Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Season Preview: Lehigh Volleyball Ready To Take Next Step
8/23/2023 12:10:00 PM | Volleyball
Mountain Hawks Return 14 Players, Add Six First-Years
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the season schedule set, new faces moved in and an abundance of players returning to the fold, there's only a few things left for Lehigh Volleyball to do…
Serve, spike, and play volleyball.
For this year's Mountain Hawks team, the excitement inside Leeman-Turner Arena is palpable. The team brings back 14 players while graduating none, something that head coach Alexa Keckler believes has been instrumental as the team prepares for their season opener on Friday.
"The level of the competitiveness and IQ of our gym has definitely increased, probably one of the strongest since I've been here," said Keckler, who enters her sixth season at the helm of the program. "Having those 14 return has been great from a culture perspective of setting the tone, making sure that we're abiding by what we want within our culture, how we want to treat each other, perform, and the commitment level that it takes."
Among the returning Mountain Hawks are five sophomores, five juniors, and four seniors who each bring a variety of roles and skillsets to this year's squad. The seniors, Keckler believes, have helped lay the foundation for the type of program she hopes to build.
"Our seniors have done a great job in creating an environment that is welcoming and have laid the foundation for our work-ethic and culture," said Keckler. "Their leading by example has really helped to create a place where all of our players can grow and excel."
As for the junior class, Lehigh returns an impressive group. Megan Schulte and Emily Stewart garnered All-Patriot League second team honors as sophomores, and two of the other three in the class have earned starting spots early in their careers.
The sophomore and first-year classes round out the rest of the roster, and both groups contain players poised to make an impact on the court this season. Several sophomores will serve as key role players for the Mountain Hawks, while the first-years have made a seamless transition into collegiate volleyball.
"The newcomers have come right in and been extremely impactful," said Keckler. "We have a great group of young women who do a tremendous job of making our environment safe and inclusive, so I think it only took a couple of days for the first-years to recognize that."
Not only have the first-years adjusted well to college life, they have also been imperative in heightening the level of play at practice.
"I do think that adding the first years has helped to elevate that because we are deeper in positions now, so it's provided a more competitive environment," said Keckler. "Our players have to work harder to score, they have to work harder in serve/receive, so both of those things combined have really helped us already level up our game from those two perspectives."
A year ago, the season started without a hitch for Lehigh, as the Mountain Hawks cruised to an 8-2 record through the first three weeks of the season. However, that level of play became harder to maintain, and the Mountain Hawks ultimately missed out on qualifying for the Patriot League Tournament. Keckler knows that consistency and discipline will be the keys to sustaining long-term success this season.
"For us as a staff and players, it's the recognition of how we can come in and stay committed but also make sure that we are continuing to level up and peak at the right time," said Keckler. "It's a rigorous place to be at school with a lot of demands, and we've been young the past couple of years, so hopefully the maturity level and understanding of 'this is what it takes' will help us to be able to fine tune those things."
Part of building a successful team and program is preparation, of which there has been an abundance this offseason. Since the team returned early this month, Keckler and her staff have been working to improve the team in a number of areas, most specifically first touches.
"We've spent a lot of time working on our first contact, from serve/receive to defensive touches," said Keckler. "Those have been the two big things and areas that we've needed to improve upon in our gym, a lot of defense as well."
Now with the season opener against LIU only two days away, the 2023 campaign has essentially begun. The team's schedule (which you can read more about here) includes a home matchup against Virginia Tech as part of Lehigh's Steel Classic Tournament on September 7. The Hokies will be the first Power 5 team to enter Leeman-Turner Arena since 2018 and the first time Lehigh will be hosting an ACC opponent since 2004.
"I think that it's an awesome opportunity for us in our own gym," said Keckler on the upcoming Virginia Tech match. "It's a fantastic opportunity for our players to compete, and for Virginia Tech to come here, it's cool for our home court advantage and for our girls to get an opportunity in front of their home crowd to play a team that is a strong caliber program."
However, the task at hand is the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge, a tournament hosted by Temple University. The Mountain Hawks will square off against LIU on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by matches against Iona on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and host Temple at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Keckler hopes to see consistency across the board over the course of the team's first weekend of play.
"Maintaining consistency in as many of the skillsets as possible," said Keckler on what she wants to see from her team. "Obviously, we're not going to be perfect in everything, but trying to find a consistent level of energy, a consistent level of passing, a consistent level of maintaining our unforced errors. From that, it's stepping onto the court with a sense of urgency from point one. Not waiting to see what it's going to be like or how it's going to go, but stepping onto the court and taking control of the tempo of the match."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Â
Serve, spike, and play volleyball.
For this year's Mountain Hawks team, the excitement inside Leeman-Turner Arena is palpable. The team brings back 14 players while graduating none, something that head coach Alexa Keckler believes has been instrumental as the team prepares for their season opener on Friday.
"The level of the competitiveness and IQ of our gym has definitely increased, probably one of the strongest since I've been here," said Keckler, who enters her sixth season at the helm of the program. "Having those 14 return has been great from a culture perspective of setting the tone, making sure that we're abiding by what we want within our culture, how we want to treat each other, perform, and the commitment level that it takes."
Among the returning Mountain Hawks are five sophomores, five juniors, and four seniors who each bring a variety of roles and skillsets to this year's squad. The seniors, Keckler believes, have helped lay the foundation for the type of program she hopes to build.
"Our seniors have done a great job in creating an environment that is welcoming and have laid the foundation for our work-ethic and culture," said Keckler. "Their leading by example has really helped to create a place where all of our players can grow and excel."
As for the junior class, Lehigh returns an impressive group. Megan Schulte and Emily Stewart garnered All-Patriot League second team honors as sophomores, and two of the other three in the class have earned starting spots early in their careers.
The sophomore and first-year classes round out the rest of the roster, and both groups contain players poised to make an impact on the court this season. Several sophomores will serve as key role players for the Mountain Hawks, while the first-years have made a seamless transition into collegiate volleyball.
"The newcomers have come right in and been extremely impactful," said Keckler. "We have a great group of young women who do a tremendous job of making our environment safe and inclusive, so I think it only took a couple of days for the first-years to recognize that."
Not only have the first-years adjusted well to college life, they have also been imperative in heightening the level of play at practice.
"I do think that adding the first years has helped to elevate that because we are deeper in positions now, so it's provided a more competitive environment," said Keckler. "Our players have to work harder to score, they have to work harder in serve/receive, so both of those things combined have really helped us already level up our game from those two perspectives."
A year ago, the season started without a hitch for Lehigh, as the Mountain Hawks cruised to an 8-2 record through the first three weeks of the season. However, that level of play became harder to maintain, and the Mountain Hawks ultimately missed out on qualifying for the Patriot League Tournament. Keckler knows that consistency and discipline will be the keys to sustaining long-term success this season.
"For us as a staff and players, it's the recognition of how we can come in and stay committed but also make sure that we are continuing to level up and peak at the right time," said Keckler. "It's a rigorous place to be at school with a lot of demands, and we've been young the past couple of years, so hopefully the maturity level and understanding of 'this is what it takes' will help us to be able to fine tune those things."
Part of building a successful team and program is preparation, of which there has been an abundance this offseason. Since the team returned early this month, Keckler and her staff have been working to improve the team in a number of areas, most specifically first touches.
"We've spent a lot of time working on our first contact, from serve/receive to defensive touches," said Keckler. "Those have been the two big things and areas that we've needed to improve upon in our gym, a lot of defense as well."
Now with the season opener against LIU only two days away, the 2023 campaign has essentially begun. The team's schedule (which you can read more about here) includes a home matchup against Virginia Tech as part of Lehigh's Steel Classic Tournament on September 7. The Hokies will be the first Power 5 team to enter Leeman-Turner Arena since 2018 and the first time Lehigh will be hosting an ACC opponent since 2004.
"I think that it's an awesome opportunity for us in our own gym," said Keckler on the upcoming Virginia Tech match. "It's a fantastic opportunity for our players to compete, and for Virginia Tech to come here, it's cool for our home court advantage and for our girls to get an opportunity in front of their home crowd to play a team that is a strong caliber program."
However, the task at hand is the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge, a tournament hosted by Temple University. The Mountain Hawks will square off against LIU on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by matches against Iona on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and host Temple at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Keckler hopes to see consistency across the board over the course of the team's first weekend of play.
"Maintaining consistency in as many of the skillsets as possible," said Keckler on what she wants to see from her team. "Obviously, we're not going to be perfect in everything, but trying to find a consistent level of energy, a consistent level of passing, a consistent level of maintaining our unforced errors. From that, it's stepping onto the court with a sense of urgency from point one. Not waiting to see what it's going to be like or how it's going to go, but stepping onto the court and taking control of the tempo of the match."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Â
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMountain Hawk Talk - S2 EP2 - Volleyball
Friday, September 26
2025 Lehigh Volleyball Season Preview
Friday, August 29
Lehigh Sports Central: Volleyball
Wednesday, September 25
Season Preview: Volleyball
Wednesday, August 28
