Friday, August 25
Bethlehem, Pa.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
3
vs
0
Saint Peter's
Lehigh Win Season Opener in Opening Day Doubleheader
8/25/2017 11:14:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh splits its opening day double starting off a 3-0 victory over Saint Peter's, followed up by a hard-fought 3-1 loss to Marist Friday at Stabler Arena. Victoria Hemsath led LU on the day with 18 total kills to go with a .310 hitting percentage, while Lauren Bright totaled a team-best eight blocks at a rate of 1.14 blocks per set.
The Mountain Hawks opened the season with a 3-0 win over Saint Peter's (25-11, 25-11, 25-23). In her collegiate debut, freshman Sabrina Lancaster tied for the team lead in kills with seven, to go with a .267 attack percentage. Sophomore Ana Spangenberg also had seven kills, hitting .368. Junior Megan Polak led the way with 19 assists while senior Bonaire Berry had 15.
Lehigh jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set as a Kelly Bennett kill capped off a 3-0 Mountain Hawks' run. After a Saint Peter's kill, Lehigh reeled off five straight points, which included four kills, two by Bennett as a Jess Donaldson kill gave Lehigh an 11-3 advantage. The Mountain Hawks cruised from there, taking leads of 14-5 and eventually 17-8. A 5-0 run helped Lehigh turn a 17-9 lead into a 22-9 advantage, on the way to the 25-11 first-set victory.
Saint Peter's opened leads of 4-1, 5-2 and 6-4 in the second set, but the Mountain Hawks took over from there. They used a 4-0 run to take an 8-6 advantage, outscoring the Peacocks 21-5 the rest of the way. Lehigh ended the set on a 7-0 run, which included two kills from sophomore Emily Poole, including the final to make it 25-11.
After the teams went back-and forth early in the third set, the Mountain Hawks used a 6-0 run to break a 4-4 deadlock and take a 10-4 lead. Saint Peter's slowly pulled closer, getting within 14-13 before taking a 17-15 lead. The Peacocks continued to lead for much of the ensuing points, but Lehigh ended the set on a 3-0 run as a Spangenberg kill gave the Mountain Hawks the 25-23 third-set win and 3-0 match victory.
(8/25/2017) Volleyball vs. Saint Peter's, 8/25/17
In the nightcap, Marist edged out Lehigh by narrow margins in each of the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-21. The Mountain Hawks showed a lot of heart in the third set, winning 25-16, but they could not carry the momentum into the fourth set as the Red Fox cruised to a 25-11 set victory to seal the 4-1 match win.
Hemsath paced the Brown and White with 10 kills, while Spangenberg and Bright each totaled seven. Polak led the way in assists with 23 assists and Bright posted a match-high 4.5 blocks.
After dropping the first two sets, the Mountain Hawks came on strong in the third, posting a .290 hitting percentage as a team and holding their opponent to a mark of .059. Bright performed brilliantly in the frame with two kills on a 1.000 hitting percentage to go along with three total blocks. LU held leads of 8-4, 14-7 and 20-10 in the set and held off a late run by Marist to seal the 25-16 win.
The fourth set proved to be all Marist as the Red Fox hit a stellar .310 for the set and opened up with an 8-2 run to start the frame. Lehigh would cut the deficit to five at 13-8, but could not keep pace with the scoring output of a Marist team that finished the set on a 12-3 run to clinch the set and the match.
Lehigh will return to the court on Saturday for two more matches to close out the opening weekend home stand. First up will be Radford 3 p.m., followed by Coppin State at 8 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
The Mountain Hawks opened the season with a 3-0 win over Saint Peter's (25-11, 25-11, 25-23). In her collegiate debut, freshman Sabrina Lancaster tied for the team lead in kills with seven, to go with a .267 attack percentage. Sophomore Ana Spangenberg also had seven kills, hitting .368. Junior Megan Polak led the way with 19 assists while senior Bonaire Berry had 15.
Lehigh jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set as a Kelly Bennett kill capped off a 3-0 Mountain Hawks' run. After a Saint Peter's kill, Lehigh reeled off five straight points, which included four kills, two by Bennett as a Jess Donaldson kill gave Lehigh an 11-3 advantage. The Mountain Hawks cruised from there, taking leads of 14-5 and eventually 17-8. A 5-0 run helped Lehigh turn a 17-9 lead into a 22-9 advantage, on the way to the 25-11 first-set victory.
Saint Peter's opened leads of 4-1, 5-2 and 6-4 in the second set, but the Mountain Hawks took over from there. They used a 4-0 run to take an 8-6 advantage, outscoring the Peacocks 21-5 the rest of the way. Lehigh ended the set on a 7-0 run, which included two kills from sophomore Emily Poole, including the final to make it 25-11.
After the teams went back-and forth early in the third set, the Mountain Hawks used a 6-0 run to break a 4-4 deadlock and take a 10-4 lead. Saint Peter's slowly pulled closer, getting within 14-13 before taking a 17-15 lead. The Peacocks continued to lead for much of the ensuing points, but Lehigh ended the set on a 3-0 run as a Spangenberg kill gave the Mountain Hawks the 25-23 third-set win and 3-0 match victory.
In the nightcap, Marist edged out Lehigh by narrow margins in each of the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-21. The Mountain Hawks showed a lot of heart in the third set, winning 25-16, but they could not carry the momentum into the fourth set as the Red Fox cruised to a 25-11 set victory to seal the 4-1 match win.
Hemsath paced the Brown and White with 10 kills, while Spangenberg and Bright each totaled seven. Polak led the way in assists with 23 assists and Bright posted a match-high 4.5 blocks.
After dropping the first two sets, the Mountain Hawks came on strong in the third, posting a .290 hitting percentage as a team and holding their opponent to a mark of .059. Bright performed brilliantly in the frame with two kills on a 1.000 hitting percentage to go along with three total blocks. LU held leads of 8-4, 14-7 and 20-10 in the set and held off a late run by Marist to seal the 25-16 win.
The fourth set proved to be all Marist as the Red Fox hit a stellar .310 for the set and opened up with an 8-2 run to start the frame. Lehigh would cut the deficit to five at 13-8, but could not keep pace with the scoring output of a Marist team that finished the set on a 12-3 run to clinch the set and the match.
Lehigh will return to the court on Saturday for two more matches to close out the opening weekend home stand. First up will be Radford 3 p.m., followed by Coppin State at 8 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
Players Mentioned
MB
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S
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MB
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OH
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OH
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OH
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S
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MB
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RS
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