Lehigh University Athletics
Season Preview: Young Mountain Hawks eager to compete in spring season
2/24/2021 1:00:00 PM | Volleyball
A lot has changed, both on and off the court since the last time the Lehigh volleyball program took the floor in a competitive environment. But one thing remains constant: the will to win a Patriot League Championship. That's the goal each of the league's nine teams go into the year looking to achieve. For the Mountain Hawks, a league title has evaded them since 1997.
For the first time in program history, Lehigh is playing in the spring. But the hunger for success hasn't changed, even without playing since the end of 2019.
The Mountain Hawks look a little different heading into spring 2021, all over the roster. Seven players have moved on following graduation in May 2020, including Emily Poole, Lauren Bright and Julia Pressly, three names found all over the record book for their various accomplishments.
With seven names no longer a part of the roster, six fresh faces enter the fold, looking to make immediate impacts on the team.
For third-year head coach Alexa Keckler, while there has been a lot to improve on heading into the first weekend of the new campaign, the group of girls have been working hard and are determined to get to that next level after having to re-learn a brand new way of training. With only 10 matches separating the Mountain Hawks from taking one of the four spots in the tournament, there really isn't a lot of room for error, especially early on in the season.
"We've had really great perspective, the girls have been working extremely hard so far," said Keckler. "They've been excited to be in the gym and they've been taking feedback, applying it and have been trying to make the most out of their reps when they're in there.
"The difficult part is that we haven't had any non-league games to get the kinks out and figure out some of our lineups. We haven't had the full-length offseason to really develop our six freshmen. So when you think about almost a third of the team, that's a little tricky to get them up to the speed of the college game, fix things and introduce things that they need to know. Overall, just getting onto the court and playing together has been the biggest hurdle."
At outside hitter, the Mountain Hawks graduate Julia Pressly, who registered nearly 900 kills in her four-year career wearing the brown and white. However, the program returns two-time All-Patriot League selection, senior Hannah Wright and senior Sabrina Lancaster at the position for the upcoming season.
"We are going to be relying heavily on those two, they have the most experience," Keckler said. "They've both played since their freshman year, they both know the Patriot League and they both recognize what they need to do to get the job done. Quite honestly, I have to say Sabrina has done a really amazing job of mentoring our younger players. She's encouraged them on the court, has guided them and helped them. That's been a really great characteristic to see come out of her.
"For Hannah, she's not willing to accept anything less than a peak performance. You can tell she has dedicated every minute during the pandemic when she's not been here to staying fit, to working on her game and she's certainly one of the top kids to come back into our program, ready to get after it, so I'm really excited for both of them to see how they can potentially finish out their careers here."
Also at outside hitter is returning junior captain Ava Hudson, junior Victoria Jepson and freshman Lylah Washington. Two middle blockers also have the ability to hit as well including freshmen Sophia Meagher and Sophie Robinson.
When you lose two of the most prolific middle blockers in program history in Emily Poole and Lauren Bright, those are two student-athletes that almost become irreplaceable. The Mountain Hawks have four members of the roster at that position with three freshmen in Meagher, Robinson and Alina Smith. Senior Claire Nagelhout returns for her final season.
"Claire is a very talented middle and she sat behind two extraordinary middles for three years so this is her time to shine," Keckler said. "But in some ways she is very similar to the three freshmen where she hasn't seen a ton of action. I am hopeful that she will rise to the occasion and she definitely has the capability to do so.
"We have the freshmen that each possess something unique, but we're working on finding ways to get the full package out there. The speed of the game will be a big adjustment for those players after not playing for almost a year and then playing right away at the collegiate level which is a lot different from the high school/club level. We have our hands full, but they are certainly working hard, they have been coming in asking questions, watching film and have been willing to change. That's all we can ask for right now, is their effort and coachability."
Setter is the area the Mountain Hawks likely have the most depth at as they return both junior setters Alina Lam and Sarah Carman. Through two seasons, Lam has already racked up over 1,100 career assists while Carman registered 659 assists in 2019 while appearing in 29 matches. Freshman Sarah Burau also gets added to the mix this upcoming season making three very capable players at that particular position group.
"We have depth, so it's nice to have a variety of setters this year," said Keckler. "It's nice to be able to run a 6-2, a 5-1 and a 5-2. We have the experience of both Sarah and Alina to come in and to understand what needs to happen. Sarah B is certainly more than capable of getting the job done, but again, as a freshman and having four weeks to have practice and get up to speed with no scrimmages is going to be a lot to ask. The depth is certainly really awesome to have and we are fortunate to have choices. They each possess something different which is what makes it a little more challenging to really decide who the lead setter will be right now."
Last season, it was a combination of both Jess Donaldson and Allison Garrett at libero/defensive specialist, both vying for an opportunity to replace the program's all-time digs leader in Emily Develle. This season with Donaldson gone, Garrett is back with competition from incoming freshman Ally Thaw at the position.
"First and foremost, I would like to say that Ali Garrett has come to play," Keckler said. "She's really taken her job seriously, she has been working really hard to elevate her game and to play with confidence and with ease, that's been really exciting to watch happen.
"She has been working to mentor Ally Thaw, which anyone competing for one spot, there's just a really strong team mentality there with those two. Ally has not disappointed, she's going to be a really, really excellent defender for our program and I think that by the end of her sophomore year, she'll probably be able to pass half the court with her effort. That duo is exciting to coach. It's exciting to have two players who are literally battling it out every day in practice to be the number one."
On staff, the Mountain Hawks said goodbye to former assistant Xiomara Ortiz, but return Deb Schlosser and bring in graduated standout Emily Poole as the program's new graduate assistant but will take on the role of an assistant coach in place of Ortiz.
"Two years ago, when this crossed my mind, I really thought Emily would be perfect for this role because of all the things she was doing as a player," Keckler said. "Her attention to detail, her ability to speak in a manner that people respected and held people accountable without being offensive. She has a great personality and her IQ for the sport is very strong. All of those things, coupled with her knowledge of the Patriot League and Lehigh really connected the dots for me on why she'd be such a great fit for this position.
"She hasn't had a whole lot of time to ease in the position with everything going on, she has just dove right into it. She has not had much of a problem hopping right in. I've been really impressed with her ability to manage her balance between being a player on the team and now being a part of the coaching staff. She's got a good sense of the girls' well-being, their mindset and so that's been a great insight to have to get the most out of them."
Every championship team has a common goal on how to go about navigating through a season and although the Mountain Hawks are a young team this season, they still have a lot of talent to be one of those four teams at competing at the very end.
"It's going to be a lot of discipline, recognizing that in some cases it's not a sprint, it's also a marathon," said Keckler. "We're going to have to take care of our bodies and stay healthy. That's the number one priority right now is to stay COVID-free and to put ourselves in the position where we can compete. And then when we're on the court, we're going to have to be really good at adapting and adjusting.
"There's going to be a lot of ups-and-downs with the way this season is formatted. Playing an opponent in back-to-back matches is certainly something that none of us have experienced so everyone is in the same boat. Right now, it's definitely going to be who can adapt the best and who can be flexible. In some cases, depth from just fatigue will help. But as long as we are maintaining our team-first mentality, which has typically been a strong suit for us, we can face any of these obstacles and do the best we can and put ourselves in a really good position to succeed."
The Mountain Hawks kick off the spring 2021 campaign Friday night in Hamilton, N.Y. against Colgate with a 4 p.m. start on ESPN+.
Lehigh Athletics is excited to have our volleyball program return to competition this semester! It will not be the same without the cheers of our loyal Lehigh fans coming from the stands. As we prepare for seasons unlike any other, Mountain Hawk fans still have the opportunity to make their mark on Leeman Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Support the Lehigh Athletics program by purchasing a fan cutout today!
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
For the first time in program history, Lehigh is playing in the spring. But the hunger for success hasn't changed, even without playing since the end of 2019.
The Mountain Hawks look a little different heading into spring 2021, all over the roster. Seven players have moved on following graduation in May 2020, including Emily Poole, Lauren Bright and Julia Pressly, three names found all over the record book for their various accomplishments.
With seven names no longer a part of the roster, six fresh faces enter the fold, looking to make immediate impacts on the team.
For third-year head coach Alexa Keckler, while there has been a lot to improve on heading into the first weekend of the new campaign, the group of girls have been working hard and are determined to get to that next level after having to re-learn a brand new way of training. With only 10 matches separating the Mountain Hawks from taking one of the four spots in the tournament, there really isn't a lot of room for error, especially early on in the season.
"We've had really great perspective, the girls have been working extremely hard so far," said Keckler. "They've been excited to be in the gym and they've been taking feedback, applying it and have been trying to make the most out of their reps when they're in there.
"The difficult part is that we haven't had any non-league games to get the kinks out and figure out some of our lineups. We haven't had the full-length offseason to really develop our six freshmen. So when you think about almost a third of the team, that's a little tricky to get them up to the speed of the college game, fix things and introduce things that they need to know. Overall, just getting onto the court and playing together has been the biggest hurdle."
At outside hitter, the Mountain Hawks graduate Julia Pressly, who registered nearly 900 kills in her four-year career wearing the brown and white. However, the program returns two-time All-Patriot League selection, senior Hannah Wright and senior Sabrina Lancaster at the position for the upcoming season.
"We are going to be relying heavily on those two, they have the most experience," Keckler said. "They've both played since their freshman year, they both know the Patriot League and they both recognize what they need to do to get the job done. Quite honestly, I have to say Sabrina has done a really amazing job of mentoring our younger players. She's encouraged them on the court, has guided them and helped them. That's been a really great characteristic to see come out of her.
"For Hannah, she's not willing to accept anything less than a peak performance. You can tell she has dedicated every minute during the pandemic when she's not been here to staying fit, to working on her game and she's certainly one of the top kids to come back into our program, ready to get after it, so I'm really excited for both of them to see how they can potentially finish out their careers here."
Also at outside hitter is returning junior captain Ava Hudson, junior Victoria Jepson and freshman Lylah Washington. Two middle blockers also have the ability to hit as well including freshmen Sophia Meagher and Sophie Robinson.
When you lose two of the most prolific middle blockers in program history in Emily Poole and Lauren Bright, those are two student-athletes that almost become irreplaceable. The Mountain Hawks have four members of the roster at that position with three freshmen in Meagher, Robinson and Alina Smith. Senior Claire Nagelhout returns for her final season.
"Claire is a very talented middle and she sat behind two extraordinary middles for three years so this is her time to shine," Keckler said. "But in some ways she is very similar to the three freshmen where she hasn't seen a ton of action. I am hopeful that she will rise to the occasion and she definitely has the capability to do so.
"We have the freshmen that each possess something unique, but we're working on finding ways to get the full package out there. The speed of the game will be a big adjustment for those players after not playing for almost a year and then playing right away at the collegiate level which is a lot different from the high school/club level. We have our hands full, but they are certainly working hard, they have been coming in asking questions, watching film and have been willing to change. That's all we can ask for right now, is their effort and coachability."
Setter is the area the Mountain Hawks likely have the most depth at as they return both junior setters Alina Lam and Sarah Carman. Through two seasons, Lam has already racked up over 1,100 career assists while Carman registered 659 assists in 2019 while appearing in 29 matches. Freshman Sarah Burau also gets added to the mix this upcoming season making three very capable players at that particular position group.
"We have depth, so it's nice to have a variety of setters this year," said Keckler. "It's nice to be able to run a 6-2, a 5-1 and a 5-2. We have the experience of both Sarah and Alina to come in and to understand what needs to happen. Sarah B is certainly more than capable of getting the job done, but again, as a freshman and having four weeks to have practice and get up to speed with no scrimmages is going to be a lot to ask. The depth is certainly really awesome to have and we are fortunate to have choices. They each possess something different which is what makes it a little more challenging to really decide who the lead setter will be right now."
Last season, it was a combination of both Jess Donaldson and Allison Garrett at libero/defensive specialist, both vying for an opportunity to replace the program's all-time digs leader in Emily Develle. This season with Donaldson gone, Garrett is back with competition from incoming freshman Ally Thaw at the position.
"First and foremost, I would like to say that Ali Garrett has come to play," Keckler said. "She's really taken her job seriously, she has been working really hard to elevate her game and to play with confidence and with ease, that's been really exciting to watch happen.
"She has been working to mentor Ally Thaw, which anyone competing for one spot, there's just a really strong team mentality there with those two. Ally has not disappointed, she's going to be a really, really excellent defender for our program and I think that by the end of her sophomore year, she'll probably be able to pass half the court with her effort. That duo is exciting to coach. It's exciting to have two players who are literally battling it out every day in practice to be the number one."
On staff, the Mountain Hawks said goodbye to former assistant Xiomara Ortiz, but return Deb Schlosser and bring in graduated standout Emily Poole as the program's new graduate assistant but will take on the role of an assistant coach in place of Ortiz.
"Two years ago, when this crossed my mind, I really thought Emily would be perfect for this role because of all the things she was doing as a player," Keckler said. "Her attention to detail, her ability to speak in a manner that people respected and held people accountable without being offensive. She has a great personality and her IQ for the sport is very strong. All of those things, coupled with her knowledge of the Patriot League and Lehigh really connected the dots for me on why she'd be such a great fit for this position.
"She hasn't had a whole lot of time to ease in the position with everything going on, she has just dove right into it. She has not had much of a problem hopping right in. I've been really impressed with her ability to manage her balance between being a player on the team and now being a part of the coaching staff. She's got a good sense of the girls' well-being, their mindset and so that's been a great insight to have to get the most out of them."
Every championship team has a common goal on how to go about navigating through a season and although the Mountain Hawks are a young team this season, they still have a lot of talent to be one of those four teams at competing at the very end.
"It's going to be a lot of discipline, recognizing that in some cases it's not a sprint, it's also a marathon," said Keckler. "We're going to have to take care of our bodies and stay healthy. That's the number one priority right now is to stay COVID-free and to put ourselves in the position where we can compete. And then when we're on the court, we're going to have to be really good at adapting and adjusting.
"There's going to be a lot of ups-and-downs with the way this season is formatted. Playing an opponent in back-to-back matches is certainly something that none of us have experienced so everyone is in the same boat. Right now, it's definitely going to be who can adapt the best and who can be flexible. In some cases, depth from just fatigue will help. But as long as we are maintaining our team-first mentality, which has typically been a strong suit for us, we can face any of these obstacles and do the best we can and put ourselves in a really good position to succeed."
The Mountain Hawks kick off the spring 2021 campaign Friday night in Hamilton, N.Y. against Colgate with a 4 p.m. start on ESPN+.
Lehigh Athletics is excited to have our volleyball program return to competition this semester! It will not be the same without the cheers of our loyal Lehigh fans coming from the stands. As we prepare for seasons unlike any other, Mountain Hawk fans still have the opportunity to make their mark on Leeman Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Support the Lehigh Athletics program by purchasing a fan cutout today!
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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