Saturday, October 10
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
11-9, 4-2PL
0
vs
3
American
15-5, 7-0PL
1
2
3
F
American
25
29
25
3
Lehigh
17
27
20
0
Mountain Hawks fall to league-leading American
10/10/2015 6:06:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team couldn't stop hot-hitting American Saturday afternoon inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall as the Eagles captured a 3-0 (25-17, 29-27, 25-20) victory over the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh falls to 4-2 in league play and 11-9 overall with the loss, while American remains undefeated (7-0) in Patriot League play with the win.
"It was a very well-played game on both sides," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "Our girls did a good job all-around with some great rallies and competitiveness. We played at a higher level, we just have to be able to go up another level to beat a very good, experienced team like American.
Senior Leah Turner led Lehigh with 19 kills, while classmate Stephanie Slater followed with 13. Junior Mariah Brantley registered a team-best 19 digs, while senior Amy Matula dished a squad-leading 35 assists. Three Eagles tallied double-digit kills to lead an American squad that hit .323 for the match compared to Lehigh's .190 hitting percentage.
Lehigh held an early 3-1 lead in the opening set, but a 7-2 American run gave the Eagles an 8-5 advantage. American eventually extended its lead to 17-10 and Lehigh wouldn't get closer than six the rest of the way as a Kristyna Lindovska service ace eventually gave Eagles set point at 25-17.
The Mountain Hawks got out to an 8-6 advantage in the second set, but a 5-0 American run put the Eagles in front 11-8. American worked its lead to six at 19-13, but Lehigh battled back with a 9-3 run thanks to three kills apiece from Turner and Slater to cut the Eagles' lead to one at 23-22. With the match tied at 24, 25, 26 and 27, it was American who was able to notch back-to-back points first with a kill from Loren McKenzie and a Lindovska service ace to grab a 29-27 set-two win and 2-0 match advantage.
The third set began in a 7-7 tie and Lehigh was able to pull ahead 13-11 thanks to kills from three different Mountain Hawks. The Eagles responded with a 4-0 run to reclaim the lead at 15-13. A kill from Slater helped Lehigh tie it at 16-16, but the Eagles offense was too much for Lehigh to handle the rest of the way as five kills helped American to a 25-20 set-three win and 3-0 match victory.
The Mountain Hawks return to action Tuesday at Fordham before getting back to Patriot League play next weekend at Army West Point and Holy Cross.
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Team Stats
AMERICAN
LEHIGH
Kills
51
43
Errors
10
17
Attempts
127
137
Hitting %
.323
.190
Points
63.0
52.0
Assists
48
41
Aces
6
4
Blocks
6.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
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