Saturday, November 12
Worcester, Mass.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
13-17, 8-8PL
0
at
3
Holy Cross
10-19, 6-10PL
1
2
3
F
Lehigh
23
23
18
0
Holy Cross
25
25
25
3
Volleyball Ends Season with Loss at Holy Cross
11/12/2016 8:18:00 PM | Volleyball
WORCESTER, Mass. – After sweeping Holy Cross, 3-0, earlier in the season at home, the Lehigh volleyball team saw the roles reversed on Saturday as the Crusaders defeated the Mountain Hawks by a final score of 3-0 and put an end to Lehigh's season. The loss to Holy Cross officially eliminates the Mountain Hawks from postseason contention as Navy defeated Lafayette earlier on Saturday.
Lehigh finishes the 2016 season with an overall record of 13-17 with a Patriot League record of 8-8 to finish fifth in the league standings. Holy Cross closes out the season with three-straight wins to finish with an overall record of 10-19 and a Patriot League record of 6-10 to finish sixth in the league.
The Crusaders edged out Lehigh in the first two sets by winning both sets by scores of 25-23. Holy Cross put together a 7-0 run through the middle of the third set to break open a 21-12 lead and used that separation to secure a 25-18 set victory and ultimately the match victory.
Ana Spangenberg led Lehigh in kills for the fourth-straight match as she posted 12 on Saturday with a .357 hitting percentage. Megan Polak led all players with 32 assists as she also recorded three kills and six digs. Polak finishes the season with 13 30-assist performances as the team's leading setter.
Lehigh used a 7-1 run in the first set to go from trailing 12-11 to go ahead 17-13 to take its largest lead of the set. Holy Cross came back to tie it up 20-20 and then go ahead 23-21. Once the Crusaders took the lead late, they never relinquished it and claimed the first set 25-23.
The second set played out as the most closely-contested set of the match as a three point lead by Holy Cross on four separate occasions proved to be the largest lead of the set. Lehigh came back from two points down to tie the set 20-20. The Crusaders then used a 4-1 run to go up 24-21 with match point in hand. Lehigh tried to rally with two quick kills by Spangenberg and Kelly Bennett, but Holy Cross managed to get the final point it needed with a kill to end the set, 25-23.
The third set started out close just like the previous two had played out. Then, a 6-0 run put the Crusaders ahead 10-5. Lehigh rallied back with kills by four different Mountain Hawks and cut the deficit to 11-9. Lehigh continued to hold Holy cross in check as back-to-back kills by Julia Pressly and Katie Jennison had the Mountain Hawks down 14-12. All of a sudden, a 9-1 run by Holy Cross put the Crusaders ahead 23-13 and out them in great contention for a sweep. A kill by Spangenberg combined with four miscues by Holy Cross gave Lehigh a 5-0 run and cut the deficit to 23-18. Finally, a service error by Lehigh and a kill by Holy Cross gave the Crusaders the necessary two points to win the set and end the match.
Holy Cross hit over .200 in each set, including a .317 percentage in the first set to finish with a .268 percentage for the match. Lehigh failed to hit over .200 in any of the three sets, including a .054 percentage in the third to finish with a .135 percentage for the match.
The Mountain Hawks led 48-47 in total points and held a 43-38 advantage in total team kills.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
HC
Kills
43
38
Errors
25
8
Attempts
133
112
Hitting %
.135
.268
Points
48.0
47.0
Assists
39
37
Aces
1
3
Blocks
4.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
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