Lehigh grabs straight-set win over Canisius

KINGSTON, R.I. – The Lehigh volleyball team captured a hard-fought 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) victory over Canisius Saturday afternoon in the finale of Rhode Island's Art Carmichael Invite. The Mountain Hawks finished the tournament with a 2-1 record after defeating Sacred Heart Friday and Lehigh moves to 7-4 on the season with Saturday's victory.

"Canisius is a very scrappy team and I thought they played really well," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "We had some great attacks from several players and Canisius just kept digging it up. I'm happy with the way we were able to pull away at the end of the tight sets."

Senior Ana Vrhel led the Mountain Hawks with 13 kills with just two errors in 20 total attempts for an outstanding .550 hitting percentage. Classmate Leah Turner just missed a double-double with 12 kills and nine digs. Both Vrhel and Turner were named to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the tournament Saturday. Senior Stephanie Slater and sophomore Whitney Krantz contributed nine kills apiece, while Slater hit .500 with no errors. Freshman Emily Develle led the team with 12 digs, while senior Amy Matula dished 37 assists. The Mountain Hawks hit an impressive .407 as a team compared to Canisius' mark of .319.

"I thought Leah played well all weekend and today she was just ripping the ball," said Bertucci. "Her and Ana had very good performances this weekend."

Canisius got off to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but Lehigh responded with the next five points to grab a 6-4 advantage. The Griffs knotted the score at nine before Lehigh put six of the next eight points on the board to pull ahead 15-11. Canisius wasn't able to get closer than three the rest of the way as a Krantz kill eventually recorded set point at 25-20 to give the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 match advantage.

The second set was back and forth the whole way as the score was knotted 12 times until it reached 21-21. The Griffs called a timeout after a Canisius attack error put Lehigh ahead 22-21, but the break didn't help as Lehigh followed with kills from Vrhel and Krantz and a block from Vrhel and Turner to put away the second set, 25-22, and take a 2-0 match lead.

The Griffs opened the third set with a 4-1 lead, but kills from Vrhel and freshman Hannah Wagner and a Develle service ace knotted the score at four. With the score tied again at ten, a Slater kill sparked an 8-2 Mountain Hawk streak as Lehigh began to pull away to take earn an 18-12 edge. Lehigh still controlled a six-point lead at 20-14, but Canisius wouldn't go quietly as the Griffs earned the next three points to pull within 20-17 and force a Mountain Hawk timeout. Vrhel scored the next three points with a kill and a pair of service aces to put Lehigh up 23-17, but the Griffs responded with a 5-1 run before a Turner kill secured match point at 25-22 and Lehigh completed the 3-0 sweep.

The Mountain Hawks return to action next weekend when Lehigh heads to Pittsburgh to compete in the Panther Invitational.

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Team Stats

Ana Vrhel

Leah Turner

Stephanie Slater

Whitney Krantz

Players Mentioned

Emily Develle

Whitney Krantz

Amy Matula

Stephanie Slater

Leah Turner

Ana Vrhel

Hannah Wagner

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