Saturday, September 1
Bethlehem, Pa.
10 a.m.
Lehigh University
5-0
3
vs
0
Manhattan
0-6
1
2
3
F
Manhattan
14
11
22
0
Lehigh
25
25
25
3
Lehigh remains perfect with pair of 3-0 sweeps to wrap up Crosstown Invitational
9/1/2018 7:23:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1979 with a pair of 3-0 victories in the final day of the Crosstown Invitational Saturday at Leeman-Turner Arena. The Mountain Hawks left little doubt, defeating Manhattan 25-14, 25-11, 25-22 in the morning matchup before following with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-22 win vs. Coppin State. Lehigh is now 6-0 for just the third time in program history and is currently the only undefeated team in the Patriot League.
"We're pretty excited about where we are," said Lehigh head coach Alexa Keckler. "We were able to get a lot of kids on the court to see what they're able to offer us, so we're definitely excited about the weekend and the great start for sure. More than anything, seeing how the team responds to adversity and seeing how the team bounced back from some things this weekend was definitely very telling."
Sophomore Sabrina Lancaster was one of the standouts on Saturday, recording 24 kills on the day, highlighted by a career-high tying 17 vs. Coppin State.
"Sabrina had a great weekend overall," said Keckler. "She was really tough and started to find her groove. She had a really good setter connection today. Our senior setter Megan Polak did a really nice job, and then we introduced some of our freshmen setters to give them an opportunity to acclimate to the speed of the game at the college level. They did an amazing job coming right off the bench, finding our hitters and making our hitters available for the offense we wanted to run."
Against Manhattan, sophomore Hannah Wright entered for the final two sets and led Lehigh with eight kills, posting a .357 attack percentage. Junior Julia Pressly had six kills with a team-high .556 attack percentage. Senior Megan Polak tallied 18 assists while freshman Alina Lam had 10. Senior Emily Develle posted 13 digs while junior Lauren Bright had five total blocks.
Lehigh used an early 5-0 run to take a 6-2 first-set lead, a run which included two kills from Bright. Manhattan pulled within 7-5, but the Mountain Hawks answered with five of the next six, seven of the next nine and 12 of the next 15 points to take control at 19-8. A Lancaster kill gave Lehigh the 25-14 first-set victory.
The Mountain Hawks jumped on the Jaspers early in the second, taking leads of 6-0, 9-2 and 14-3. Manhattan got as close as 17-10, but the Mountain Hawks erased any doubt with a 7-0 run, which included kills from Pressly, freshman Ava Hudson and Wright, on the way to the 25-11 win.
The third set saw Lehigh battle back from an early 7-3 deficit, using a 6-2 run to pull even at nine following another Lancaster kill. A few points later, Lehigh took its first lead at 13-12. The Mountain Hawks later created some separation by posting a 5-0 run to turn a 20-19 deficit into a 24-20 lead, eventually winning the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.
In the second game vs. Coppin State, Lancaster was phenomenal, tying a career-high 17 kills while hitting .457. Bright continued her strong weekend with six kills, hitting .667. Pressly was second on the Mountain Hawks with 12 kills, hitting .346. Lam led the way with 22 assists while Develle tallied 17 digs.
Lehigh didn't take long to jump out to an early 3-0 in set one, later using a 5-0 run to take a 12-4 lead. The teams traded runs over the ensuing points, but the Eagles couldn't pull any closer than seven. A mini 3-0 Lehigh surge, beginning with consecutive kills from Lancaster, gave the Mountain Hawks a 22-12 edge, winning 25-15.
The Mountain Hawks had deficits of 2-1, 3-1, 4-3, 5-4 and 6-5 early in the second set, but slowly built a lead. That advantage swelled late in the set as a Claire Nagelhout kill helped spark a 5-0 run to give Lehigh a commanding 22-14 lead, on the way to the 25-16 win.
The teams went back-and-forth in the third set, with multiple ties and lead changes until Lehigh broke a 9-9 tie with a 4-1 surge to take a 13-10 lead. The Mountain Hawks wouldn't trail the rest of the way. Coppin State pulled as close as two, including 24-22, but a Pressly kill ended the set, and match.
Led by a .462 attack percentage in the first set, the Mountain Hawks hit .372 for the game.
"The energy from the bench to the court was really special today and all weekend," said Keckler. "Because of the support from the bench to the court, it made the court play tougher. In the third set vs. Coppin State, we were running some different players in and out, and we ran out of subs, so those on the floor stuck through it. It wasn't necessarily our normal six players, but at no time did I feel a panic that we weren't able to be successful with them out there. They worked hard to show that they deserved the opportunity. From that standpoint, we learned a lot about our character."
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Tuesday (Sept. 4) when they travel to NJIT to face the Highlanders at 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"We're pretty excited about where we are," said Lehigh head coach Alexa Keckler. "We were able to get a lot of kids on the court to see what they're able to offer us, so we're definitely excited about the weekend and the great start for sure. More than anything, seeing how the team responds to adversity and seeing how the team bounced back from some things this weekend was definitely very telling."
Sophomore Sabrina Lancaster was one of the standouts on Saturday, recording 24 kills on the day, highlighted by a career-high tying 17 vs. Coppin State.
"Sabrina had a great weekend overall," said Keckler. "She was really tough and started to find her groove. She had a really good setter connection today. Our senior setter Megan Polak did a really nice job, and then we introduced some of our freshmen setters to give them an opportunity to acclimate to the speed of the game at the college level. They did an amazing job coming right off the bench, finding our hitters and making our hitters available for the offense we wanted to run."
Against Manhattan, sophomore Hannah Wright entered for the final two sets and led Lehigh with eight kills, posting a .357 attack percentage. Junior Julia Pressly had six kills with a team-high .556 attack percentage. Senior Megan Polak tallied 18 assists while freshman Alina Lam had 10. Senior Emily Develle posted 13 digs while junior Lauren Bright had five total blocks.
Lehigh used an early 5-0 run to take a 6-2 first-set lead, a run which included two kills from Bright. Manhattan pulled within 7-5, but the Mountain Hawks answered with five of the next six, seven of the next nine and 12 of the next 15 points to take control at 19-8. A Lancaster kill gave Lehigh the 25-14 first-set victory.
The Mountain Hawks jumped on the Jaspers early in the second, taking leads of 6-0, 9-2 and 14-3. Manhattan got as close as 17-10, but the Mountain Hawks erased any doubt with a 7-0 run, which included kills from Pressly, freshman Ava Hudson and Wright, on the way to the 25-11 win.
The third set saw Lehigh battle back from an early 7-3 deficit, using a 6-2 run to pull even at nine following another Lancaster kill. A few points later, Lehigh took its first lead at 13-12. The Mountain Hawks later created some separation by posting a 5-0 run to turn a 20-19 deficit into a 24-20 lead, eventually winning the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.
In the second game vs. Coppin State, Lancaster was phenomenal, tying a career-high 17 kills while hitting .457. Bright continued her strong weekend with six kills, hitting .667. Pressly was second on the Mountain Hawks with 12 kills, hitting .346. Lam led the way with 22 assists while Develle tallied 17 digs.
Lehigh didn't take long to jump out to an early 3-0 in set one, later using a 5-0 run to take a 12-4 lead. The teams traded runs over the ensuing points, but the Eagles couldn't pull any closer than seven. A mini 3-0 Lehigh surge, beginning with consecutive kills from Lancaster, gave the Mountain Hawks a 22-12 edge, winning 25-15.
The Mountain Hawks had deficits of 2-1, 3-1, 4-3, 5-4 and 6-5 early in the second set, but slowly built a lead. That advantage swelled late in the set as a Claire Nagelhout kill helped spark a 5-0 run to give Lehigh a commanding 22-14 lead, on the way to the 25-16 win.
The teams went back-and-forth in the third set, with multiple ties and lead changes until Lehigh broke a 9-9 tie with a 4-1 surge to take a 13-10 lead. The Mountain Hawks wouldn't trail the rest of the way. Coppin State pulled as close as two, including 24-22, but a Pressly kill ended the set, and match.
Led by a .462 attack percentage in the first set, the Mountain Hawks hit .372 for the game.
"The energy from the bench to the court was really special today and all weekend," said Keckler. "Because of the support from the bench to the court, it made the court play tougher. In the third set vs. Coppin State, we were running some different players in and out, and we ran out of subs, so those on the floor stuck through it. It wasn't necessarily our normal six players, but at no time did I feel a panic that we weren't able to be successful with them out there. They worked hard to show that they deserved the opportunity. From that standpoint, we learned a lot about our character."
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Tuesday (Sept. 4) when they travel to NJIT to face the Highlanders at 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
MAN
LEHIGH
Kills
18
33
Errors
20
13
Attempts
83
82
Hitting %
-.024
.244
Points
30.0
47.0
Assists
17
31
Aces
6
5
Blocks
6.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
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