Friday, September 23
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
10-5,1-2Patriot
3
vs
1
Holy Cross
2-12,0-3Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Holy Cross
15
26
25
23
1
Lehigh
25
28
21
25
3
Lehigh Tops Holy Cross 3-1 For First League Win
9/23/2022 9:43:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a dominant first-set performance, Lehigh battled through three more sets with Holy Cross Friday night and showed resiliency along the way, picking up a 3-1 victory inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Sophomore Megan Schulte delivered a match-high 18 kills and added 10 digs; while first-year Natalie Luscomb contributed 10 kills with a .345 hitting percentage.
Lehigh picks up its first Patriot League win of 2022 and improves to 10-5 overall and 1-2 in the league. Holy Cross falls to 2-12 and 0-3 in league matches.
"There was definitely a sense of urgency and we talked about remaining calm and taking the game into our own hands instead of waiting to see what happened," Lehigh head coach Alexa Keckler said. "I think the first set we came out guns blazing and then Holy Cross really pushed back and started to challenge us in different ways. I think for us, fixing a few things, tweaking a little bit and then in that fourth set just saying 'Hey if we want it, we have to go take it.'"
The Mountain Hawks used a 9-0 run to break a 5-5 tie in the first set. The run featured a pair of service aces by junior Katarina Kaburov. Holy Cross battled back within five but Lehigh went on a 7-0 run, capped by back-to-back blocks to go up 23-11. A kill by sophomore Emily Stewart wrapped up a 25-15 first-set victory.
Holy Cross built a lead as big as five points in set two before Lehigh battled back. A 9-2 run turned a 15-10 deficit into a 19-17 lead. The Crusaders eventually staved off set point with a 3-0 run to go back up 25-24. The Mountain Hawks then fought off two Holy Cross set points, and scored the final three points of the set, with an ace by first-year Dakota Hartman securing a 28-26 win and a 2-0 Lehigh lead.
Lehigh scored the first point of set three but it would be the Mountain Hawks' only lead of the set. The Crusaders hit .389 in the set and built a lead as big as six at 10-4. The Mountain Hawks continued to battle but were never able to pull even as Holy Cross extended the match by winning 25-21.
Set four was back-and-forth early on before Lehigh pulled ahead following a 14-14 tie. A Schulte kill capped a 5-2 run to put Lehigh up 19-16. The Mountain Hawks also scored five of the next seven points to go up 24-18, but five straight Holy Cross points brought the Crusaders within 24-23. A kill by Luscomb ended the match as Lehigh claimed the fourth set 25-23.
"I definitely think that the style of play with Holy Cross just had us questioning certain decisions that we were making from a defensive piece but offensively I thought we hit the ball really well," Keckler said. "We did a great job of finding our hitters and getting them active and involved. Natalie stepped up big time tonight. She had a great match. I think she had ten kills and zero errors so she did a really nice job too."
Lehigh hit over .200 in all four sets, finishing with a .254 attack percentage. Holy Cross hit .189 on the night.
Schulte led all Mountain Hawks, hitting .366 with her 18 kills.
"She's just really coming into her own right now," Keckler said. "She's really seeing the court so much better. She's finding ways to score and honestly, I think for her, she's recognizing where she can score and trying to expand her range. We have been working on that in practice and she's been doing a phenomenal job of really implementing that and seeing the results."
Sophomore Makena Smith had 40 assists and added 16 digs for the Mountain Hawks, while classmate Kyleigh Brown led Lehigh with 17 digs. Lehigh held an 8-2 edge in blocks with Stewart and junior Sophia Meagher both contributing four.
Abbie Lane led Holy Cross with 16 kills.
Lehigh will wrap-up its first home Patriot League weekend on Saturday when the Mountain Hawks host Army West Point at 4 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh picks up its first Patriot League win of 2022 and improves to 10-5 overall and 1-2 in the league. Holy Cross falls to 2-12 and 0-3 in league matches.
"There was definitely a sense of urgency and we talked about remaining calm and taking the game into our own hands instead of waiting to see what happened," Lehigh head coach Alexa Keckler said. "I think the first set we came out guns blazing and then Holy Cross really pushed back and started to challenge us in different ways. I think for us, fixing a few things, tweaking a little bit and then in that fourth set just saying 'Hey if we want it, we have to go take it.'"
The Mountain Hawks used a 9-0 run to break a 5-5 tie in the first set. The run featured a pair of service aces by junior Katarina Kaburov. Holy Cross battled back within five but Lehigh went on a 7-0 run, capped by back-to-back blocks to go up 23-11. A kill by sophomore Emily Stewart wrapped up a 25-15 first-set victory.
Holy Cross built a lead as big as five points in set two before Lehigh battled back. A 9-2 run turned a 15-10 deficit into a 19-17 lead. The Crusaders eventually staved off set point with a 3-0 run to go back up 25-24. The Mountain Hawks then fought off two Holy Cross set points, and scored the final three points of the set, with an ace by first-year Dakota Hartman securing a 28-26 win and a 2-0 Lehigh lead.
Lehigh scored the first point of set three but it would be the Mountain Hawks' only lead of the set. The Crusaders hit .389 in the set and built a lead as big as six at 10-4. The Mountain Hawks continued to battle but were never able to pull even as Holy Cross extended the match by winning 25-21.
Set four was back-and-forth early on before Lehigh pulled ahead following a 14-14 tie. A Schulte kill capped a 5-2 run to put Lehigh up 19-16. The Mountain Hawks also scored five of the next seven points to go up 24-18, but five straight Holy Cross points brought the Crusaders within 24-23. A kill by Luscomb ended the match as Lehigh claimed the fourth set 25-23.
"I definitely think that the style of play with Holy Cross just had us questioning certain decisions that we were making from a defensive piece but offensively I thought we hit the ball really well," Keckler said. "We did a great job of finding our hitters and getting them active and involved. Natalie stepped up big time tonight. She had a great match. I think she had ten kills and zero errors so she did a really nice job too."
Lehigh hit over .200 in all four sets, finishing with a .254 attack percentage. Holy Cross hit .189 on the night.
Schulte led all Mountain Hawks, hitting .366 with her 18 kills.
"She's just really coming into her own right now," Keckler said. "She's really seeing the court so much better. She's finding ways to score and honestly, I think for her, she's recognizing where she can score and trying to expand her range. We have been working on that in practice and she's been doing a phenomenal job of really implementing that and seeing the results."
Sophomore Makena Smith had 40 assists and added 16 digs for the Mountain Hawks, while classmate Kyleigh Brown led Lehigh with 17 digs. Lehigh held an 8-2 edge in blocks with Stewart and junior Sophia Meagher both contributing four.
Abbie Lane led Holy Cross with 16 kills.
Lehigh will wrap-up its first home Patriot League weekend on Saturday when the Mountain Hawks host Army West Point at 4 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
HolyCr
Lehigh
Kills
51
49
Errors
28
14
Attempts
154
138
Hitting %
.149
.254
Points
62
65
Assists
48
46
Aces
9
8
Blocks
2
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
/ Volleyball
MB/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
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