Tuesday, October 13
Bronx, N.Y.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
12-9
3
at
0
Fordham
8-15
1
2
3
F
Lehigh
25
26
25
3
Fordham
22
24
18
0
Lehigh cruises to straight-set victory at Fordham
10/13/2015 8:54:00 PM | Volleyball
BRONX, N.Y. – The Lehigh volleyball team used a full team effort to capture a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-18) win at Fordham Tuesday evening in the Mountain Hawks' final non-league match of the season. Lehigh improves to 12-9 overall with the victory, while Fordham falls to 8-15.
"I was really happy with the way the team played tonight," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "It was nice to see them respond well to being out of their comfort zone and on the road at an A-10 school. They were determined and really went after it."
Senior Ana Vrhel led the Mountain Hawk attack with 11 kills and a .429 hitting percentage to go along with five total blocks. Senior Leah Turner also chipped in 11 kills, while sophomore Kelly Bennett recorded eight kills with no errors in 11 attempts for an outstanding .727 hitting percentage. Senior Amy Matula led the squad with 32 assists and junior Mariah Brantley registered a team-best 16 digs. The Mountain Hawks hit .261 as a team and held Fordham to a clip of .189.
"Our middle blockers played great tonight," said Bertucci. "It was a focus tonight and we got good production from them, which is something we'll have to continue to do if we want to be successful in the second half of Patriot League play."
The Mountain Hawks held a slim 7-6 lead in the opening set before a 10-4 run gave Lehigh a 17-10 advantage. The Rams then answered with a 7-1 streak of their own to pull within one at 18-17. Fordham remained within two at 23-21, but spikes from Vrhel and senior Stephanie Slater eventually put the set away at 25-22 as Lehigh took a 1-0 match advantage.
Lehigh jumped ahead 5-3 in the second set before Fordham surged back with a 4-1 run to take a 7-6 advantage. Neither team was able to pull ahead by more than two points in back-and-forth action until a Vrhel kill and block gave the Mountain Hawks a 19-16 advantage, but the Rams answered right back to knot the set at 19. A kill and block from Bennett eventually gave Lehigh set point at 24-22, but the Rams tallied the next two points to tie the score at 24. A Slater spike and block from Slater and Bennett followed to secure a 26-24 set-two victory and 2-0 match advantage for the Mountain Hawks.
A kill from Vrhel sparked a 7-1 run that turned a 6-5 deficit into a 12-7 advantage for the Mountain Hawks in the third set. The Rams were within four at 14-10, but that would be the closest Fordham would get the rest of the way as Lehigh was able to pull away for a 25-18 set-three win and straight-set match victory.
The Mountain Hawks return to action this weekend when Lehigh heads to Army West Point at 7 p.m. Friday before traveling to Holy Cross at 4 p.m. Saturday. Free video of both matches will be available on the Patriot League Network.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
FOR
Kills
43
39
Errors
14
19
Attempts
111
106
Hitting %
.261
.189
Points
56.0
44.0
Assists
40
35
Aces
4
3
Blocks
9.0
2.0
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
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