Saturday, September 19
Pittsburgh, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
(7-6)
1
at
3
Pittsburgh
(9-2)
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
21
19
25
18
1
PITT
25
25
22
25
3
Lehigh drops matches to Pitt and Bowling Green at Panther Invite
9/19/2015 6:44:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team was able to take a set off ACC-team Pitt in a 3-1 loss (21-25, 19-25, 25-22, 18-25) before falling in straight sets (15-25, 28-30, 22-25) to Bowling Green Saturday as the Mountain Hawks wrapped up competition at the Panther Invite. The Mountain Hawks fall to 7-7 with the pair of losses.
"We were a bit outmatched physically this weekend, but we still competed even though we didn't have the same physicality as the teams we were playing against," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "We're making too many unforced errors and we have to be able to control the ball better in order to play against these types of teams and be successful. We'll need to come out in practice this week with intense focus as we get ready to open league play on Wednesday against Lafayette."
Senior Leah Turner led Lehigh with 26 kills in the two matches combined, while classmates Stephanie Slater (23) and Ana Vrhel (20) followed behind. Senior Amy Matula dished a team-best 47 assists, while junior Mariah Brantley and freshman Emily Develle both registered 21 digs. Turner was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts in Lehigh's three matches.
The opening set of the day's first match against Pitt saw seven tie scores until it was knotted at 13. The Panthers began to pull away with a 6-2 run to grab a 19-15 lead and force a Mountain Hawk timeout. Lehigh was able to pull back within two at 22-20 following a kill from Slater and a Pitt error, but a Panther block eventually secured set point as Pitt earned a 25-21 set-one win.
The Panthers held a slim 5-4 lead to open the second set before a 5-1 run helped Pitt extend its lead to 10-5. Kills from Slater and sophomore Kelly Bennett helped the Mountain Hawks narrow the Panther lead to three at 13-10. Lehigh was still within three at 20-17, but kills from four different Panthers helped Pitt score five of the final seven points to grab a 25-19 set-two win and take a 2-0 match lead.
The Mountain Hawks found themselves in an early 9-6 hole before a 4-1 streak knotted the score at ten. Following a Pitt kill, Lehigh rattled off the next four points with the help of kills from Turner and Slater and a pair of service aces from Develle as the Mountain Hawks jumped ahead 14-11. Lehigh continued its hot hitting and scored six of the next eight points to take its biggest lead of the match at 20-13. The Panthers scored the next five points to quickly cut Lehigh's lead to two at 20-18, but Lehigh was able to hold Pitt off as a pair of Slater kills secured a 25-22 set-three win.
The fourth set opened in a 6-6 tie before the Panthers used six unanswered points to take a 12-6 lead. Lehigh scored the next three points to narrow the Pitt lead to three, but it would be as close as the Mountain Hawks would get the rest of the way as the Panthers claimed a 25-18 set-four win and 3-1 match victory.
Three Mountain Hawks contributed double-digit kills against Pitt, led by Slater with 16 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. Turner added 15 spikes and 11 digs for her first double-double of the season, while Vrhel chipped in ten kills. Matula dished 24 assists, while freshman Megan Polak added 21. Brantley registered 14 digs. Pitt finished the match with a .341 attack percentage and limited Lehigh to a clip of .199.
Bowling Green held a slim 6-5 lead in the first set of the tournament finale before the Falcons used an 8-2 run to take a 14-7 advantage and force an early Lehigh timeout. The Mountain Hawks couldn't shut down a Bowling Green offense that hit .355 in the opening set to capture a 25-15 victory.
The second set against the Falcons was much closer and Lehigh was able to grab an early 10-6 advantage. Bowling Green eventually tied the score at 14, but a kill from Vrhel sparked three-straight Lehigh points to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 17-14. The Falcons returned the favor with the next three points to bring the score to 17-17 and the set was then tied again seven times before it reached 28-all. Bowling Green was the first to be able to tally back-to-back points as a Lehigh service error was followed by a kill from Katie Scholten to give the Falcons a 30-28 set-two win and 2-0 match advantage.
The Mountain Hawks turned a 7-6 deficit into a 10-7 lead to begin the third set thanks to kills from Turner and Slater. The Falcons rallied to knot the score at 11 before Lehigh regained a 14-11 advantage with the help of a kill from Wagner. The Mountain Hawks held onto a three-point edge at 20-17, but Bowling Green once again fought to tie the score at 22 before scoring the final three points and earning a 25-22 set-three win and 3-0 match victory.
Turner led Lehigh against the Falcons with 11 kills, while Vrhel chipped in ten. Matula dished 23 assists, while Develle led the squad with ten digs.
Next up, the Mountain Hawks begin Patriot League play against rival Lafayette Wednesday evening inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and free video will be available on the Patriot League Network.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
UP
Kills
55
54
Errors
26
11
Attempts
146
126
Hitting %
.199
.341
Points
66.0
70.5
Assists
53
51
Aces
6
4
Blocks
5.0
12.5
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
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