Friday, August 26
Boca Raton, Fla.
10 a.m.
Lehigh University
1-0,0-0Patriot
3
vs
0
Mercer
0-1,0-0SoCon
1
2
3
F
Mercer
19
23
20
0
Lehigh
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Paige Moen
Lehigh Off to 2–0 Start After Convincing Victories Over Mercer, Alabama A&M
8/26/2022 7:22:00 PM | Volleyball
BOCA RATON, Fla. – You couldn't ask for a better start to a season. 2-0 to begin the year for the first time since 2018, the Lehigh volleyball team swept both Mercer (25-20, 25-23, 25-20) and Alabama A&M (25-13, 25-8, 25-11), 3-0 Friday afternoon at Abessinio Court at FAU Arena on the first day of the FAU Invitational.
"I'm excited to see the execution and energy that we've been talking about come to life," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "There were some moments in the Mercer match that I felt we could have let some things go and they rallied and battled to get out of a rotation and fight for a second set that ended up being a little bit closer in score than it should have been.
"I'm really proud of how they're working together and bettering the ball. They are picking each other up and it was a great team effort today."
Continuing off her promising rookie season, sophomore Megan Schulte was dominant once again against the Bears with a strong showing as well from first-year Natalie Luscomb.
"They both had a lot of power in their swings, they were consistent with their execution on where we wanted them to hit and they also provided some good touches on the block," Keckler said. "They didn't get rattled. And for Natalie as a first-year, the first set she had just one attempt and from that point forward, she earned her touches and competed in sets two and three. Once she got those first-year nerves out of the way, she certainly became quite an offensive threat."
The Mountain Hawks played Mercer closely in all three sets, but were able to come out on top with a three-set sweep to open the year. Adjustments were made heading into the second match and they paid off in a big way.
"From the first match to the second match, there was a big difference in confidence, a big difference in connectivity and chemistry on the court," said Keckler. "I thought our team did a great job taking a few pieces that we talked to them about after the first match and really working hard to apply that to the next one."
Lehigh came out of the gate hot in the nightcap against Alabama A&M on Friday, getting out to a 20-12 lead in the first set before claiming the final five points to get a 25-13 victory. A .417 attack percentage was strong enough to pace the way as the Mountain Hawks turned in a 1-0 lead to kick off the match.
There were no errors (literally) for the Lehigh offense in Set 2 with 13 kills on 20 attacks and zero attack errors for a .650 hitting percentage as it used a 17-7 outburst to cruise to a 25-8 victory to take a commanding 2-0 lead. The Mountain Hawks took 12 of the last 13 points in the set and rattled off eight straight at the end to get the 15-point cushion.
Lehigh showed much of the same dominance in the final set, opening up on a 10-2 run and eventually going up 23-8 before A&M scored three of the last five points of the set. The Mountain Hawks got the last laugh following a kill from Emily Stewart to win, 25-11 and earn the second straight three-set sweep.
Stewart was excellent against the Bulldogs, tallying a match-high 10 kills with only two attack errors (hitting .615), three total blocks with seven digs. Schulte added eight kills with an attack percentage of .467, while Luscomb had five kills and three blocks and junior Katarina Kaburov finished with five kills and three digs. Sophomore Makena Smith registered 27 assists and sophomore libero Kyleigh Brown had a team-high 13 digs to her credit.
"Makena did an excellent job of running our offense, she got everyone involved today," Keckler said. "She was pretty strategic with who she was setting and where she was putting it, which is something we've been working on. Our hitters continued to swing to the open court, they did an excellent job of tooling the block and really staying aggressive, yet still being smart when they needed to be.
"We ended up having an opportunity to allow everyone to play today, so it's also a nice feeling to be able to get some contributions from every player on the roster."
The Mountain Hawks finished with a .392 attack percentage while Alabama A&M hit .000. Lehigh also finished the match with 14 service aces and out-dug the Bulldogs, 47-29 to capitalize the strong effort on defense.
Lehigh finishes out play at the FAU Invitational on Saturday against host Florida Atlantic at noon, streamed live on CUSA.TV. The Owls defeated Alabama A&M Friday afternoon, 3-0 and take on Mercer at 7 p.m.
"We're certainly going to have to amp up our defense a little bit, FAU is a little bit more offensive and a little smarter with their attacking," said Keckler. "I think we're going to have to be prepared for that. We're going to have to stay aggressive on our serve game and be a little more consistent.
"For me, it's continuing to be better than we were today. So, taking those little things that we needed to fix today and improving upon them tomorrow. The energy on the court and on the sidelines today was just outstanding, they did an amazing job keeping everyone excited. Keeping that same vibe and enthusiasm is going to be crucial for tomorrow's match."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"I'm excited to see the execution and energy that we've been talking about come to life," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "There were some moments in the Mercer match that I felt we could have let some things go and they rallied and battled to get out of a rotation and fight for a second set that ended up being a little bit closer in score than it should have been.
"I'm really proud of how they're working together and bettering the ball. They are picking each other up and it was a great team effort today."
Continuing off her promising rookie season, sophomore Megan Schulte was dominant once again against the Bears with a strong showing as well from first-year Natalie Luscomb.
"They both had a lot of power in their swings, they were consistent with their execution on where we wanted them to hit and they also provided some good touches on the block," Keckler said. "They didn't get rattled. And for Natalie as a first-year, the first set she had just one attempt and from that point forward, she earned her touches and competed in sets two and three. Once she got those first-year nerves out of the way, she certainly became quite an offensive threat."
The Mountain Hawks played Mercer closely in all three sets, but were able to come out on top with a three-set sweep to open the year. Adjustments were made heading into the second match and they paid off in a big way.
"From the first match to the second match, there was a big difference in confidence, a big difference in connectivity and chemistry on the court," said Keckler. "I thought our team did a great job taking a few pieces that we talked to them about after the first match and really working hard to apply that to the next one."
Lehigh came out of the gate hot in the nightcap against Alabama A&M on Friday, getting out to a 20-12 lead in the first set before claiming the final five points to get a 25-13 victory. A .417 attack percentage was strong enough to pace the way as the Mountain Hawks turned in a 1-0 lead to kick off the match.
There were no errors (literally) for the Lehigh offense in Set 2 with 13 kills on 20 attacks and zero attack errors for a .650 hitting percentage as it used a 17-7 outburst to cruise to a 25-8 victory to take a commanding 2-0 lead. The Mountain Hawks took 12 of the last 13 points in the set and rattled off eight straight at the end to get the 15-point cushion.
Lehigh showed much of the same dominance in the final set, opening up on a 10-2 run and eventually going up 23-8 before A&M scored three of the last five points of the set. The Mountain Hawks got the last laugh following a kill from Emily Stewart to win, 25-11 and earn the second straight three-set sweep.
Stewart was excellent against the Bulldogs, tallying a match-high 10 kills with only two attack errors (hitting .615), three total blocks with seven digs. Schulte added eight kills with an attack percentage of .467, while Luscomb had five kills and three blocks and junior Katarina Kaburov finished with five kills and three digs. Sophomore Makena Smith registered 27 assists and sophomore libero Kyleigh Brown had a team-high 13 digs to her credit.
"Makena did an excellent job of running our offense, she got everyone involved today," Keckler said. "She was pretty strategic with who she was setting and where she was putting it, which is something we've been working on. Our hitters continued to swing to the open court, they did an excellent job of tooling the block and really staying aggressive, yet still being smart when they needed to be.
"We ended up having an opportunity to allow everyone to play today, so it's also a nice feeling to be able to get some contributions from every player on the roster."
The Mountain Hawks finished with a .392 attack percentage while Alabama A&M hit .000. Lehigh also finished the match with 14 service aces and out-dug the Bulldogs, 47-29 to capitalize the strong effort on defense.
Lehigh finishes out play at the FAU Invitational on Saturday against host Florida Atlantic at noon, streamed live on CUSA.TV. The Owls defeated Alabama A&M Friday afternoon, 3-0 and take on Mercer at 7 p.m.
"We're certainly going to have to amp up our defense a little bit, FAU is a little bit more offensive and a little smarter with their attacking," said Keckler. "I think we're going to have to be prepared for that. We're going to have to stay aggressive on our serve game and be a little more consistent.
"For me, it's continuing to be better than we were today. So, taking those little things that we needed to fix today and improving upon them tomorrow. The energy on the court and on the sidelines today was just outstanding, they did an amazing job keeping everyone excited. Keeping that same vibe and enthusiasm is going to be crucial for tomorrow's match."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Mercer
Lehigh
Kills
31
45
Errors
15
13
Attempts
83
87
Hitting %
.193
.368
Points
41
61
Assists
29
43
Aces
7
8
Blocks
3
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
4
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
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