Mountain Hawks begin season with split at Buffalo Invitational

Friday, August 29

Buffalo, N.Y.

12 p.m.

Lehigh University

0-1

Siena

1-0

Siena

Lehigh

Mountain Hawks begin season with split at Buffalo Invitational

8/29/2014 10:03:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Lehigh volleyball team dropped a 3-0 final to Siena Friday afternoon (23-25, 22-25, 23-25), but bounced back by sweeping Buffalo in the evening (25-19, 25-22, 25-19) as the Mountain Hawks opened their season at the Buffalo Invitational. Junior Stephanie Slater led Lehigh with 10 kills to lead the Mountain Hawks to victory in the nightcap.

"Buffalo is a legit team and that was a big win for us," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "The girls really bounced back after this morning's game, which shows a lot of character. In the match against Siena we made our own mistakes that cost us the match, but I'm happy with the way we bounced back."

In the nightcap, Lehigh took an early 2-0 lead in the first set behind a Slater kill and Buffalo attack error. The Mountain Hawks led by either one or two until another Buffalo attack error made it 16-13 in favor of Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks' run eventually reached 8-2 as a block by Slater and freshman Kelly Bennett made it 22-15. A Slater kill sealed the 25-19 first-set victory.

Trailing 2-1 in the early going of the second set, the Mountain Hawks staged a 7-1 run to take an 8-3 lead following a kill from senior Jade Van Streepen. Buffalo came all the way back to tie the score at 13, but Lehigh continued to have an answer. Tied at 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19 and 21, the Mountain Hawks separated themselves as a Buffalo service error and Van Streepen kill made the score 23-21. Lehigh wrapped up the 25-22 set two victory and 2-0 lead.

Buffalo took a 2-0 lead in the third set, but Lehigh scored three straight to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead. The Bulls responded to take leads of 8-6 and 9-7, but the Mountain Hawks fought back. The set tightened as neither team led by more than one between eight (a 9-8 Buffalo lead) and 17 points (a 17-16 Lehigh advantage). The Mountain Hawks used a 5-0 run to take control as a kill from sophomore Morgan Lowe made it 20-16. Lehigh continued to roll as a kill from junior Amy Matula and Buffalo attack error wrapped up the 25-19 final and 3-0 victory.

The Mountain Hawks hit .136 as a team while Buffalo hit just .090. Sophomore Mariah Brantley recorded a team-best 26 digs. Matula tallied 24 assists along with four kills for a .667 hitting percentage.

"Mariah was outstanding as the libero against Buffalo," said Bertucci. "She made a few key digs that really took the wind out of their sails. I'm also impressed with the way Taylor Carroll played today – she gave us back-to-back good matches."

Earlier in the day against Siena, Lehigh took a 9-6 first-set lead behind kills from three separate Mountain Hawks, but the Saints battled back to tie the match at 13 and force a Mountain Hawk timeout. Following a 15-15 tie, Siena surged ahead to take a 21-18 lead. Kills from Lowe and Carroll helped Lehigh pull within one at 24-23, but a Lehigh attack error ensured the 25-23 first-set victory for the Saints.

The Mountain Hawks once again took an early 11-6 lead in the second set before Siena erupted on a 9-4 run to knot the score at 15. Tied again at 21, a pair of kills from Siena's Jacqueline Skeen and a Lehigh attack error catapulted the Saints to a 25-22 set two win.

Siena claimed a commanding 15-10 advantage early in the third set, but a Matula kill sparked an 11-2 Lehigh run as the Mountain Hawks rallied to take a 21-17 advantage. Costly Lehigh attack errors allowed the Saints to tie the set at 23 before a service ace and kill by Meghann Wright handed the Saints the 25-23 set victory and 3-0 match win.

The Mountain Hawks hit .168 as a team, while Siena recorded a hitting percentage of .164. Lowe posted a career-high 16 kills and 16 digs to register her first career double-double. Junior Katie Troyan (12), Brantley (11) and Van Streepen (10) each recorded double-digit digs, while Carroll finished the match with a career-high 11 kills.

The Mountain Hawks conclude their season-opening weekend at the Buffalo Invitational Saturday. Lehigh faces Canisius at 10 a.m. before taking on Ole Miss at 5 p.m.

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