Bucknell Outlasts Lehigh in Lewisburg

Friday, October 27

Lewisburg, Pa.

7 p.m.

Lehigh University

15-10 (6-5PL)

Bucknell

11-12 (5-6PL)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Lehigh	21	28	21	25	12	2
Bucknell	25	26	25	21	15	3

10/27/2017 10:39:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell made a late comeback run in the fifth set to avoid the season sweep against Lehigh and defeat the Mountain Hawks in Lewisburg for the second-straight season. Lehigh (15-10) is now just one match up on Bucknell in the Patriot League standings with a record of 6-5 in league play. The Bison (11-12) slide into the fifth spot and are 5-6 in the league after posting three wins in the league last season.

Lehigh found a groove early in the fifth set with a 5-0 run on four-straight kills to open up a 7-2 lead. The Bison capitalized on a few Lehigh miscues and racked up a few kills of their own to pull even at 9-9. The Mountain Hawks regained composure and edged out to a 12-10 lead on kills by Hannah Wright and Lauren Bright, but that would be the last lead Lehigh held on the night. Bucknell finished the match on a 6-0 run, led by two blocks and a kill by middle blocker Celeste Barker en route to the 15-12 fifth-set victory.

Despite three players reaching double-figure kill totals and two players recording double-doubles, the Mountain Hawks were plagued all night by untimely miscues and were further handcuffed by a season-high 16 service errors. Ana Spangenberg led all players with 21 kills to go along with 13 digs. Sabrina Lancaster tied her season-high with 17 kills and nearly tied her season high with 14 digs.

Bright also reached double-figures with a career-high 14 kills and led Lehigh with six total blocks. Megan Polak dished out 56 assists to eclipse the 50-assist mark for the second time this season. Emily Develle posted a season-high 24 digs to lead all players on the night and recorded her fifth game with 20-plus digs this season.

After splitting the first two sets, Bucknell forced Lehigh to play catchup throughout the third set as the Bison never trailed in the frame on their way to a 25-21 victory. The Mountain Hawks showed a lot of heart to battle back in the fourth with their backs against the wall and reversed the score as they recorded a 25-21 win to force the match into a fifth set.

Lehigh will have to regroup quickly as they return to the Lehigh Valley to face rival Lafayette in Easton on Saturday. Opening serve is set for 4 p.m.