Saturday, September 30
Bethlehem, Pa.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Lafayette
Lehigh Set for Rival Lafayette in Weekend Home Stand
9/29/2017 1:44:00 PM | Volleyball
WATCH
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh caps off its four-match home stand with a pair of Patriot League matches this weekend and will look to extend its longest win streak since 2014. The Mountain Hawks will face rival Lafayette for the 87th time on Saturday at 4 p.m. before closing out the weekend against Bucknell on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live for free on the Patriot League Network.
Lehigh is off to an 11-5 start to the season, it's best start since 2013, and is 2-0 in league play following a big 3-0 win over last season's league runner-up, Colgate, last Friday, followed by a 3-0 victory over Holy Cross last Saturday. The Mountain Hawks have been a tough team to beat at home this season with a record of 7-3, including a mark of 5-1 inside Grace Hall.
Reigning Patriot League Player of the Week, Ana Spangenberg, is putting together a breakout season and has been the catalyst offensively for the Brown and White. Last week, the sophomore led the team with 5.67 kills per set on a team-best .408 hitting percentage. During Lehigh's six-match run, Spangenberg is averaging a team-high 4.05 kills per set to go along with a .305 hitting percentage. She has reached double-digit kills in 11 of the last 12 matches and has reached 15 or more kills in four of those matches. She has also hit .300 or better in seven matches this season, including three of the last four.
Sophomore Lauren Bright has also put together a breakout season in her second year with Lehigh. The middle blocker ranks sixth in the league with a .314 hitting percentage on the season, while ranking third in total blocks (73) and fourth in blocks per set (1.08). Bright ranks third on the team with 116 kills with an average of 2.19 kills per set.
Lafayette is off to a 3-11 start to the season with a record of 1-1 in the league. The Leopards opened the season with a 3-0 win over Saint Peter's and then went on a 10-match losing streak, winning only two sets during that stretch. They are winners of two of their last three matches with wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Holy Cross, with a loss to Army West Point. They will travel to Bucknell on Friday night prior to returning to the Lehigh Valley to face Lehigh.
The Leopards rank last in the Patriot League with a .113 team hitting percentage with a league-low average of 10.11 kills per set. They are also last in the league in total blocks (67) and blocks per set (1.46).
Bucknell is 7-7 on the season, including a record of 1-1 in the Patriot League. The Bison opened league play with a 3-0 loss to Army, followed by a 3-1 win over Colgate. They were picked sixth in the preseason league poll after posting a record of 3-13 in the league last season.
The Bison are tops in the league in blocking with 135.5 total blocks at a clip of 2.61 blocks per set. They are led by Mimi Richards, who leads the league with 76 total blocks with an average of 1.46 blocks per set.
Lehigh is 56-30 all-time against Lafayette and has won 14 of the last 15 meetings with a current three-match win streak against the Leopards. The Mountain Hawks lead Bucknell, 46-28, in the all-time series, including a record of 12-3 in the last 15 meetings. Lehigh is 6-0 against the Bison at home in the Bob Bertucci era (since 2011).
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh caps off its four-match home stand with a pair of Patriot League matches this weekend and will look to extend its longest win streak since 2014. The Mountain Hawks will face rival Lafayette for the 87th time on Saturday at 4 p.m. before closing out the weekend against Bucknell on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live for free on the Patriot League Network.
Lehigh is off to an 11-5 start to the season, it's best start since 2013, and is 2-0 in league play following a big 3-0 win over last season's league runner-up, Colgate, last Friday, followed by a 3-0 victory over Holy Cross last Saturday. The Mountain Hawks have been a tough team to beat at home this season with a record of 7-3, including a mark of 5-1 inside Grace Hall.
Reigning Patriot League Player of the Week, Ana Spangenberg, is putting together a breakout season and has been the catalyst offensively for the Brown and White. Last week, the sophomore led the team with 5.67 kills per set on a team-best .408 hitting percentage. During Lehigh's six-match run, Spangenberg is averaging a team-high 4.05 kills per set to go along with a .305 hitting percentage. She has reached double-digit kills in 11 of the last 12 matches and has reached 15 or more kills in four of those matches. She has also hit .300 or better in seven matches this season, including three of the last four.
Sophomore Lauren Bright has also put together a breakout season in her second year with Lehigh. The middle blocker ranks sixth in the league with a .314 hitting percentage on the season, while ranking third in total blocks (73) and fourth in blocks per set (1.08). Bright ranks third on the team with 116 kills with an average of 2.19 kills per set.
Lafayette is off to a 3-11 start to the season with a record of 1-1 in the league. The Leopards opened the season with a 3-0 win over Saint Peter's and then went on a 10-match losing streak, winning only two sets during that stretch. They are winners of two of their last three matches with wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Holy Cross, with a loss to Army West Point. They will travel to Bucknell on Friday night prior to returning to the Lehigh Valley to face Lehigh.
The Leopards rank last in the Patriot League with a .113 team hitting percentage with a league-low average of 10.11 kills per set. They are also last in the league in total blocks (67) and blocks per set (1.46).
Bucknell is 7-7 on the season, including a record of 1-1 in the Patriot League. The Bison opened league play with a 3-0 loss to Army, followed by a 3-1 win over Colgate. They were picked sixth in the preseason league poll after posting a record of 3-13 in the league last season.
The Bison are tops in the league in blocking with 135.5 total blocks at a clip of 2.61 blocks per set. They are led by Mimi Richards, who leads the league with 76 total blocks with an average of 1.46 blocks per set.
Lehigh is 56-30 all-time against Lafayette and has won 14 of the last 15 meetings with a current three-match win streak against the Leopards. The Mountain Hawks lead Bucknell, 46-28, in the all-time series, including a record of 12-3 in the last 15 meetings. Lehigh is 6-0 against the Bison at home in the Bob Bertucci era (since 2011).
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
RS
/ VolleyballVolleyball vs. Holy Cross
Saturday, November 08
VB vs. Loyola
Friday, October 10
Volleyball vs. American
Saturday, October 04
Mountain Hawk Talk - S2 EP2 - Volleyball
Friday, September 26
