Wednesday, September 17
Easton, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Lafayette
Lehigh opens Patriot League play Wednesday at rival Lafayette
9/16/2014 3:12:00 PM | Volleyball
Watch Live | Live Stats | Lehigh-Lafayette Rivalry
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Patriot League play gets underway for the Lehigh volleyball team Wednesday at 7 p.m. at archrival Lafayette. The Mountain Hawks will be searching for their tenth straight win over the Leopards when the team heads to Easton. The match will be broadcast free of charge on the Patriot League Network.
"Lafayette is going to be ready when Lehigh comes to their gym," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "We know that so we have to be prepared. The rivalry is always very interesting so I'm anticipating a very competitive match and a very emotional match."
Lehigh enters the midweek matchup with a 5-7 record. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a strong 2-1 showing at the home-opening Crosstown Invitational over the weekend. Lehigh cruised to straight-set wins over Saint Peter's and Delaware State before dropping a tight come-from-behind 3-2 battle to tournament champion Marist. After falling in the first two sets (23-25, 22-25) to Marist, the Mountain Hawks fought for 26-24 and 25-12 set three and four victories to set up a fifth and decisive set. Lehigh took an early 9-5 lead in the fifth set, but Marist surged back to win 15-13 and capture the 3-2 match victory. Prior to playing Lehigh, Marist had beaten three Patriot League teams (Army, Holy Cross, Lafayette) in straight sets earlier in the season.
The Mountain Hawks lead the Patriot League in a number of statistical categories including opponent hitting percentage (.155), assists (11.60 per set), kills (12.52 per set) and digs (17.14 per set). Lehigh's 17.14 digs per set average ranks 16th-best in all of Division I while sophomore Mariah Brantley's individual average of 5.33 leads the league and ranks 14th-best in the nation. Junior Amy Matula sits atop the Patriot League leaderboard in assists per set with an average of 9.37. Matula has earned All-Tournament recognition in each of the past two weekends and is coming off a strong Crosstown Invitational in which she tallied 126 total assists, including a career-high 55 against Marist.
Senior Jade Van Streepen's 109 kills lead the Lehigh squad, followed by junior Stephanie Slater (90) and sophomore Morgan Lowe (79). Junior Claire Bradshaw has recorded 11 service aces for an average of 0.44 per set, which ranks third best in the Patriot League. Freshman Kelly Bennett has tallied a team-best 33 blocks, including nine solo stuffs.
The Leopards enter Wednesday's contest with a 3-8 overall record and are coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Crosstown Invitational. Lafayette opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over Delaware State before falling 3-0 to Marist and 3-1 against Saint Peter's. Lafayette's only other wins this season have both come over St. Francis Brooklyn. The Leopards rank last in the Patriot League in four statistical categories, including hitting percentage (.061), assists (7.81 per set), kills (8.36 per set) and digs (12.02 per set).
Sophomore Jet Manzi leads the team with 92 kills, followed by freshman Elizabeth Walsh with 79. Freshman Tori Smith has tallied a team-best 197 assists while junior Lauren Pisauro leads the team in digs (172).
Lehigh holds a 51-29 all-time advantage over Lafayette and has won the last nine meetings. Van Streepen and fellow senior Kaylynn Genemaras each tallied 17 kills to help the Mountain Hawks to a 3-1 win in last season's first meeting. In the second meeting of 2013, Lehigh trailed 2-1 before claiming a dominant 25-3 set-four victory to pull even before winning the fifth set. The Mountain Hawks finished fourth in the Patriot League last season with a league record of 11-5 while the Leopards placed seventh with a league mark of 3-13.
"Both teams are really thinking about the fact that this match can get us off on the right foot in Patriot League play," said Bertucci. "There's hardly any time to turn around from Wednesday's match to this weekend and those matches coming up will be very important, which adds extra emphasis on the importance of winning Wednesday."
Following Wednesday night's matchup, Lehigh returns home Friday to host Holy Cross at 7 p.m. before welcoming Army at 4 p.m. Saturday. Both matches will be broadcast free of charge on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Patriot League play gets underway for the Lehigh volleyball team Wednesday at 7 p.m. at archrival Lafayette. The Mountain Hawks will be searching for their tenth straight win over the Leopards when the team heads to Easton. The match will be broadcast free of charge on the Patriot League Network.
"Lafayette is going to be ready when Lehigh comes to their gym," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "We know that so we have to be prepared. The rivalry is always very interesting so I'm anticipating a very competitive match and a very emotional match."
Lehigh enters the midweek matchup with a 5-7 record. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a strong 2-1 showing at the home-opening Crosstown Invitational over the weekend. Lehigh cruised to straight-set wins over Saint Peter's and Delaware State before dropping a tight come-from-behind 3-2 battle to tournament champion Marist. After falling in the first two sets (23-25, 22-25) to Marist, the Mountain Hawks fought for 26-24 and 25-12 set three and four victories to set up a fifth and decisive set. Lehigh took an early 9-5 lead in the fifth set, but Marist surged back to win 15-13 and capture the 3-2 match victory. Prior to playing Lehigh, Marist had beaten three Patriot League teams (Army, Holy Cross, Lafayette) in straight sets earlier in the season.
The Mountain Hawks lead the Patriot League in a number of statistical categories including opponent hitting percentage (.155), assists (11.60 per set), kills (12.52 per set) and digs (17.14 per set). Lehigh's 17.14 digs per set average ranks 16th-best in all of Division I while sophomore Mariah Brantley's individual average of 5.33 leads the league and ranks 14th-best in the nation. Junior Amy Matula sits atop the Patriot League leaderboard in assists per set with an average of 9.37. Matula has earned All-Tournament recognition in each of the past two weekends and is coming off a strong Crosstown Invitational in which she tallied 126 total assists, including a career-high 55 against Marist.
Senior Jade Van Streepen's 109 kills lead the Lehigh squad, followed by junior Stephanie Slater (90) and sophomore Morgan Lowe (79). Junior Claire Bradshaw has recorded 11 service aces for an average of 0.44 per set, which ranks third best in the Patriot League. Freshman Kelly Bennett has tallied a team-best 33 blocks, including nine solo stuffs.
The Leopards enter Wednesday's contest with a 3-8 overall record and are coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Crosstown Invitational. Lafayette opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over Delaware State before falling 3-0 to Marist and 3-1 against Saint Peter's. Lafayette's only other wins this season have both come over St. Francis Brooklyn. The Leopards rank last in the Patriot League in four statistical categories, including hitting percentage (.061), assists (7.81 per set), kills (8.36 per set) and digs (12.02 per set).
Sophomore Jet Manzi leads the team with 92 kills, followed by freshman Elizabeth Walsh with 79. Freshman Tori Smith has tallied a team-best 197 assists while junior Lauren Pisauro leads the team in digs (172).
Lehigh holds a 51-29 all-time advantage over Lafayette and has won the last nine meetings. Van Streepen and fellow senior Kaylynn Genemaras each tallied 17 kills to help the Mountain Hawks to a 3-1 win in last season's first meeting. In the second meeting of 2013, Lehigh trailed 2-1 before claiming a dominant 25-3 set-four victory to pull even before winning the fifth set. The Mountain Hawks finished fourth in the Patriot League last season with a league record of 11-5 while the Leopards placed seventh with a league mark of 3-13.
"Both teams are really thinking about the fact that this match can get us off on the right foot in Patriot League play," said Bertucci. "There's hardly any time to turn around from Wednesday's match to this weekend and those matches coming up will be very important, which adds extra emphasis on the importance of winning Wednesday."
Following Wednesday night's matchup, Lehigh returns home Friday to host Holy Cross at 7 p.m. before welcoming Army at 4 p.m. Saturday. Both matches will be broadcast free of charge on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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