Middles help Mountain Hawks prevail in five-set thriller at Loyola

Sunday, March 21

Baltimore, Md.

2 p.m.

Lehigh University

3-4, 3-4PL

Loyola

1-3, 1-3PL

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Lehigh	25	25	23	15	15	3
Loyola Maryland	18	22	25	25	13	2

Photo by: Hannahally Photography

Middles help Mountain Hawks prevail in five-set thriller at Loyola

3/21/2021 5:26:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BALTIMORE – For the second consecutive weekend, freshman outside hitter Lylah Washington smashed her career-high kill total, totaling 19 as the Mountain Hawks came out on the right side of a five-set thriller with Loyola Maryland Sunday afternoon at Reitz Arena. The Greyhounds came all the way back from a 2-0 deficit, but Lehigh's stellar play at the net was the difference maker in the fifth, getting the 15-13 victory and the 3-2 match win to improve to 3-4 on the season, earning a third straight victory.

"I think the difference throughout for us what that our middles became more engaged today," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "We were fortunate that Loyola had a couple attacking errors that gave us a little bit of a cushion. But we went to our go-to's and tried to push our serving a little bit more in the fifth set to get back to where we were at in the first couple.

"But it was one of those wins that you just have to be happy that you pulled it off. We definitely let off the gas in sets three and four and veered away from the gameplan. That made a big difference."

The Mountain Hawks led by as many as five points in the first set and capped it off with four straight points including two kills from Washington to win it 25-18. Lehigh began the second on the same page with four consecutive points as the Greyhounds fought back to tie at 6-6 but the Mountain Hawks hung on for the rest of the set, clinching four of the last six points to come away with a 25-22 win.

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Robinson and Wright with the Mountain Hawks' second straight block at the net 💪

Watch: https://t.co/BREsN1WQHP pic.twitter.com/7bIAyvnl8F
— Lehigh Volleyball (@LehighVBall) March 21, 2021

Up 2-0 and a chance to sweep Loyola, the Greyhounds figured things out and took advantage of key situations, opening the set up on a 6-2 run. Lehigh had it tied at 7-7 and again at 21 apiece, but Loyola took four of the last six to win it, 25-23.

The Greyhounds dominated Set 4 from the get-go, leading 10-3 as they got the lead all the way out to 17-8, forcing Keckler to call a timeout.

Trailing 22-10, Lehigh was able to win four points back, but Loyola held on for the 25-15 victory.

Like any fifth set, it was close and competitive, neither team willing to give an inch, as both teams traded paint to start with things all knotted up at 8-8. At 12-12, neither Lehigh or Loyola had more than a one-point lead each, but it was the Mountain Hawks who used crucial blocks by Washington and Sophie Robinson and then yet another Washington kill to take a 13-12 lead. Hannah Wright had a hand in Lehigh's last two points, a block with Claire Nagelhout to give Lehigh a 14-12 lead and the kill to put the game on ice at 15-13.

Washington's 19 kills led the way for Lehigh, but Sabrina Lancaster added 15, Claire Nagelhout with a career-high 12. Washington also had 13 digs, while Nagelhout had five block assists and hit .320.

Lylah doesn't take no for an answer.

What a performance for Washington, as she pushes her kill total up to a game-high 15 so far.

Watch: https://t.co/BREsN1WQHP pic.twitter.com/vS8FmYALNy
— Lehigh Volleyball (@LehighVBall) March 21, 2021

"Lylah's calm play on the court impresses me," said Keckler. "She doesn't get rattled very easily, she maintains her composure. I think she handles the pressure very well. She has been fun to coach, she takes everything that we say to do and tries to apply and make adjustments on her end. We're certainly pleased at what she's been doing for us so far this season."

Sophie Robinson had eight kills and hit .368 with five block assists on the afternoon. Alina Lam finished with 35 assists and 15 digs, while freshman libero Ally Thaw had 30 digs and five assists.

The Mountain Hawks finished the match hitting .175 including .333 in the first set.

THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE! 👏👏👏

Hannah Wright hits it home as the Mountain Hawks win a barn-burner at Loyola, 3-2. #GoLehigh | #DoRight pic.twitter.com/1cde4nTn1s
— Lehigh Volleyball (@LehighVBall) March 21, 2021

For Loyola, Abby Hamilton led the way with 19 kills, while libero Katie Forsythe finished with 39 digs.

Lehigh heads into the final weekend of the regular season looking to go above .500 for the spring 2021 campaign, as the Mountain Hawks visit Worcester for a pair of matches Friday and Saturday against Holy Cross.

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