Saturday, September 3
Bethlehem, Pa.
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
5-1,0-0Patriot
3
vs
2
Rider
1-5,0-0MAAC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Rider
25
25
10
17
12
2
Lehigh
20
21
25
25
15
3
Mountain Hawks Rally From Two Sets Down To Top Rider, Claim Steel Classic Title
9/3/2022 6:14:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Facing a 2-0 deficit, the Lehigh volleyball team battled back to force a fifth set, ultimately prevailing 15-12 in the deciding set to claim a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Rider Saturday, as the Mountain Hawks claimed the championship of the Lehigh Steel Classic inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
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Lehigh hit over .250 in both the third and fourth sets and finished with 17 total team blocks. Sophomore Megan Schulte had a match-high 21 kills and hit .357 while junior Sophia Meagher had 10 block assists.
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The Mountain Hawks went 2-1 in the Lehigh Steel Classic and captured the team title by virtue of Friday night's win over Buffalo. Lehigh is now 5-1 on the season and has won titles in each of its first two tournaments.
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"I'm really proud of the girls for bouncing back like that," Lehigh head coach Alexa Keckler said. "After the first two sets we talked, in the break between sets two and three and said 'What kind of team do we want to be? This is going to show a lot, if we're willing to fight and battle back for three straight sets or whether we're willing to just give up and let it be.' I was really proud of them because they did not do that. They fought. They brought energy. We changed a few things, talked to them about a couple of things and they went back out there and executed at a much higher level than we were in the first two sets."
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Rider (1-5) claimed the first set 25-10 with its best hitting set of the match, while also capitalizing on six Lehigh service errors. The Broncs limited Lehigh to an .062 hitting percentage in set two, claiming a 25-21 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
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Lehigh turned the tide in set three with a commanding 25-10 victory. The Mountain Hawks hit .348 in the set and used a 7-0 run to build a 6-5 lead into a 13-5 advantage. Lehigh's fortunes at the service line also turned as sophomore Emily Stewart contributed three aces to the rally. The Mountain Hawks finished the match with 13 aces and first-year Katarina Kaburov closed out the third set with two of her own.
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In set four, Lehigh broke a 9-9 tie with a 7-1 run to take a 16-10 lead. Sophomore Kyleigh Brown had three of her four aces in the fourth set. The Mountain Hawks scored five of the final six points to win 25-17 and force a fifth set.
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"We were communicating," Keckler said. "The first two sets, we were flat. We seemed very tired and a step slow. Our body language was (not great). We talked about that and we talked about the controllables, our attitude, our effort, our energy and we pushed and sets three through five that changed. The momentum shifted and once that happened, we were more confident in our play and we were able to execute better."
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Brown's fourth ace of the match was part of a 3-0 Lehigh run that put the Mountain Hawks up 8-4 in the final set, before Rider battled back with a 5-1 run to take a 12-11 lead. Lehigh went on to win the final four points, taking the lead for good on a block assist by Meagher and Schulte and clinching the victory on an ace by sophomore Makena Smith on match point.
Smith finished with 41 aces and eight digs. Stewart finished with nine kills, five service aces, two solo blocks and five block assists. Brown had 20 digs to go along with her four aces.
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Rider was led by Morgan Romano's 13 kills. Three Broncs recorded double-digit digs, led by Julia Slivka's 12.
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Lehigh hit .177 as a team for the match and limited Rider to .044.
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Stewart and Schulte represented the Mountain Hawks on the All-Tournament Team.
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 "Emily played fantastic in all three matches," Keckler said. "She hit over .500 in both matches on Friday. She was blocking very well. Megan is just a consistent workhorse. She gets dug, she works to find ways to score. From the service line, both of them were actually very impactful, especially in that third and fourth set, really pushing some aces and giving us a great opportunity to get the other team out of system."Â
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The Mountain Hawks will host Saint Peter's Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall before heading to Hanover, N.H. for the Dartmouth Invitational next Friday and Saturday. The Saint Peter's match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Lehigh hit over .250 in both the third and fourth sets and finished with 17 total team blocks. Sophomore Megan Schulte had a match-high 21 kills and hit .357 while junior Sophia Meagher had 10 block assists.
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The Mountain Hawks went 2-1 in the Lehigh Steel Classic and captured the team title by virtue of Friday night's win over Buffalo. Lehigh is now 5-1 on the season and has won titles in each of its first two tournaments.
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"I'm really proud of the girls for bouncing back like that," Lehigh head coach Alexa Keckler said. "After the first two sets we talked, in the break between sets two and three and said 'What kind of team do we want to be? This is going to show a lot, if we're willing to fight and battle back for three straight sets or whether we're willing to just give up and let it be.' I was really proud of them because they did not do that. They fought. They brought energy. We changed a few things, talked to them about a couple of things and they went back out there and executed at a much higher level than we were in the first two sets."
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Rider (1-5) claimed the first set 25-10 with its best hitting set of the match, while also capitalizing on six Lehigh service errors. The Broncs limited Lehigh to an .062 hitting percentage in set two, claiming a 25-21 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
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Lehigh turned the tide in set three with a commanding 25-10 victory. The Mountain Hawks hit .348 in the set and used a 7-0 run to build a 6-5 lead into a 13-5 advantage. Lehigh's fortunes at the service line also turned as sophomore Emily Stewart contributed three aces to the rally. The Mountain Hawks finished the match with 13 aces and first-year Katarina Kaburov closed out the third set with two of her own.
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In set four, Lehigh broke a 9-9 tie with a 7-1 run to take a 16-10 lead. Sophomore Kyleigh Brown had three of her four aces in the fourth set. The Mountain Hawks scored five of the final six points to win 25-17 and force a fifth set.
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"We were communicating," Keckler said. "The first two sets, we were flat. We seemed very tired and a step slow. Our body language was (not great). We talked about that and we talked about the controllables, our attitude, our effort, our energy and we pushed and sets three through five that changed. The momentum shifted and once that happened, we were more confident in our play and we were able to execute better."
Â
Brown's fourth ace of the match was part of a 3-0 Lehigh run that put the Mountain Hawks up 8-4 in the final set, before Rider battled back with a 5-1 run to take a 12-11 lead. Lehigh went on to win the final four points, taking the lead for good on a block assist by Meagher and Schulte and clinching the victory on an ace by sophomore Makena Smith on match point.
ÂLehigh in 5⃣💪#GoLehigh | #DoRight pic.twitter.com/awQdUu9ocQ
— Lehigh Volleyball (@LehighVBall) September 3, 2022
Smith finished with 41 aces and eight digs. Stewart finished with nine kills, five service aces, two solo blocks and five block assists. Brown had 20 digs to go along with her four aces.
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Rider was led by Morgan Romano's 13 kills. Three Broncs recorded double-digit digs, led by Julia Slivka's 12.
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Lehigh hit .177 as a team for the match and limited Rider to .044.
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Stewart and Schulte represented the Mountain Hawks on the All-Tournament Team.
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 "Emily played fantastic in all three matches," Keckler said. "She hit over .500 in both matches on Friday. She was blocking very well. Megan is just a consistent workhorse. She gets dug, she works to find ways to score. From the service line, both of them were actually very impactful, especially in that third and fourth set, really pushing some aces and giving us a great opportunity to get the other team out of system."Â
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The Mountain Hawks will host Saint Peter's Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall before heading to Hanover, N.H. for the Dartmouth Invitational next Friday and Saturday. The Saint Peter's match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
ÂHear from Coach Keckler after today's win against Rider 🔊#GoLehigh | #DoRight pic.twitter.com/thzABKuUhb
— Lehigh Volleyball (@LehighVBall) September 3, 2022
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Team Stats
Rider
Lehigh
Kills
39
47
Errors
33
24
Attempts
135
130
Hitting %
.044
.177
Points
52
77
Assists
38
43
Aces
7
13
Blocks
6
17
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
5
Blocks
7
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
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