Sunday, September 24
Easton, Pa.
4:00 PM
Lehigh University
9-6,1-3Patriot
1
at
3
Lafayette
6-6,2-2Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
16
25
28
23
1
Lafayette
25
20
30
25
3
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Lehigh Drops 3-1 Decision To Lafayette
9/24/2023 7:46:00 PM | Volleyball
EASTON, Pa. – Lehigh volleyball embarked on its first matchup against rival Lafayette College on Sunday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks battled, but ultimately fell to the Leopards 3-1.
The first set began favorably for Lafayette (6-6, 2-2 PL), as the Leopards opened the frame on an 8-3 run, forcing Lehigh (9-6, 1-3 PL) to use its first timeout. The Mountain Hawks closed the gap following the timeout, cutting Lafayette's lead to three thanks to an attacking error and kills from Emily Stewart and Megan Schulte. Despite their efforts, the Leopards continued to play well down the stretch, riding their .357 first set hitting percentage to a 25-16 set victory.
After initially dropping the first set, Lehigh turned things around in the second. The set was closely-contested the whole way through, with neither side able to muster higher than a four-point lead until the very end. The Leopards were able to narrow the Mountain Hawk lead to two points at 21-19, but a huge showing down the stretch from first-year Jaidyn Garcia allowed Lehigh to win 25-20 as she recorded three of the team's final four kills.
Lafayette took control to begin the third, opening the frame on a 4-0 run. Their lead did not last long, as Lehigh battled back to tie the match at eight apiece. The Leopards responded with five unanswered points and looked to be regaining momentum in a pivotal set, but every time Lafayette looked to be pulling away, Lehigh crawled right back. The back-and-forth affair finally culminated with both sides being knotted at 25-25, and extra volleyball ensued. Unfortunately for the Mountain Hawks, the Leopards rallied to win set three 30-28.
The fourth set once again provided competitive volleyball for those in attendance to see, as neither side was able to gain higher than a three-point advantage. Although Lehigh battled down the stretch, Lafayette ultimately came away with a narrow 25-23 fourth set win, clinching their second Patriot League win of the season.
Junior Megan Schulte's 16 kills led Lehigh while junior Emily Stewart and senior Lylah Washington added 13 and 11 respectively. Junior Makena Smith put on a show with 44 assists, helping her break 2,000 for her career during the match. Smith and junior Kyleigh Brown both recorded 15 digs on the day, setting Brown only one shy of 1,000 career digs.
The Mountain Hawks will be back on the road on Friday, September 29 night to take on the Loyola Greyhounds. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Baltimore. The next night, Lehigh will face American in Washington, D.C. at 4 p.m.
"Serve and pass makes the difference, it's the one thing that we have to be better at," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "Next weekend is another tough match up. We have to be able to finish, bottom line."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
The first set began favorably for Lafayette (6-6, 2-2 PL), as the Leopards opened the frame on an 8-3 run, forcing Lehigh (9-6, 1-3 PL) to use its first timeout. The Mountain Hawks closed the gap following the timeout, cutting Lafayette's lead to three thanks to an attacking error and kills from Emily Stewart and Megan Schulte. Despite their efforts, the Leopards continued to play well down the stretch, riding their .357 first set hitting percentage to a 25-16 set victory.
After initially dropping the first set, Lehigh turned things around in the second. The set was closely-contested the whole way through, with neither side able to muster higher than a four-point lead until the very end. The Leopards were able to narrow the Mountain Hawk lead to two points at 21-19, but a huge showing down the stretch from first-year Jaidyn Garcia allowed Lehigh to win 25-20 as she recorded three of the team's final four kills.
Lafayette took control to begin the third, opening the frame on a 4-0 run. Their lead did not last long, as Lehigh battled back to tie the match at eight apiece. The Leopards responded with five unanswered points and looked to be regaining momentum in a pivotal set, but every time Lafayette looked to be pulling away, Lehigh crawled right back. The back-and-forth affair finally culminated with both sides being knotted at 25-25, and extra volleyball ensued. Unfortunately for the Mountain Hawks, the Leopards rallied to win set three 30-28.
The fourth set once again provided competitive volleyball for those in attendance to see, as neither side was able to gain higher than a three-point advantage. Although Lehigh battled down the stretch, Lafayette ultimately came away with a narrow 25-23 fourth set win, clinching their second Patriot League win of the season.
Junior Megan Schulte's 16 kills led Lehigh while junior Emily Stewart and senior Lylah Washington added 13 and 11 respectively. Junior Makena Smith put on a show with 44 assists, helping her break 2,000 for her career during the match. Smith and junior Kyleigh Brown both recorded 15 digs on the day, setting Brown only one shy of 1,000 career digs.
The Mountain Hawks will be back on the road on Friday, September 29 night to take on the Loyola Greyhounds. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Baltimore. The next night, Lehigh will face American in Washington, D.C. at 4 p.m.
"Serve and pass makes the difference, it's the one thing that we have to be better at," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "Next weekend is another tough match up. We have to be able to finish, bottom line."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Lehigh
Laf
Kills
56
59
Errors
18
21
Attempts
162
170
Hitting %
.235
.224
Points
63.0
72.0
Assists
53
56
Aces
2
7
Blocks
5
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
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