Lehigh University Athletics
Friday, September 27
Easton, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
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Lafayette
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Lehigh
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Photo by: Josh Liddick
Lehigh halts red-hot Lafayette in gritty come-from-behind victory
9/27/2019 11:46:00 PM | Volleyball
EASTON, Pa. — A disappointing start that ended up turning into a gritty performance with a result for the ages, Lehigh volleyball came back from down 2-1 in the match to win back-to-back sets and defeat Lafayette (24-26, 25-14, 22-25, 25-22, 15-12), snapping the Leopards' win streak at 10 straight. With the victory, the Mountain Hawks have now won eight straight matches over Lafayette dating back to Sept. 23, 2015. The win improves Lehigh's overall record to 8-7 and starts the Patriot League season with a victory.
Lehigh struggles showed early in the first set as the Leopards led from the get-go, getting out to a 14-5 lead early. The Mountain Hawks climbed back in with six out of seven points to trail 18-14 until Lehigh fought all the way back to tie it at 24. However, Lafayette took the final two points to grab a 26-24 victory.
The Mountain Hawks started fast in the second set to take an early lead as the team learned from its mistakes in the first set. Lehigh was excellent during long rallies through the entire match and in the second set, the team did not disappoint, evident by going up 15-10 in the second. From there forward, the Mountain Hawks took advantage of Leopard mistakes to go up 19-10, before Lafayette won a point back. The teams traded blows before Lehigh took the final two points to get a 25-14 set victory. Lehigh hit .429 as a team in the second with 12 kills and only three errors.
Despite trailing for most of the third set after dominating the second, Lehigh found a way to take five straight points to tie the Leopards in the third at 21. Lafayette then got right back into the match and held off the Mountain Hawks to take it, 25-22.
The fourth set was where it got really frantic for Lehigh, in must-win mode for the first time this season in Patriot League play. Lehigh got out to an early lead before the Leopards found their momentum and started a late push after trailing 15-13. Lafayette won six straight points to take an 18-15 lead. However, Lehigh would not be denied, taking six of the final seven points to come away with a come-from-behind fourth set victory, 25-22.
With the match tied at two sets apiece, there was no room for error from either side, but Lehigh dominated the set from the beginning, winning five of the first six points to take an early 5-1 lead. Hannah Wright got the unassisted kill to take a 14-10 lead before Julia Pressly drove home the winning kill from Alina Lam to take home the come-from-behind victory over Lafayette.
"We definitely don't want to see a performance like this again, we're spotting five, six, seven points in the first set, second set, it's not going to work, it's too much work to get back into it," said head coach Alexa Keckler. " But I'm really proud of the girls for not giving up and pushed through. Tip of the hat to Lafayette, they were scrappy and definitely fired up.
"But I think we got a little too emotional instead of just playing our game and then once we got into a little bit of a flow, it was much better."
Three of the Mountain Hawks' starting five players ended up finishing with 15 or more kills as Hannah Wright led the way with 19, while Sabrina Lancaster and Julia Pressly each managed to rack up 16 kills. For Lancaster, it was another career night for the junior co-captain who registered a career-high 19 digs as well for yet another double-double.
The biggest stat of the night was Lehigh's stacked defensive effort which contributed to 19 team blocks to Lafayette's four. Heading into the fourth set, the Mountain Hawks were out-blocking the Leopards, 17-1. Both Lauren Bright and Emily Poole finished with nine total blocks, while Wright had five block assists, Pressly had four and Sarah Carman had three.
"Defense is something we've been working on for quite awhile now, so to see that come to fruition is not only a motivator for (Sabrina), but also for our team to see that contribution both offensively and defensively," said Keckler.
Three Mountain Hawks also had at least 14 digs on the night as Lancaster (19) led the way followed by freshman Natalie Mavroidis (14) and Carman (14). Carman and Lam combined for 49 assists with 25 and 24, respectively.
Lehigh is back in action on Saturday against Bucknell in Lewisburg, who is also in the middle of a 10-match win streak, the longest in program history. The Mountain Hawks will attempt to begin Patriot League play with a 2-0 record.
"It's a quick turnaround, so we got to recuperate and make sure we're ready to go tomorrow," Keckler said.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.Gallery: (9/27/2019) Volleyball at Lafayette 9-27-19
Lehigh struggles showed early in the first set as the Leopards led from the get-go, getting out to a 14-5 lead early. The Mountain Hawks climbed back in with six out of seven points to trail 18-14 until Lehigh fought all the way back to tie it at 24. However, Lafayette took the final two points to grab a 26-24 victory.
The Mountain Hawks started fast in the second set to take an early lead as the team learned from its mistakes in the first set. Lehigh was excellent during long rallies through the entire match and in the second set, the team did not disappoint, evident by going up 15-10 in the second. From there forward, the Mountain Hawks took advantage of Leopard mistakes to go up 19-10, before Lafayette won a point back. The teams traded blows before Lehigh took the final two points to get a 25-14 set victory. Lehigh hit .429 as a team in the second with 12 kills and only three errors.
What. A. Rally. The Mountain Hawks just roll in this rally into the media timeout leading 15-10. What perseverance by this Lehigh team. Watch: https://t.co/B7Q1VWC0pu. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/QGyXpUQaif
— Lehigh Volleyball (@LehighVBall) September 27, 2019
Despite trailing for most of the third set after dominating the second, Lehigh found a way to take five straight points to tie the Leopards in the third at 21. Lafayette then got right back into the match and held off the Mountain Hawks to take it, 25-22.
The fourth set was where it got really frantic for Lehigh, in must-win mode for the first time this season in Patriot League play. Lehigh got out to an early lead before the Leopards found their momentum and started a late push after trailing 15-13. Lafayette won six straight points to take an 18-15 lead. However, Lehigh would not be denied, taking six of the final seven points to come away with a come-from-behind fourth set victory, 25-22.
ANOTHER. HUGE. RALLY. Lehigh with the second long rally of the night, cutting the deficit to three. Watch: https://t.co/B7Q1VWC0pu. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/HU5ysEQEEt
— Lehigh Volleyball (@LehighVBall) September 28, 2019
With the match tied at two sets apiece, there was no room for error from either side, but Lehigh dominated the set from the beginning, winning five of the first six points to take an early 5-1 lead. Hannah Wright got the unassisted kill to take a 14-10 lead before Julia Pressly drove home the winning kill from Alina Lam to take home the come-from-behind victory over Lafayette.
"We definitely don't want to see a performance like this again, we're spotting five, six, seven points in the first set, second set, it's not going to work, it's too much work to get back into it," said head coach Alexa Keckler. " But I'm really proud of the girls for not giving up and pushed through. Tip of the hat to Lafayette, they were scrappy and definitely fired up.
"But I think we got a little too emotional instead of just playing our game and then once we got into a little bit of a flow, it was much better."
Three of the Mountain Hawks' starting five players ended up finishing with 15 or more kills as Hannah Wright led the way with 19, while Sabrina Lancaster and Julia Pressly each managed to rack up 16 kills. For Lancaster, it was another career night for the junior co-captain who registered a career-high 19 digs as well for yet another double-double.
The biggest stat of the night was Lehigh's stacked defensive effort which contributed to 19 team blocks to Lafayette's four. Heading into the fourth set, the Mountain Hawks were out-blocking the Leopards, 17-1. Both Lauren Bright and Emily Poole finished with nine total blocks, while Wright had five block assists, Pressly had four and Sarah Carman had three.
"Defense is something we've been working on for quite awhile now, so to see that come to fruition is not only a motivator for (Sabrina), but also for our team to see that contribution both offensively and defensively," said Keckler.
Three Mountain Hawks also had at least 14 digs on the night as Lancaster (19) led the way followed by freshman Natalie Mavroidis (14) and Carman (14). Carman and Lam combined for 49 assists with 25 and 24, respectively.
Lehigh is back in action on Saturday against Bucknell in Lewisburg, who is also in the middle of a 10-match win streak, the longest in program history. The Mountain Hawks will attempt to begin Patriot League play with a 2-0 record.
"It's a quick turnaround, so we got to recuperate and make sure we're ready to go tomorrow," Keckler said.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Head Coach Alexa Keckler talks about Lehigh's gritty come-from-begins victory over Lafayette to open Patriot League play with a victory. (1/2) #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/YezxSWB6fh
— Lehigh Volleyball (@LehighVBall) September 28, 2019
Team Stats
Lehigh
Laf
Kills
66
53
Errors
20
27
Attempts
157
169
Hitting %
.293
.154
Points
87
64
Assists
59
46
Aces
2
7
Blocks
19
4
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
9
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS/OH
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