Saturday, September 7
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
3-3
3
vs
0
Delaware State
1-6
1
2
3
F
Delaware State
22
16
28
0
Lehigh
25
25
30
3
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Lehigh finishes Crosstown Invitational 4-0 following Saturday sweeps
9/7/2019 7:23:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — There isn't really an easier way to get a victory than back-to-back straight set sweeps, but Lehigh volleyball did just that, besting Delaware State (25-22, 25-16, 30-38) to take the first match and then got the win over Manhattan (25-14, 25-21, 25-13) in the second match. With the wins, the Mountain Hawks go 4-0 in the Crosstown Invitational and improve to 4-3 overall through the team's first seven matches. Lehigh is now 8-0 between the last two invitationals hosted at Grace Hall.
"I think this was a great confidence boosting weekend, we've been working on a lot of things over the past week in regards to some offensive movements and our defense," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "I thought we did an excellent job of applying those things this weekend and obviously it showed. The last match was a big exclamation point for us, so it's really nice to see the things we've been working start to come to fruition."
The Mountain Hawks kicked off the first action of the afternoon against Delaware State and started it off cleanly, battling with the Hornets for the first part of the set. Following a Lauren Bright kill and back-to-back Delaware State attack errors, the Mountain Hawks found themselves up 10-8 before the Hornets tied it back up at 10. The Hornets took a timeout after Lehigh gained momentum, leading 22-18. The teams traded blows before a Sabrina Lancaster kill from Sarah Carman earned Lehigh the set win.
After losing the first point to open the second set, the Mountain Hawks went on a 5-0 run to take a quick 5-1 lead. A kill from Hannah Wright led to a Wright service ace, two Hornet attack errors and an Ava Hudson kill from Sarah Carman. Lehigh found itself up 18-9 later in the set after back-to-back kills from Wright and Hudson. Wright got the job done for Lehigh with a kill from Carman to take the second set, 25-16. Lehigh hit .433 in the second set alone, with 15 kills over 30 total attacks and just two errors.
The third set was a complete battle for Lehigh for the second day in a row after losing to Penn in the third set Friday, 31-29. This time, it was the Hornets who pushed the Mountain Hawks to the brink after Lehigh lost control of a six-point, 19-13 lead. With a 22-17 deficit, Delaware State called timeout and immediately went on a 3-0 run out of the break to come within two. Wright's kill from Carman gave the Mountain Hawks a match point, up 24-22, but the Hornets rattled off three consecutive points before Lehigh took a time out, down 25-24. Julia Pressly's kill and a Ryanne Burnett attack error gave Lehigh a 26-25 advantage. With the score knotted at 28, Carman's kill followed by a kill from Wright sealed the deal and the match for Lehigh.
"I think ultimately in volleyball, there is just a big momentum shift, one play can really turn things," said Keckler. "So we've got to do a better job of maintaining a high level of play and not so many highs and lows, really staying consistent, especially when we come out of the gates 0-0 and we dropped five straight points and battled back. We dug ourselves out of a hole, but it would be a lot easier if we did what we were supposed to do."
Wright led the way with 12 kills on 21 attacks for a .429 attack percentage. She added two digs and two block assists with two service aces. Playing key bench minutes, Hudson was second with nine kills and three aces. Emily Poole hit .533 for the match with eight kills and two block assists, while Bright had three kills on seven attacks, hitting .429 with two block assists. Libero Allison Garrett had 13 digs to lead the way, while Carman had 40 assists with five digs.
The second match of the afternoon was on a whole other level for the Mountain Hawks, as they hit by far the best of the season in 2019 through the first seven matches. Lehigh took six of the first seven points of the first set after a flurry of attack errors by Manhattan. The battle ensued until Lehigh took a seven point lead, up 19-12 before a Jasper timeout. Four of five points came easy for the Mountain Hawks, as a Lauren Bright kill from Sarah Carman gave Lehigh a 23-13 lead. Julia Pressly ended the set with a kill from Carman to take it, 25-14. The Mountain Hawks hit .455 as a team with 17 kills in the first.
Manhattan got out to a 5-0 lead in the second set, but Lehigh started to figure things out after a kill from Sabrina Lancaster. Lehigh, trailing 7-1, took three of the next four points to trail, 9-4. And then Lehigh had six of the next seven points to battle back and tie things up at 10 apiece. Trailing 19-17, Lehigh won four straight points after two straight ball handling errors to put the Mountain Hawks up, 21-19. Lehigh won the last three points of the set to take it, 25-21. Lehigh hit .412 for the set with another 17 kills.
Lehigh got right back to work in the third and final set, leading the entirety of the way and not letting up. Up 17-11 in the set, the Mountain Hawks reeled off five straight points capped off by a Allison Garrett service ace to take a commanding 22-11 lead. Lehigh battled after two Manhattan points to take three straight points to get the 25-13 victory and take the match over the Jaspers.
The Mountain Hawks hit .471 in the final set with 11 kills on 17 attempts. Lehigh hit .440 as a team for the match with 45 kills on 84 chances and just eight errors.
Lancaster led the way with 12 kills and seven digs, while hitting .385. Pressly hit .500 with nine kills and seven digs with two block assists. Bright was on fire once again, hitting .800 with eight kills on 10 chances with no errors along with three block assists and a solo block. Emily Poole hit .538 with eight kills on 11 chances with two block assists and just one error. Garrett led the team with 11 digs, while Carman had 35 assists with five digs.
"I think one of our focuses heading into the next week will be from the service line and staying aggressive," Keckler said. "We're definitely working on that, but being consistent and understanding when to let loose and when to be a little bit cautious. Other than that, I would say we just need to focus on our discipline and keep our foot on the gas throughout matches."
The Mountain Hawks will look to continue the four-match win streak on Tuesday when they host NJIT at Grace Hall at 7 p.m. The match 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.
Gallery: (9/7/2019) Volleyball vs. DSU & Manhattan 9/7/19
"I think this was a great confidence boosting weekend, we've been working on a lot of things over the past week in regards to some offensive movements and our defense," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "I thought we did an excellent job of applying those things this weekend and obviously it showed. The last match was a big exclamation point for us, so it's really nice to see the things we've been working start to come to fruition."
The Mountain Hawks kicked off the first action of the afternoon against Delaware State and started it off cleanly, battling with the Hornets for the first part of the set. Following a Lauren Bright kill and back-to-back Delaware State attack errors, the Mountain Hawks found themselves up 10-8 before the Hornets tied it back up at 10. The Hornets took a timeout after Lehigh gained momentum, leading 22-18. The teams traded blows before a Sabrina Lancaster kill from Sarah Carman earned Lehigh the set win.
After losing the first point to open the second set, the Mountain Hawks went on a 5-0 run to take a quick 5-1 lead. A kill from Hannah Wright led to a Wright service ace, two Hornet attack errors and an Ava Hudson kill from Sarah Carman. Lehigh found itself up 18-9 later in the set after back-to-back kills from Wright and Hudson. Wright got the job done for Lehigh with a kill from Carman to take the second set, 25-16. Lehigh hit .433 in the second set alone, with 15 kills over 30 total attacks and just two errors.
The third set was a complete battle for Lehigh for the second day in a row after losing to Penn in the third set Friday, 31-29. This time, it was the Hornets who pushed the Mountain Hawks to the brink after Lehigh lost control of a six-point, 19-13 lead. With a 22-17 deficit, Delaware State called timeout and immediately went on a 3-0 run out of the break to come within two. Wright's kill from Carman gave the Mountain Hawks a match point, up 24-22, but the Hornets rattled off three consecutive points before Lehigh took a time out, down 25-24. Julia Pressly's kill and a Ryanne Burnett attack error gave Lehigh a 26-25 advantage. With the score knotted at 28, Carman's kill followed by a kill from Wright sealed the deal and the match for Lehigh.
"I think ultimately in volleyball, there is just a big momentum shift, one play can really turn things," said Keckler. "So we've got to do a better job of maintaining a high level of play and not so many highs and lows, really staying consistent, especially when we come out of the gates 0-0 and we dropped five straight points and battled back. We dug ourselves out of a hole, but it would be a lot easier if we did what we were supposed to do."
Wright led the way with 12 kills on 21 attacks for a .429 attack percentage. She added two digs and two block assists with two service aces. Playing key bench minutes, Hudson was second with nine kills and three aces. Emily Poole hit .533 for the match with eight kills and two block assists, while Bright had three kills on seven attacks, hitting .429 with two block assists. Libero Allison Garrett had 13 digs to lead the way, while Carman had 40 assists with five digs.
The second match of the afternoon was on a whole other level for the Mountain Hawks, as they hit by far the best of the season in 2019 through the first seven matches. Lehigh took six of the first seven points of the first set after a flurry of attack errors by Manhattan. The battle ensued until Lehigh took a seven point lead, up 19-12 before a Jasper timeout. Four of five points came easy for the Mountain Hawks, as a Lauren Bright kill from Sarah Carman gave Lehigh a 23-13 lead. Julia Pressly ended the set with a kill from Carman to take it, 25-14. The Mountain Hawks hit .455 as a team with 17 kills in the first.
Manhattan got out to a 5-0 lead in the second set, but Lehigh started to figure things out after a kill from Sabrina Lancaster. Lehigh, trailing 7-1, took three of the next four points to trail, 9-4. And then Lehigh had six of the next seven points to battle back and tie things up at 10 apiece. Trailing 19-17, Lehigh won four straight points after two straight ball handling errors to put the Mountain Hawks up, 21-19. Lehigh won the last three points of the set to take it, 25-21. Lehigh hit .412 for the set with another 17 kills.
Lehigh got right back to work in the third and final set, leading the entirety of the way and not letting up. Up 17-11 in the set, the Mountain Hawks reeled off five straight points capped off by a Allison Garrett service ace to take a commanding 22-11 lead. Lehigh battled after two Manhattan points to take three straight points to get the 25-13 victory and take the match over the Jaspers.
The Mountain Hawks hit .471 in the final set with 11 kills on 17 attempts. Lehigh hit .440 as a team for the match with 45 kills on 84 chances and just eight errors.
Lancaster led the way with 12 kills and seven digs, while hitting .385. Pressly hit .500 with nine kills and seven digs with two block assists. Bright was on fire once again, hitting .800 with eight kills on 10 chances with no errors along with three block assists and a solo block. Emily Poole hit .538 with eight kills on 11 chances with two block assists and just one error. Garrett led the team with 11 digs, while Carman had 35 assists with five digs.
"I think one of our focuses heading into the next week will be from the service line and staying aggressive," Keckler said. "We're definitely working on that, but being consistent and understanding when to let loose and when to be a little bit cautious. Other than that, I would say we just need to focus on our discipline and keep our foot on the gas throughout matches."
The Mountain Hawks will look to continue the four-match win streak on Tuesday when they host NJIT at Grace Hall at 7 p.m. The match 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.
Team Stats
DSU
LEHIGH
Kills
31
47
Errors
19
15
Attempts
93
110
Hitting %
.129
.291
Points
41.0
62.0
Assists
31
45
Aces
7
8
Blocks
3.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS/OH
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