Lehigh secures No. 3 seed in Patriot League Tournament with 3-1 victory over Holy Cross

Friday, November 13

7 p.m.

Lehigh University

18-12, 10-5PL

Holy Cross

7-21, 4-11PL

Holy Cross

Lehigh

Lehigh secures No. 3 seed in Patriot League Tournament with 3-1 victory over Holy Cross

11/13/2015 9:42:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After dropping the first set, the Lehigh volleyball team rallied to win the next three in a 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-20) victory over Holy Cross Friday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The win secures the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the Mountain Hawks who improve to 18-12 overall and 10-5 in league play, while Holy Cross falls to 7-21 overall and 4-11 in the Patriot League.

"The first set was very well played, but we weren't going for the extreme angles that we need to," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "We made adjustments in the second set that helped us get back on track. It was nice to see the fight the girls showed after dropping the first set to come out and win the next three."

No. 3 Lehigh will face No. 2 Army West Point in the Patriot League semifinals at 4 p.m. next Saturday Nov. 21. The Mountain Hawks and Black Knights will meet in the regular-season finale tomorrow (Saturday Nov. 14) inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall for a preview of the semifinal. The other semifinal will consist of No. 1 American and No. 4 Colgate. The winners advance to Sunday's championship match. The entire tournament will be played at American's Bender Arena.

Four Mountain Hawks tallied double-digit kills against the Crusaders, led by senior Leah Turner with 14. Sophomore Whitney Krantz and senior Stephanie Slater chipped in 12 apiece, while junior Katie Jennison followed with ten spikes. Freshman Megan Polak tallied her first career double-double with 37 assist and 11 digs, while freshman Emily Develle registered a team-best 15 digs. The Mountain Hawks hit .241 as a team compared to Holy Cross' .157 hitting percentage.

Holy Cross took the lead right away in the opening set, getting out to a 6-2 advantage. The Crusaders continued to cruise as the Lehigh offense struggled and Holy Cross jumped ahead 21-14. A kill from Krantz sparked a 9-3 Lehigh run that brought the Mountain Hawks back within one at 24-23, but a kill from Mandy Sifferlen eventually gave the Crusaders a 25-23 victory.

Holy Cross opened the second set by taking a 7-3 lead, but Lehigh rattled off the next four points to pull even at seven. The Crusaders put the next two points on the board, but a Turner kill ignited a string of six-straight points to put Lehigh ahead 13-9. The Mountain Hawks hung onto the lead from there and eventually extended it to as much as five at 20-15. The Crusaders were within two at 21-19, but the Mountain Hawks scored the final four points to earn a 25-19 victory and even the match at 1-1.

The Crusaders held an early 8-7 lead in the third set, but it didn't last long as a kill from junior Mariah Brantley ignited the Lehigh offense. The Mountain Hawks scored 18 of the final 22 points, with the help of kills from five different players to grab a 25-12 set-three win and take a 2-1 match lead. Lehigh hit a match-high .433 in the set.

The fourth set started tightly, but Lehigh used a 6-1 run to turn a slim 7-6 lead into a 13-7 advantage. The Mountain Hawks pulled ahead by as much as eight at 18-10. The closest the Crusaders would get the rest of the way was four at 24-20 before a Holy Cross attack error secured a 25-20 set-four win and 3-1 victory for the Mountain Hawks.

The Mountain Hawks wrap up the regular season Saturday at 4 p.m. when Lehigh hosts Army West Point on Senior Day inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.

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