Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, November 21
Washington, D.C.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
No. 2 Army West Point
Third-seeded Lehigh opens Patriot League Tournament against No. 2 Army West Point Saturday
11/20/2015 2:03:00 PM | Volleyball
Watch Live | Live Stats for Lehigh vs. Army
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The third-seeded Lehigh volleyball team will open up the Patriot League Tournament against No. 2 Army West Point Saturday at 4 p.m. in a semifinal matchup. The winner will advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. championship match against the winner of No. 1 American/No. 4 Colgate. The tournament is hosted by top-seeded American in the Eagles' Bender Arena and all matches can be viewed for free on the Patriot League Network. The Patriot League champion will earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Lehigh is making its fifth-straight Patriot League Tournament appearance under head coach Bob Bertucci. The Mountain Hawks will be looking to advance to Sunday's championship match for the second straight year. Lehigh wrapped up the regular season with a 19-12 overall record and 11-5 mark in Patriot League play to earn the No. 3 seed in the four-team tournament. The Mountain Hawks ended the regular season by earning a pair of victories last weekend with 3-1 and 3-2 wins over Holy Cross and Army, respectively, inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
First team All-Patriot League senior Leah Turner leads the Mountain Hawks with 370 kills this season. Turner averaged a league-best 4.06 kills per set during Patriot League play, tallied double-digit kills 22 times this season and recorded six double-doubles. Second team All-Patriot League senior Stephanie Slater follows with 315 kills. Senior Ana Vrhel leads the Mountain Hawks with 42 service aces and 116 total blocks. Classmate Amy Matula has dished a team-best 806 assists, while junior Mariah Brantley has registered a squad-high 381 digs. The Mountain Hawks have hit .227 as a team this season while limiting their opponents to a clip of .213.
Army earned the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament thanks to its 12-4 mark in league play and overall record of 20-9. Two of Army's four league losses came last weekend in the final weekend of the regular season when the Black Knights dropped road decisions to Bucknell (3-1) and Lehigh (3-2). As a team, Army leads the league in assists per set (12.97) and kills per set (13.95).
Second team All-Patriot League selection Carolyn Bockrath leads the Black Knights with 301 kills and a league-best .418 hitting percentage. First team All-League pick Nicole Perri follows with 282 kills, while second team All-Leaguer Vanessa Wesley sits third on the team with 246 kills and a strong .404 attack percentage. Vanessa Edwards, also a first team All-League pick, has dished a league-best 10.95 assists per set this season, while Shannel Chong is tied for the league lead in digs per set (4.49).
Lehigh and Army split the regular-season series as the home team emerged victorious on both occasions. The Black Knights earned a 3-0 win in the season's first meeting on Oct. 16, while Lehigh battled back from a 2-1 deficit to earn a 3-2 win in the regular-season finale last weekend inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
Top-seeded and two-time defending champion American finished the regular season with an unblemished mark of 16-0 in Patriot League play and an overall record of 25-6. The Eagles swept the league's major awards, with Monika Smidova earning Patriot League Player and Setter of the Year accolades, Hoakalei Dawson earning Libero of the Year honors, Carmen Unzue claiming Rookie of the Year laurels and Barry Goldberg being named Coach of the Year. In addition to Smidova, Allison Cappellino and Kristyna Lindovska were both unanimous first team All-League picks. As a team, the Eagles finished the regular season atop the league standings in hitting percentage (.270), opponent hitting percentage (.148) and blocks per set (2.64). American earned 3-0 wins over Lehigh in both meetings this season.
Colgate grabbed the fourth and final spot in the postseason tournament with a 10-6 league mark and 12-15 overall record. The Raiders earned a pair of 3-0 wins over Loyola and Lafayette in their two most recent matches to close out the regular season. First team All-Patriot League pick Kathleen Harris leads the Raiders with 297 kills, while second team All-League selection Katie Stebbins follows with 182 spikes. Lehigh swept the regular-season series against Colgate as the Mountain Hawks earned straight-set win at home before picking up a 3-1 victory on the road.
Free video of the entire Patriot League Tournament will be available on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates and team content.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The third-seeded Lehigh volleyball team will open up the Patriot League Tournament against No. 2 Army West Point Saturday at 4 p.m. in a semifinal matchup. The winner will advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. championship match against the winner of No. 1 American/No. 4 Colgate. The tournament is hosted by top-seeded American in the Eagles' Bender Arena and all matches can be viewed for free on the Patriot League Network. The Patriot League champion will earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Lehigh is making its fifth-straight Patriot League Tournament appearance under head coach Bob Bertucci. The Mountain Hawks will be looking to advance to Sunday's championship match for the second straight year. Lehigh wrapped up the regular season with a 19-12 overall record and 11-5 mark in Patriot League play to earn the No. 3 seed in the four-team tournament. The Mountain Hawks ended the regular season by earning a pair of victories last weekend with 3-1 and 3-2 wins over Holy Cross and Army, respectively, inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
First team All-Patriot League senior Leah Turner leads the Mountain Hawks with 370 kills this season. Turner averaged a league-best 4.06 kills per set during Patriot League play, tallied double-digit kills 22 times this season and recorded six double-doubles. Second team All-Patriot League senior Stephanie Slater follows with 315 kills. Senior Ana Vrhel leads the Mountain Hawks with 42 service aces and 116 total blocks. Classmate Amy Matula has dished a team-best 806 assists, while junior Mariah Brantley has registered a squad-high 381 digs. The Mountain Hawks have hit .227 as a team this season while limiting their opponents to a clip of .213.
Army earned the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament thanks to its 12-4 mark in league play and overall record of 20-9. Two of Army's four league losses came last weekend in the final weekend of the regular season when the Black Knights dropped road decisions to Bucknell (3-1) and Lehigh (3-2). As a team, Army leads the league in assists per set (12.97) and kills per set (13.95).
Second team All-Patriot League selection Carolyn Bockrath leads the Black Knights with 301 kills and a league-best .418 hitting percentage. First team All-League pick Nicole Perri follows with 282 kills, while second team All-Leaguer Vanessa Wesley sits third on the team with 246 kills and a strong .404 attack percentage. Vanessa Edwards, also a first team All-League pick, has dished a league-best 10.95 assists per set this season, while Shannel Chong is tied for the league lead in digs per set (4.49).
Lehigh and Army split the regular-season series as the home team emerged victorious on both occasions. The Black Knights earned a 3-0 win in the season's first meeting on Oct. 16, while Lehigh battled back from a 2-1 deficit to earn a 3-2 win in the regular-season finale last weekend inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
Top-seeded and two-time defending champion American finished the regular season with an unblemished mark of 16-0 in Patriot League play and an overall record of 25-6. The Eagles swept the league's major awards, with Monika Smidova earning Patriot League Player and Setter of the Year accolades, Hoakalei Dawson earning Libero of the Year honors, Carmen Unzue claiming Rookie of the Year laurels and Barry Goldberg being named Coach of the Year. In addition to Smidova, Allison Cappellino and Kristyna Lindovska were both unanimous first team All-League picks. As a team, the Eagles finished the regular season atop the league standings in hitting percentage (.270), opponent hitting percentage (.148) and blocks per set (2.64). American earned 3-0 wins over Lehigh in both meetings this season.
Colgate grabbed the fourth and final spot in the postseason tournament with a 10-6 league mark and 12-15 overall record. The Raiders earned a pair of 3-0 wins over Loyola and Lafayette in their two most recent matches to close out the regular season. First team All-Patriot League pick Kathleen Harris leads the Raiders with 297 kills, while second team All-League selection Katie Stebbins follows with 182 spikes. Lehigh swept the regular-season series against Colgate as the Mountain Hawks earned straight-set win at home before picking up a 3-1 victory on the road.
Free video of the entire Patriot League Tournament will be available on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates and team content.
Players Mentioned
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