Sunday, August 27
Philadelphia, Pa.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
2-1,0-0Patriot
0
at
3
Temple
3-0,0-0AAC
1
2
3
F
Lehigh
19
21
24
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Temple
25
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26
3
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Volleyball Falls To Temple In Cherry & White Challenge Finale
8/27/2023 4:46:00 PM | Volleyball
Mountain Hawks Conclude Weekend With 2-1 Record
PHILADELPHIA – Lehigh volleyball concluded play at the Cherry & White Challenge Sunday against the host Temple Owls. After defeating LIU and Iona in their first two matches of the season, the Mountain Hawks fell to the Owls in straight sets Sunday afternoon.
The two teams entered today's match both posting 2-0 records, and the opening set proved to be closely-contested. Makena Smith impressed in the opening frame, registering two kills, nine assists, and two digs. The Owls gained an early advantage, with their largest lead advancing to five points. However, several favorable rallies helped pull the Mountain Hawks back, culminating with a block from Ufuoma Omene and Madison McCartney that gave Lehigh its first lead with an 18-17 advantage. After a solo block from Megan Schulte put Lehigh up by two, the Owls put together an 8-0 run to claim the first set.
Set number two began favorably for Lehigh, highlighted by Katarina Kaburov's service ace that put the Mountain Hawks ahead 7-4. Following the ace, Temple turned up the intensity, outscoring Lehigh 16-6 to earn a 20-12 lead. Despite Temple's big lead, Lehigh rallied, cutting their deficit to as few as three. Although the Mountain Hawks cut it close, the Owls ultimately closed out the second set by a score of 25-21.
The third set was neck and neck to start, as the score was tied ten times through the 14th point on both sides. The competitive start to the third continued throughout the frame, eventually leading to a 20-18 lead for Lehigh off the heels of McCartney's team-leading seventh kill of the afternoon. Although the Mountain Hawks were battling, a 5-0 Temple run put the Owls in prime position to close out the match, which they did by a score of 26-24 in set number three.
"In today's match, Temple served really well and that forced us out of system," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "We just couldn't get an offense going."
McCartney led the way for Lehigh with seven kills while Makena Smith tallied a team-high 19 assists. The pair were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts. Kyleigh Brown's 15 digs were the most for the Mountain Hawks and marked the third consecutive match that she has led the team in that category. Overall, Lehigh recorded a .152 hitting percentage on the day.
"Some positives from this weekend are that we learned a lot about our depth," said Keckler. "We fought and competed regardless of the situation and I think we built some good trust."
The Mountain Hawks (2-1) will be back in action this upcoming weekend in Storrs, Connecticut for a tournament hosted by UConn. Lehigh will face Merrimack on September 1 and then Hofstra and host UConn on September 2.
"This week in practice we'll definitely be working on increasing more offensive opportunities and limiting our unforced errors," said Keckler.
2023 Hilton Philadelphia Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge All-Tournament Team:
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The two teams entered today's match both posting 2-0 records, and the opening set proved to be closely-contested. Makena Smith impressed in the opening frame, registering two kills, nine assists, and two digs. The Owls gained an early advantage, with their largest lead advancing to five points. However, several favorable rallies helped pull the Mountain Hawks back, culminating with a block from Ufuoma Omene and Madison McCartney that gave Lehigh its first lead with an 18-17 advantage. After a solo block from Megan Schulte put Lehigh up by two, the Owls put together an 8-0 run to claim the first set.
Set number two began favorably for Lehigh, highlighted by Katarina Kaburov's service ace that put the Mountain Hawks ahead 7-4. Following the ace, Temple turned up the intensity, outscoring Lehigh 16-6 to earn a 20-12 lead. Despite Temple's big lead, Lehigh rallied, cutting their deficit to as few as three. Although the Mountain Hawks cut it close, the Owls ultimately closed out the second set by a score of 25-21.
The third set was neck and neck to start, as the score was tied ten times through the 14th point on both sides. The competitive start to the third continued throughout the frame, eventually leading to a 20-18 lead for Lehigh off the heels of McCartney's team-leading seventh kill of the afternoon. Although the Mountain Hawks were battling, a 5-0 Temple run put the Owls in prime position to close out the match, which they did by a score of 26-24 in set number three.
"In today's match, Temple served really well and that forced us out of system," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "We just couldn't get an offense going."
McCartney led the way for Lehigh with seven kills while Makena Smith tallied a team-high 19 assists. The pair were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts. Kyleigh Brown's 15 digs were the most for the Mountain Hawks and marked the third consecutive match that she has led the team in that category. Overall, Lehigh recorded a .152 hitting percentage on the day.
"Some positives from this weekend are that we learned a lot about our depth," said Keckler. "We fought and competed regardless of the situation and I think we built some good trust."
The Mountain Hawks (2-1) will be back in action this upcoming weekend in Storrs, Connecticut for a tournament hosted by UConn. Lehigh will face Merrimack on September 1 and then Hofstra and host UConn on September 2.
"This week in practice we'll definitely be working on increasing more offensive opportunities and limiting our unforced errors," said Keckler.
2023 Hilton Philadelphia Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge All-Tournament Team:
- MVP - Taylor Davenport (Temple)
- Patrycja Zielinska (Temple)
- Avery Luoma (Temple)
- Makenna Smith (Lehigh)
- Madison McCartney (Lehigh)
- Mackenzie Wiggins (Iona)
- Alasha Colon (LIU)
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Team Stats
Lehigh
Temple
Kills
32
46
Errors
17
16
Attempts
99
113
Hitting %
.152
.265
Points
41.0
60.0
Assists
31
43
Aces
4
8
Blocks
5
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
RS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
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