Friday, August 27
Blacksburg, Va.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Virginia Tech
Mountain Hawks start new year Friday at Virginia Tech Invitational
8/26/2021 4:53:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team opens up play in the 2021 season with three matches on the road, starting with a matchup with ACC foe Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. As part of the Virginia Tech Invitational, the Mountain Hawks also face Elon at 5 p.m. on Friday and Toledo at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Lehigh is coming off a challenging spring season in which the team went 3-6 in nine matches, missing out on the Patriot League Tournament after qualifying in 2019 for the first time in the Alexa Keckler era.
The Mountain Hawks return a big portion of last year's roster including fifth year players Sabrina Lancaster and Hannah Wright. Lancaster was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection last season while Wright earned Second Team honors in both 2018 and 2019.
Lancaster and Wright were responsible for 211 of Lehigh's 390 kills during the spring season, while sophomore Lylah Washington contributed 80 in her rookie season.
From an offensive standpoint, the Mountain Hawks are fortunate to have four competent setters, with returners Alina Lam (146 assists last season), Sarah Burau (127) and Sarah Carman (39) all returning. Lehigh welcomes freshman Makena Smith to the position, looking to make an impact.
Not just on the offensive side of the ball, Washington also had her presence felt defensively with 22 blocks, good for second on the roster last season. Fellow sophomore Sophie Robinson led the way with 29 blocks, averaging 0.97 per set.
Sophomore libero Ally Thaw was impressive in the seven matches she appeared in during the spring campaign, tallying a total of 102 digs, averaging 4.25 per set. She will be pushed and challenged by freshman Kyleigh Brown, a local product from Bethlehem Catholic High School.
As a team, Lehigh hit .157 while holding opponents to a mark of .222. The Mountain Hawks averaged 11.8 kills per set, while totaling 67 total blocks throughout the season.
Virginia Tech is a young squad with eight freshmen and are coming off a disappointing season where it went 6-11, falling in four straight matches to conclude the season. The Hokies are led by fifth year Marisa Cerchio, who registered 152 kills with a team-high .311 hitting percentage. She also finished with 46 blocks. Griere Hughes will make her Virginia Tech debut this weekend after a very strong pair of seasons at Iowa where she led the Hawkeyes in kills with 334 in 2019.
Friday marks just the third matchup between Lehigh and Virginia Tech all-time and the first since 2005. The Hokies hold a 2-0 advantage over the Mountain Hawks in those meetings.
Elon finished the spring 2021 season with a .500 record at 5-5, closing the year with back-to-back losses at Charleston. The Phoenix were picked to finish fifth in the CAA Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving 33 points. Leah Daniel was selected as CAA Preseason Player of the Year, just months after becoming the program's first-ever Conference Player of the Year in the Division I era. She finished the season with 177 kills and 90 digs with 13 blocks. Daniel was an AVCA East Coast All-Region selection, also earning an All-American Honorable Mention nod. Daniel and setter Jordan Gower headline Elon's 13 returners, with three new freshmen coming onto the team.
Lehigh won the only meeting between the two teams in 2019, taking a 3-1 victory to open the Jefferson Cup at Virginia.
Toledo posted a record of 6-14 during its abbreviated, MAC-only schedule in the spring. Taylor Alt earned First Team All-MAC honors as a freshman, registering 3.87 kills per set. Libero Ryann Jaqua averaged 4.77 digs per set, the fifth-most in a season in school history. The Rockets averaged a school-record 2.37 blocks per set last year.
Lehigh will face Toledo for just the second time in program history and for the first time since 1985. The Rockets picked up the 3-0 victory in the season opener on Sept. 3, 1985.
Friday's noon matchup with Virginia Tech will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra through ESPN+ (subscription required). The other two matches against Elon and Toledo will not be streamed, but live stats will be provided.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh is coming off a challenging spring season in which the team went 3-6 in nine matches, missing out on the Patriot League Tournament after qualifying in 2019 for the first time in the Alexa Keckler era.
The Mountain Hawks return a big portion of last year's roster including fifth year players Sabrina Lancaster and Hannah Wright. Lancaster was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection last season while Wright earned Second Team honors in both 2018 and 2019.
Lancaster and Wright were responsible for 211 of Lehigh's 390 kills during the spring season, while sophomore Lylah Washington contributed 80 in her rookie season.
From an offensive standpoint, the Mountain Hawks are fortunate to have four competent setters, with returners Alina Lam (146 assists last season), Sarah Burau (127) and Sarah Carman (39) all returning. Lehigh welcomes freshman Makena Smith to the position, looking to make an impact.
Not just on the offensive side of the ball, Washington also had her presence felt defensively with 22 blocks, good for second on the roster last season. Fellow sophomore Sophie Robinson led the way with 29 blocks, averaging 0.97 per set.
Sophomore libero Ally Thaw was impressive in the seven matches she appeared in during the spring campaign, tallying a total of 102 digs, averaging 4.25 per set. She will be pushed and challenged by freshman Kyleigh Brown, a local product from Bethlehem Catholic High School.
As a team, Lehigh hit .157 while holding opponents to a mark of .222. The Mountain Hawks averaged 11.8 kills per set, while totaling 67 total blocks throughout the season.
Virginia Tech is a young squad with eight freshmen and are coming off a disappointing season where it went 6-11, falling in four straight matches to conclude the season. The Hokies are led by fifth year Marisa Cerchio, who registered 152 kills with a team-high .311 hitting percentage. She also finished with 46 blocks. Griere Hughes will make her Virginia Tech debut this weekend after a very strong pair of seasons at Iowa where she led the Hawkeyes in kills with 334 in 2019.
Friday marks just the third matchup between Lehigh and Virginia Tech all-time and the first since 2005. The Hokies hold a 2-0 advantage over the Mountain Hawks in those meetings.
Elon finished the spring 2021 season with a .500 record at 5-5, closing the year with back-to-back losses at Charleston. The Phoenix were picked to finish fifth in the CAA Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving 33 points. Leah Daniel was selected as CAA Preseason Player of the Year, just months after becoming the program's first-ever Conference Player of the Year in the Division I era. She finished the season with 177 kills and 90 digs with 13 blocks. Daniel was an AVCA East Coast All-Region selection, also earning an All-American Honorable Mention nod. Daniel and setter Jordan Gower headline Elon's 13 returners, with three new freshmen coming onto the team.
Lehigh won the only meeting between the two teams in 2019, taking a 3-1 victory to open the Jefferson Cup at Virginia.
Toledo posted a record of 6-14 during its abbreviated, MAC-only schedule in the spring. Taylor Alt earned First Team All-MAC honors as a freshman, registering 3.87 kills per set. Libero Ryann Jaqua averaged 4.77 digs per set, the fifth-most in a season in school history. The Rockets averaged a school-record 2.37 blocks per set last year.
Lehigh will face Toledo for just the second time in program history and for the first time since 1985. The Rockets picked up the 3-0 victory in the season opener on Sept. 3, 1985.
Friday's noon matchup with Virginia Tech will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra through ESPN+ (subscription required). The other two matches against Elon and Toledo will not be streamed, but live stats will be provided.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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