
Providence rallies from two sets down to spoil Lehigh's home opener
9/2/2016 10:10:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team raced to a 2-0 lead in its home opener but visiting Providence stormed back to win the next two sets and outlasted the Mountain Hawks 16-14 in the deciding set to take a 3-2 victory in the second match of the day at the Crosstown Invitational Friday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
The five Lehigh freshmen made their varsity debuts with Jessica Donaldson and Julia Pressly both reaching double-digit kills, but it wasn't enough as the Mountain Hawks fell in their fourth five-set affair in as many matches this season. Lehigh falls to 1-3 with the setback while Providence, which swept Saint Peter's earlier in the day, improves to 4-1.
Sophomore Tori Hemsath led Lehigh with 16 kills and hit .265 for the match, while Pressly followed with 11 kills and Donaldson 10. Freshman Lauren Bright had five kills and a .714 hitting percentage in the second set when she went down with an injury and was unable to return. The Mountain Hawks totaled 17.5 team blocks with freshman Emily Poole leading the way with eight.
Providence was led by Megan Onyundo's 17 kills, while Michelle Cruz had a match-high 35 digs.
"We let up a little bit in that third game," Lehigh head coach Bob Bertucci said. "We were playing great. We had our rhythm going and when Lauren (Bright) went down that kind of threw a monkey wrench in it for us. Kelly came in and did a good job, but Lauren was playing outstanding up to that point. That affected us a little bit and it took us two games to get back.
Bertucci continued, "In the second half of that fifth game I thought we were going to pull it out, but things happen when you have that many freshmen in the lineup."
The first set was tightly contested with Lehigh finally taking the lead for good when a Hemsath kill broke an 18-18 tie. In a set in which Lehigh never led by more than two until the end, a Hemsath kill gave Lehigh a 23-15 victory.
The Mountain Hawks hit .368 in the opening set and followed with a .308 in the second. A kill from Pressly capped a 4-0 run to give Lehigh a 14-10 lead, which was Lehigh's largest margin until the Mountain Hawks scored five of the final seven points to win 25-19 and go up 2-0 in the match. The Mountain Hawks closed out the set with back-to-back blocks.
The tides turned in the third set as Providence hit .300 and limited Lehigh to a .103 clip. The Friars built an 11-4 lead and later used a 5-1 spurt to go up 18-8. Lehigh tried to fight back but Providence claimed a 25-18 victory to pull within 2-1.
The Friars built a four-point lead early in the fourth set and came back after Lehigh pulled even at 10-10. A kill from Allison Impellizeri gave Providence an 11-10 lead and while the Friars led by as many as five, Lehigh came within a point just once. A Kayla Fitzgerald kill gave Providence a 25-22 win forcing the fifth set.
Providence held the early advantage in the fifth, leading 8-4 after a Pressly attack error and then 11-6 after a Hemsath attack error. Lehigh used a late 3-0 run to tie the set at 14-14 on a Fitzgerald attack error. The Friars claimed the final two points on an Abigail Dix kill and an attack error by freshman Ana Spangenberg to complete the come-from-behind win.
Junior Bonaire Berry posted a double-double with 39 assists and 16 digs, while sophomore Emily Develle led Lehigh with 21 digs. In addition to Bright, Lehigh was without senior captain Katie Jennison due to injury.
"We lost our captain two days ago in practice," Bertucci said. "That was a real hit because then we had to scramble our lineup again. They adapted to that pretty well. Providence is a good team, but tonight their consistency and our inconsistency was the difference."
The Mountain Hawks will host two more matches Saturday to close out the Crosstown Invitational as Lehigh will host Saint Peter's at 10 a.m. and Fairleigh Dickinson at 4 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network.
Team Stats
PC
LEHIGH
Kills
55
61
Errors
32
32
Attempts
174
191
Hitting %
.132
.152
Points
72.0
80.5
Assists
49
55
Aces
6
2
Blocks
11.0
17.5
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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