Saturday, September 2
Storrs, Conn.
1:30 PM
Lehigh University
3
at
2
Connecticut
Photo by: @acolemanphotography
Lehigh Completes Comebacks Against UConn And Hofstra, Finishes Weekend 3-0
9/2/2023 8:14:00 PM | Volleyball
STORRS, Conn. – Lehigh volleyball concluded play at the University of Connecticut Saturday, playing a doubleheader against the host UConn Huskies and then the Hofstra Pride shortly afterwards. The Mountain Hawks pulled off an exhilarating come-from-behind victory in five sets over the Huskies in their first match and followed it up with another comeback thriller over Hofstra.
"I'm so proud of this group today," said head coach Alexa Keckler on today's comebacks. "They showed so much heart and fight. Two five-set match wins. Their confidence and trust is growing with each set and each victory."
The Mountain Hawks (5-1) got off to a strong start against their Big East adversary, claiming the first set by a score of 25-22. The Huskies (1-4) responded well, putting on a dominant display in the second set with a 25-12 win. After dropping a dead-even 26-24 third set to UConn, Lehigh's backs were against the wall now facing a 2-1 set deficit.
The third set began with the Huskies pulling ahead 6-5, however, an ace and kill from Megan Schulte, kill from Katarina Kaburov, and two bad sets from UConn allowed Lehigh to pull ahead 10-6. After several runs from both sides and the score at 22-21 in favor of Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks scored three unanswered to tie the match at two apiece. The fifth set provided little drama, as Lehigh stepped onto the court determined to get the W. The Mountain Hawks quickly jumped ahead to a 10-3 lead, and another Schulte kill cemented the 15-8 set victory and completed the comeback.
Schulte led Lehigh with 16 kills and a .424 hit percentage against UConn. Two other Mountain Hawks recorded double-digit kills, as Kaburov and first-year Ufuoma Omene nabbed 13 and 10 respectively. Makena Smith added a team-best 21 assists in the match while Kyleigh Brown recorded a team-high 15 digs against the Huskies.
Despite having less than an hour of rest, Lehigh picked up right where they left off to begin the next match. The Mountain Hawks earned a 25-18 opening set win over Hofstra (6-1) and looked to continue that success moving forward. The Pride, who entered tonight's match undefeated, had other plans. Hofstra won a close second set 25-22 and followed that up with nine-point margin of victory in set number three. Once again, Lehigh's prospects of victory seemed slim.
Facing a 2-1 set deficit, Lehigh returned the favor in the fourth set, winning by a score of 25-16. A 6-0 run late in the set, which included four Schulte kills, gave the Mountain Hawks set point. Sophia Meagher's kill sealed the deal for Lehigh, and a fifth and final set was set to commence. While the Mountain Hawks won by seven points in their previous fifth set against UConn, the final set against Hofstra wouldn't come as easy. Lehigh battled to a 15-13 win in the final set and pulled off another improbable comeback.
Schulte once again led Lehigh with an outstanding 20 kills in the match. Makena Smith tallied 28 assists against the Pride while Kyleigh Brown again led the Mountain Hawks with 11 digs.
Schulte was named the tournament MVP after registering a total of 45 kills on the weekend. Katarina Kaburov and Kyleigh Brown were also named to the all-tournament team for their efforts.
"We were telling our team to control their errors," said Keckler. "Stay aggressive on serving and minimize errors. Our pin hitters were attacking with fire today."
The Mountain Hawks will have a few days to prepare for the Steel City Classic, a five-team event next weekend being hosted in Bethlehem. Lehigh will take on Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Delaware State at 7 p.m. on Friday and conclude with weekend with matches against Binghamton and FDU at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.
"This weekend was certainly a boost going into next weekend," said Keckler. "I'm looking forward to seeing them continue to thrive."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"I'm so proud of this group today," said head coach Alexa Keckler on today's comebacks. "They showed so much heart and fight. Two five-set match wins. Their confidence and trust is growing with each set and each victory."
The Mountain Hawks (5-1) got off to a strong start against their Big East adversary, claiming the first set by a score of 25-22. The Huskies (1-4) responded well, putting on a dominant display in the second set with a 25-12 win. After dropping a dead-even 26-24 third set to UConn, Lehigh's backs were against the wall now facing a 2-1 set deficit.
The third set began with the Huskies pulling ahead 6-5, however, an ace and kill from Megan Schulte, kill from Katarina Kaburov, and two bad sets from UConn allowed Lehigh to pull ahead 10-6. After several runs from both sides and the score at 22-21 in favor of Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks scored three unanswered to tie the match at two apiece. The fifth set provided little drama, as Lehigh stepped onto the court determined to get the W. The Mountain Hawks quickly jumped ahead to a 10-3 lead, and another Schulte kill cemented the 15-8 set victory and completed the comeback.
Schulte led Lehigh with 16 kills and a .424 hit percentage against UConn. Two other Mountain Hawks recorded double-digit kills, as Kaburov and first-year Ufuoma Omene nabbed 13 and 10 respectively. Makena Smith added a team-best 21 assists in the match while Kyleigh Brown recorded a team-high 15 digs against the Huskies.
Despite having less than an hour of rest, Lehigh picked up right where they left off to begin the next match. The Mountain Hawks earned a 25-18 opening set win over Hofstra (6-1) and looked to continue that success moving forward. The Pride, who entered tonight's match undefeated, had other plans. Hofstra won a close second set 25-22 and followed that up with nine-point margin of victory in set number three. Once again, Lehigh's prospects of victory seemed slim.
Facing a 2-1 set deficit, Lehigh returned the favor in the fourth set, winning by a score of 25-16. A 6-0 run late in the set, which included four Schulte kills, gave the Mountain Hawks set point. Sophia Meagher's kill sealed the deal for Lehigh, and a fifth and final set was set to commence. While the Mountain Hawks won by seven points in their previous fifth set against UConn, the final set against Hofstra wouldn't come as easy. Lehigh battled to a 15-13 win in the final set and pulled off another improbable comeback.
Schulte once again led Lehigh with an outstanding 20 kills in the match. Makena Smith tallied 28 assists against the Pride while Kyleigh Brown again led the Mountain Hawks with 11 digs.
Schulte was named the tournament MVP after registering a total of 45 kills on the weekend. Katarina Kaburov and Kyleigh Brown were also named to the all-tournament team for their efforts.
"We were telling our team to control their errors," said Keckler. "Stay aggressive on serving and minimize errors. Our pin hitters were attacking with fire today."
The Mountain Hawks will have a few days to prepare for the Steel City Classic, a five-team event next weekend being hosted in Bethlehem. Lehigh will take on Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Delaware State at 7 p.m. on Friday and conclude with weekend with matches against Binghamton and FDU at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.
"This weekend was certainly a boost going into next weekend," said Keckler. "I'm looking forward to seeing them continue to thrive."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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