by earning a spot on the second team. American finished the regular season ranked first in the Patriot League in a number of statistical categories including hitting percentage (.268), opponent hitting percentage (.144), kills (13.20 per set) and service aces (1.73 per set). American and Lehigh split the regular-season series as the Eagles captured a straight-set win in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 11 before the Mountain Hawks pulled out a 3-2 victory in Bethlehem on Nov. 15.
No. 4 Army will be making its 16th-consecutive Patriot League Tournament appearance as the Black Knights finished the regular season with a 9-7 Patriot League mark and 14-15 overall mark. Freshman Carolyn Bockrath was tabbed as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year after tallying a league-leading .391 hitting percentage and ranking third among league freshmen with 2.61 kills per set. Nicole Perri earned first team All-League recognition after finishing second in the league with 318 kills, while Vanessa Edwards accompanied Bockrath on the second team All-Patriot League. Lehigh swept the regular-season series between the two teams after cruising to a 3-0 victory in Bethlehem on Sept. 20 and capturing a 3-1 win in West Point on Oct. 24.
Tickets for each day of the tournament will be $8 for adults and $5 for both children and senior citizens (65+). Students from any of the participating schools will be admitted free with a valid school ID. Tickets will be available for purchase at the Bender Arena box office on Saturday. Free video of all three matches will be available on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates and team content.
Players Mentioned
Libero
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