Lehigh University Athletics
Friday, November 2
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Bucknell
Photo by: Hunter Julius
Lehigh set for three of final four matches of 2018 season
11/1/2018 3:45:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — With only four matches left to play in the 2018 regular season, Lehigh volleyball has the task of continuing to win in order to stay alive in the race for a Patriot League tournament spot. The Mountain Hawks have struggled to add to the win column in recent weeks, falling in five of their last six matches.
Lehigh is currently tied for fourth place in the Patriot League at 6-6 with Loyola and Army West Point. The Mountain Hawks have a tiebreaker over the Greyhounds due to two wins this season, Lehigh has split both matches with the Black Knights this season, most recently a five-set defeat last Saturday.
The Mountain Hawks welcome the Bucknell Bison to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on Friday night for the penultimate home match of the season. The Bison previously fell to Lehigh in four sets in Lewisburg back on Oct. 6 where junior Julia Pressly started her stretch of playing her best volleyball of the season, hitting .480 with 13 kills and three digs. After dropping the first set to the Bison, the Mountain Hawks rallied off three straight set wins, improving to 16-2 overall, 5-1 in the Patriot League.
Now, the tables have turned for the Mountain Hawks, who come into Friday with a .500 league record, but the brand of volleyball remains the same. Lehigh still has the best blocking player in the Patriot League in junior Emily Poole who leads the team with 117 blocks and averages 1.22 blocks per set. Led by Poole, the Mountain Hawks currently have the second-ranked blocking team in the Patriot League with 242.5 total blocks and 2.47 blocks per set.
Despite back-to-back losses, Pressly has been on a tear for the Mountain Hawks averaging a team-high .329 hitting percentage with 33 kills and 14 digs in her last two matches.
Freshman Alina Lam continues to pace Lehigh in assists with 553 on the year and assists per set with 7.37. Senior Emily Develle enters play on Friday night with 397 digs, averaging 4.05 per set. She is comes into the weekend with 1,662 career digs, just 32 away from becoming Lehigh's all-time leader.
Bucknell comes into Friday's match with a 6-17 overall record, 1-11 in the Patriot League and are currently in the midst of a seven-match losing streak. The Bison have not won since beating Lafayette at home on Oct. 6. Bucknell has dropped 15 of its last 16 matches. Brooke Stark leads the team in hitting percentage with a .333 mark, while Sophie Bullard leads the Bison in kills with 191. It's Alexa Bonnano who leads Bucknell with 549 assists and 7.04 assists per set. She also paces the team with 20 service aces on the year. Mimi Richards leads the Bison in blocks with 89, while Stark leads the team with 268 digs. The Bison are hitting .168 as a team this season, holding opponents to a .214 hitting percentage. The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series 48-29.
On Sunday, part two of The Rivalry takes place as the Mountain Hawks visit Easton in the second match of the season against Lafayette. Lehigh won the first matchup against the teams back on Oct. 5 at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall, finishing off the Leopards in straight sets. Like Bucknell, Lafayette has also struggled this season, falling in all 12 of its Patriot League matchups so far. The Leopards have not won a match since Sept. 15 at home against Fairleigh Dickinson. Since then, Lafayette is 3-36 in sets played. The Leopards are led in hitting percentage by Madi Wahrmund with a .222 mark. Grace Tulevech leads with 267 kills, averaging 3.26 per set. Julia Howard continues to be Lafayette's leading assist-getter with 544 on the year. Lafayette is hitting .147 as a team this season, allowing a massive .275 hitting mark to opponents this season. Lehigh is searching for its 60th win in The Rivalry dating back to 1974. The Mountain Hawks are currently 59-30 all-time against Lafayette.
The final test of the weekend is American, who the Mountain Hawks will visit on Tuesday. Lehigh is looking to enact revenge, after getting out to a 2-0 lead against the Eagles, before dropping the final three sets in a five-set loss back on Oct. 9. Since then, American has continued its run to perfection entering the weekend with a 12-0 record in the Patriot League. The Eagles look to be in as good of shape as possible searching for their sixth straight Patriot League title. American's senior outside-hitter Aleksandra Kazala has been on quite the run as of late, as she continues to lead the team in kills with 337. Senior middle-blocker Loren McKenzie is hitting .387 this season, which is tops for the Patriot League. Also a Patriot League leader, Kennedy Etheridge has 890 assists on the year, averaging 10.23 per set. She also has tallied 239 digs this season. Kristen Largay is second in the Patriot League in digs with 417, averaging 4.34 per set. American is hitting .260 as a team this season. The Eagles continue to dominate the all-time series with Lehigh, 36-6.
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Lehigh is currently tied for fourth place in the Patriot League at 6-6 with Loyola and Army West Point. The Mountain Hawks have a tiebreaker over the Greyhounds due to two wins this season, Lehigh has split both matches with the Black Knights this season, most recently a five-set defeat last Saturday.
The Mountain Hawks welcome the Bucknell Bison to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on Friday night for the penultimate home match of the season. The Bison previously fell to Lehigh in four sets in Lewisburg back on Oct. 6 where junior Julia Pressly started her stretch of playing her best volleyball of the season, hitting .480 with 13 kills and three digs. After dropping the first set to the Bison, the Mountain Hawks rallied off three straight set wins, improving to 16-2 overall, 5-1 in the Patriot League.
Now, the tables have turned for the Mountain Hawks, who come into Friday with a .500 league record, but the brand of volleyball remains the same. Lehigh still has the best blocking player in the Patriot League in junior Emily Poole who leads the team with 117 blocks and averages 1.22 blocks per set. Led by Poole, the Mountain Hawks currently have the second-ranked blocking team in the Patriot League with 242.5 total blocks and 2.47 blocks per set.
Despite back-to-back losses, Pressly has been on a tear for the Mountain Hawks averaging a team-high .329 hitting percentage with 33 kills and 14 digs in her last two matches.
Freshman Alina Lam continues to pace Lehigh in assists with 553 on the year and assists per set with 7.37. Senior Emily Develle enters play on Friday night with 397 digs, averaging 4.05 per set. She is comes into the weekend with 1,662 career digs, just 32 away from becoming Lehigh's all-time leader.
Bucknell comes into Friday's match with a 6-17 overall record, 1-11 in the Patriot League and are currently in the midst of a seven-match losing streak. The Bison have not won since beating Lafayette at home on Oct. 6. Bucknell has dropped 15 of its last 16 matches. Brooke Stark leads the team in hitting percentage with a .333 mark, while Sophie Bullard leads the Bison in kills with 191. It's Alexa Bonnano who leads Bucknell with 549 assists and 7.04 assists per set. She also paces the team with 20 service aces on the year. Mimi Richards leads the Bison in blocks with 89, while Stark leads the team with 268 digs. The Bison are hitting .168 as a team this season, holding opponents to a .214 hitting percentage. The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series 48-29.
On Sunday, part two of The Rivalry takes place as the Mountain Hawks visit Easton in the second match of the season against Lafayette. Lehigh won the first matchup against the teams back on Oct. 5 at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall, finishing off the Leopards in straight sets. Like Bucknell, Lafayette has also struggled this season, falling in all 12 of its Patriot League matchups so far. The Leopards have not won a match since Sept. 15 at home against Fairleigh Dickinson. Since then, Lafayette is 3-36 in sets played. The Leopards are led in hitting percentage by Madi Wahrmund with a .222 mark. Grace Tulevech leads with 267 kills, averaging 3.26 per set. Julia Howard continues to be Lafayette's leading assist-getter with 544 on the year. Lafayette is hitting .147 as a team this season, allowing a massive .275 hitting mark to opponents this season. Lehigh is searching for its 60th win in The Rivalry dating back to 1974. The Mountain Hawks are currently 59-30 all-time against Lafayette.
The final test of the weekend is American, who the Mountain Hawks will visit on Tuesday. Lehigh is looking to enact revenge, after getting out to a 2-0 lead against the Eagles, before dropping the final three sets in a five-set loss back on Oct. 9. Since then, American has continued its run to perfection entering the weekend with a 12-0 record in the Patriot League. The Eagles look to be in as good of shape as possible searching for their sixth straight Patriot League title. American's senior outside-hitter Aleksandra Kazala has been on quite the run as of late, as she continues to lead the team in kills with 337. Senior middle-blocker Loren McKenzie is hitting .387 this season, which is tops for the Patriot League. Also a Patriot League leader, Kennedy Etheridge has 890 assists on the year, averaging 10.23 per set. She also has tallied 239 digs this season. Kristen Largay is second in the Patriot League in digs with 417, averaging 4.34 per set. American is hitting .260 as a team this season. The Eagles continue to dominate the all-time series with Lehigh, 36-6.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
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