Lehigh University Athletics
Friday, September 28
West Point, N.Y.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Army
Mountain Hawks set to face Army, Holy Cross on the road
9/27/2018 2:12:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Mountain Hawks are back on the road this weekend for another Friday-Saturday slate with the Black Knights of Army West Point on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Holy Cross Crusaders on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.
Lehigh is coming off an up-and-down weekend that included a thrilling, five-set victory over Loyola in the Patriot League opener last Friday and a tough, five-set defeat to Navy on Saturday. Heading into this weekend, head coach Alexa Keckler's Mountain Hawks are 12-2, 1-1 in Patriot League play.
Lehigh is trying to see its game get back on track after falling to the Midshipmen on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks struggled with their attacking, hitting only .076 for the match. The Mountain Hawks are averaging a hitting percentage of .220 for the season, while opponents are only hitting .140.
Junior Emily Poole continues to shine up front for the Mountain Hawks, currently pacing the Patriot League in hitting percentage with a .410 mark. Against Loyola, Poole notched nine kills to go along with seven blocks, hitting .600 on the night in the process. She had similar success against the Midshipmen on Saturday, hitting .435, while tallying 11 kills. Junior Lauren Bright has also been a big positive for the Mountain Hawks this season, ranked second on the team in hitting at .345 and first on the team in blocks with 58 to her credit. The tandem of Poole and Bright is a major reason why the Mountain Hawks have been as successful as they have been just 14 matches into 2018.
Setting-wise, the Mountain Hawks are lucky to have senior Megan Polak and freshman Alina Lam as an effective one-two pairing at the position. Polak registered 33 assists and seven digs against Loyola, and then 15 and six against Navy while Lam registered the second double-double of her young career against the Midshipmen, finishing with 24 assists and 14 digs.
Army West Point is 6-9 to open the year, and like Lehigh, opened Patriot League play with a 1-1 split. The Black Knights are coming off a five-set victory over Holy Cross at home on Sunday, after getting swept by Colgate at home on Saturday. Army is led all-around by freshman middle-blocker Emmy Barnhorst, who leads the team in hitting at .311, while also leading in kills (173), kills per set (2.84), and blocks (59). The Black Knights are hitting .185 as a team, allowing opponents to a .183 mark this season. Army West Point leads the all-time series against Lehigh, 39-15. The Mountain Hawks have dropped four straight regular season meetings to the Black Knights, last winning 3-2 on Nov. 14, 2015.
Holy Cross shocked many by defeating Colgate 3-1 last Friday night to open its Patriot League schedule with a 1-0 record after starting the season 1-12. After falling to Army on Sunday, the Crusaders are 2-13 and 1-1 in the league. Holy Cross is statistically led by Kathleen Philo, who enters play this weekend with a .341 hitting percentage, while tallying 265 assists. Between a majority of Philo and Shannon Dwyer, the Crusaders have amassed 529 assists this season. The team has dropped 40 sets to their opponents so far, winning 14 sets. Holy Cross has hit .130 this year, as other teams have hit .244 against them. Lehigh leads the all-time series, 41-12 and last defeated the Crusaders in four sets on Oct. 20, 2017.
Both matches will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh is coming off an up-and-down weekend that included a thrilling, five-set victory over Loyola in the Patriot League opener last Friday and a tough, five-set defeat to Navy on Saturday. Heading into this weekend, head coach Alexa Keckler's Mountain Hawks are 12-2, 1-1 in Patriot League play.
Lehigh is trying to see its game get back on track after falling to the Midshipmen on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks struggled with their attacking, hitting only .076 for the match. The Mountain Hawks are averaging a hitting percentage of .220 for the season, while opponents are only hitting .140.
Junior Emily Poole continues to shine up front for the Mountain Hawks, currently pacing the Patriot League in hitting percentage with a .410 mark. Against Loyola, Poole notched nine kills to go along with seven blocks, hitting .600 on the night in the process. She had similar success against the Midshipmen on Saturday, hitting .435, while tallying 11 kills. Junior Lauren Bright has also been a big positive for the Mountain Hawks this season, ranked second on the team in hitting at .345 and first on the team in blocks with 58 to her credit. The tandem of Poole and Bright is a major reason why the Mountain Hawks have been as successful as they have been just 14 matches into 2018.
Setting-wise, the Mountain Hawks are lucky to have senior Megan Polak and freshman Alina Lam as an effective one-two pairing at the position. Polak registered 33 assists and seven digs against Loyola, and then 15 and six against Navy while Lam registered the second double-double of her young career against the Midshipmen, finishing with 24 assists and 14 digs.
Army West Point is 6-9 to open the year, and like Lehigh, opened Patriot League play with a 1-1 split. The Black Knights are coming off a five-set victory over Holy Cross at home on Sunday, after getting swept by Colgate at home on Saturday. Army is led all-around by freshman middle-blocker Emmy Barnhorst, who leads the team in hitting at .311, while also leading in kills (173), kills per set (2.84), and blocks (59). The Black Knights are hitting .185 as a team, allowing opponents to a .183 mark this season. Army West Point leads the all-time series against Lehigh, 39-15. The Mountain Hawks have dropped four straight regular season meetings to the Black Knights, last winning 3-2 on Nov. 14, 2015.
Holy Cross shocked many by defeating Colgate 3-1 last Friday night to open its Patriot League schedule with a 1-0 record after starting the season 1-12. After falling to Army on Sunday, the Crusaders are 2-13 and 1-1 in the league. Holy Cross is statistically led by Kathleen Philo, who enters play this weekend with a .341 hitting percentage, while tallying 265 assists. Between a majority of Philo and Shannon Dwyer, the Crusaders have amassed 529 assists this season. The team has dropped 40 sets to their opponents so far, winning 14 sets. Holy Cross has hit .130 this year, as other teams have hit .244 against them. Lehigh leads the all-time series, 41-12 and last defeated the Crusaders in four sets on Oct. 20, 2017.
Both matches will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
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