Lehigh Completes Reverse Sweep To Shock Army 3-2

Saturday, October 14

Bethlehem, Pa.

2:00 PM

Lehigh University

11-9,3-6Patriot

Army West Point

10-8,7-2Patriot

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Army West Point	25	25	23	18	9	2
Lehigh	17	16	25	25	15	3

Photo by: Katie McNulty

Lehigh Completes Reverse Sweep To Shock Army 3-2

10/14/2023 6:19:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh volleyball celebrated its past on Saturday afternoon, welcoming the 1993 Patriot League Champion team as well as other alumni back to Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks played host to the Army West Point Black Knights, shocking the number two team in the league with a 3-2 comeback victory.

"It's been awesome to have so many alumni from both the 1993 team and others throughout the years here today," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "To have this win in front of them is special. You could see the excitement on their faces in the stands."

Although Lehigh (11-9, 3-6 PL) came out victorious in Saturday's match, momentum did not start in their favor. Army West Point (10-8, 7-2 PL), who defeated Lehigh last Sunday, picked up right where they left off from the previous matchup. The Black Knights picked up dominant wins in sets one and two thanks to stellar .387 and .324 hitting percentages in each frame.

With their backs against the wall, the Mountain Hawks needed a spark to help ignite a comeback effort. Keckler employed a new lineup to begin the third set in hopes of turning around Lehigh's misfortunes. Her adjustments proved to be beneficial, as contributions from newly inserted first-years Jaidyn Garcia and Abby Felkai helped swing the momentum back in Lehigh's favor.

"Jaidyn went in and did a phenomenal job from both an offensive and defensive standpoint," said Keckler. "Abby Felkai provided a nice flow of offense; she did a great job mixing things up."

After picking up a closely-contested 25-23 win in set three, Lehigh rode their newfound momentum to a commanding performance in set four. The set went back-and-forth through the first half of play, but an 8-2 Lehigh run to close out the fourth forced a winner-take-all fifth set.

With the fans on their feet and all the energy on their side, Lehigh continued their stellar play into the fifth and final set. Three separate 3-0 runs in the frame allowed the Mountain Hawks to pull away, culminating with a Ufuoma Omene kill that clinched the comeback victory for Lehigh.

"I am beyond proud, there are not words to describe how awesome it felt to see them turn it up and say, 'yep, we're not going out without a fight'," said Keckler. "There were contributions from so many people that were invested and did a remarkable job."

Senior Lylah Washington led the way for Lehigh with a team-high 14 kills, her highest output thus far on the season.

"We've shown that we're always able to keep up with these teams, and I think we're ready to prove it now," said Washington after the win. "A win like this is going to prove to ourselves that we can do this and we can beat anyone."

First-year Ufuoma Omene had a solid showing in her first start since September 29, registering 12 kills. Junior Megan Schulte also provided double-digit kills with 10.

Junior Makena Smith led the Mountain Hawks with 31 assists while Abby Felkai tallied 11 assists off the bench. Junior Kyleigh Brown once again led Lehigh with 21 digs on the defensive end. Sophomore Madison McCartney was huge defensively down the stretch, recording five total blocks including two in the fifth set.

The Mountain Hawks return to play next Friday, October 20 at Holy Cross. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Worcester.

"We've been teetering on this line of 'we're right there', and I think that this match will hopefully instill enough confidence in the team to know that we can beat anybody on any given day," said Keckler. "As we head on the road next weekend, I think that this is a great confidence boost to keep fighting through one match at a time and putting ourselves in contention to make the playoffs."

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