Mountain Hawks Defeat Host Pioneers to Open SHU Invitational

Friday, September 15

Fairfield, Conn.

6:30 p.m.

Lehigh University

7-5

Sacred Heart

4-7

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Lehigh	25	16	25	26	3
SHU	21	25	22	24	1

Mountain Hawks Defeat Host Pioneers to Open SHU Invitational

9/15/2017 9:35:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Mountain Hawks fended off Sacred Heart in a four-set battle to open play at the SHU Hampton Inn by Hilton Shelton Invitational with a 3-1 win on Friday night.

Lauren Bright and Ana Spangenberg did the damage for Lehigh (7-5) offensively and defensively. The duo each posted nine kills, while Bright finished with a stellar .412 hitting percentage. Bright tied for the overall match lead with six blocks, while Spangenberg tied her season-high with five.

The two sides played a tight first set most of the way, but it was Lehigh's efficiency that ultimately prevailed in the 25-21 victory over the Pioneers (4-7). The Mountain Hawks hit a strong .304 collectively with just two attack errors in the set compared to a .200 percentage and eight errors by Sacred Heart. Bright led Lehigh in kills in the set as she went a perfect 4-for-4 on total attack attempts.

SHU flipped the script in the second set and capitalized on the lack of production by Lehigh. The Pioneers opened up an early lead and forced Lehigh to play catchup the rest of the way. The Mountain Hawks never fell into a rhythm offensively as they hit .167 in the set, while SHU combined for three total blocks as the Pioneers claimed a convincing 25-16 win.

Neither team had offensive prowess in the third set, but both sides protected the net well as they each combined for three total blocks. Back-to-back errors by SHU, combined with a Spangenberg kill opened up a 22-17 lead for LU. From that point, Lehigh managed to hold off SHU long enough to claim a 25-22 victory.

The Mountain Hawks battled back from a six-point deficit in the fourth set after SHU opened up a 14-6 lead. LU started to see the Pioneers pull away again, but a crucial pair of kills by Kelly Bennett tied the set at 19-19. The set eventually went to a 23-23 tie and then Lehigh took the lead following a big block by Bright and Spangenberg to set the Mountain Hawks up for the match point. A Pioneer block tied the match again, 24-24, but Spangenberg lifted the team to victory as she recorded a kill and combined with Bennett for the match-winning block on the final play to win the set 26-24.

Lehigh finished out the weekend with a Saturday double dip, beginning with Hartford at 10 a.m. and finishing with Brown at 4 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live for free on NEC Front Row.