Friday, September 1
Storrs, Conn.
4:30 PM
Lehigh University
3-1,0-0Patriot
3
vs
0
Merrimack
1-3,0-0NEC
1
2
3
F
Merrimack
13
13
20
0
Lehigh
25
25
25
3
Photo by: @acolemanphotography
Volleyball Sweeps Merrimack 3-0 In UConn Tournament Opener
9/1/2023 8:35:00 PM | Volleyball
Mountain Hawks Record Season-High .403 Kill Percentage
STORRS, Conn. – Lehigh volleyball began play at UConn volleyball's tournament today, facing the Merrimack Warriors in their first match of the weekend. The Mountain Hawks cruised to a 3-0 sweep of the Warriors to claim their first win in straight sets this season.
Lehigh (3-1) and Merrimack (1-3) kept things close to begin the first set, as the Mountain Hawks maintained a lead but were unable to truly pull away. That was the case up until Merrimack scored its ninth point of the set. From that moment on, Lehigh orchestrated a 6-0 run to claim a 19-9 lead over the Warriors. Merrimack would record three straight points following the run, but kills from Ufuoma Omene, Emily Stewart, Makena Smith and Dakota Hartman sealed the deal in Lehigh's 25-13 first set victory.
Set number two provided much of the same for the Mountain Hawks, as the team once again bested the Warriors by a score of 25-13 in the frame. Despite Merrimack beginning the set on a 4-0 run, this did not deter Lehigh, who went on multiple runs of their own to build a solid lead. After the Warriors cut the Lehigh lead to eight, three Merrimack errors and a Megan Schulte kill gave Lehigh another set win.
The third set provided more drama down the stretch, as Merrimack came to compete. The two teams traded points to begin the set, with neither side able to muster more than a two point lead up until the tenth point. The Mountain Hawks locked in after that, conducting a 7-1 run to gain a 16-10 advantage. However, the Warriors wouldn't quit, climbing all the way back to cut the Lehigh lead to an 18-17 margin. With the score close and a chance to close out the match, the Mountain Hawks delivered, outscoring Merrimack 7-4 to win the set 25-21 and earn their first win of the weekend.
"Today we were focused on fundamentally being sound in our attacking and defense," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "We stayed more disciplined in our errors."
Megan Schulte led the Mountain Hawks in kills with nine, Emily Stewart blocked a match-high seven attacks, Abby Felkai recorded 13 assists in her first career start, and Kyleigh Brown once again led Lehigh with eight digs. The Mountain Hawks recorded a season-best .403 hitting percentage and posted 13 blocks to Merrimack's zero in the contest.
"I felt the setters did a great job of distributing the ball and getting our attackers going," said Keckler. "Our attackers also did a great job of mixing up their shots."
The Mountain Hawks will play their first doubleheader of the season tomorrow, taking on the UConn Huskies at 1:30 p.m. and the Hofstra Pride at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. The live stats links can be found here (UConn, Hofstra) and both matches will be streamed on the UConn+ platform.
"Tomorrow's job is to be better than today and to take each set one point at a time," said Keckler.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Lehigh (3-1) and Merrimack (1-3) kept things close to begin the first set, as the Mountain Hawks maintained a lead but were unable to truly pull away. That was the case up until Merrimack scored its ninth point of the set. From that moment on, Lehigh orchestrated a 6-0 run to claim a 19-9 lead over the Warriors. Merrimack would record three straight points following the run, but kills from Ufuoma Omene, Emily Stewart, Makena Smith and Dakota Hartman sealed the deal in Lehigh's 25-13 first set victory.
Set number two provided much of the same for the Mountain Hawks, as the team once again bested the Warriors by a score of 25-13 in the frame. Despite Merrimack beginning the set on a 4-0 run, this did not deter Lehigh, who went on multiple runs of their own to build a solid lead. After the Warriors cut the Lehigh lead to eight, three Merrimack errors and a Megan Schulte kill gave Lehigh another set win.
The third set provided more drama down the stretch, as Merrimack came to compete. The two teams traded points to begin the set, with neither side able to muster more than a two point lead up until the tenth point. The Mountain Hawks locked in after that, conducting a 7-1 run to gain a 16-10 advantage. However, the Warriors wouldn't quit, climbing all the way back to cut the Lehigh lead to an 18-17 margin. With the score close and a chance to close out the match, the Mountain Hawks delivered, outscoring Merrimack 7-4 to win the set 25-21 and earn their first win of the weekend.
"Today we were focused on fundamentally being sound in our attacking and defense," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "We stayed more disciplined in our errors."
Megan Schulte led the Mountain Hawks in kills with nine, Emily Stewart blocked a match-high seven attacks, Abby Felkai recorded 13 assists in her first career start, and Kyleigh Brown once again led Lehigh with eight digs. The Mountain Hawks recorded a season-best .403 hitting percentage and posted 13 blocks to Merrimack's zero in the contest.
"I felt the setters did a great job of distributing the ball and getting our attackers going," said Keckler. "Our attackers also did a great job of mixing up their shots."
The Mountain Hawks will play their first doubleheader of the season tomorrow, taking on the UConn Huskies at 1:30 p.m. and the Hofstra Pride at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. The live stats links can be found here (UConn, Hofstra) and both matches will be streamed on the UConn+ platform.
"Tomorrow's job is to be better than today and to take each set one point at a time," said Keckler.
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Team Stats
Merri
Lehigh
Kills
25
31
Errors
18
6
Attempts
76
62
Hitting %
.092
.403
Points
31.0
55.0
Assists
24
30
Aces
6
11
Blocks
0
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
4
Aces
4
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballRS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
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