Friday, September 8
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
6-2,0-0Patriot
3
vs
1
Delaware State
3-6,0-0MEAC
1
2
3
4
F
Delaware St.
25
19
23
22
1
Lehigh
21
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Katie McNulty
Lehigh Earns 3-1 Victory Over Delaware State On Night Two Of Steel Classic
9/8/2023 10:48:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh continued play at its own Steel Classic presented by SureStay at Best Western Friday night, welcoming the Delaware State Hornets to town. While the Hornets did take the first set off of the Mountain Hawks, Lehigh ultimately walked away with a 3-1 win.
"It was important for us to rebound tonight, and after dropping that first set, we needed to get our offense going," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "Getting the middles going opened up some good stuff. Blocking came up huge in sets three and four, and that was crucial."
Delaware State (3-6), who played Virginia Tech hard in their opening match of the Steel Classic, started off Friday's match strongly. Despite Lehigh (6-2) jumping ahead to an early 7-2 advantage, the Hornets rallied to tie the set at seven apiece. After a bit more back and forth, Delaware State and Lehigh found themselves neck-and-neck headed to the 20th point. Once both sides were locked at 20, the Hornets conducted a 5-1 run to steal set number one.
The Hornets once again looked to take control in set number two, as the visitors again earned an early 9-7 lead. From that moment on, Lehigh began to put together solid runs, completing successful offensive possessions and capitalizing on Delaware State errors. After extending their lead to nine off of a Makena Smith kill, the Mountain Hawks finished the job with a 25-19 set victory.
The third set proved to be more competitive, with neither side gaining more than a two-point lead the entire way through. Leading 22-20 and in prime position to take control of the set, the Mountain Hawks conceded three consecutive attack errors to put Delaware State one point away from set point. However, kills from Emily Stewart and Smith along with a Hornets attacking error gave Lehigh the set win and 2-1 advantage in the match.
With the momentum on their side, Lehigh jumped out to a 10-4 start in the fourth and looked to carry that energy to a fourth set win. However, the Hornets proved once again to be a pesky opponent, climbing out of a seven-point deficit to cut the Mountain Hawk lead to two. Although Delaware State battled to the end, Megan Schulte ultimately sealed the deal for Lehigh with a kill to win the set 25-22 and end the night's match.
Megan Schulte led the way for Lehigh with an impressive 13 kills, followed by Emily Stewart's nine and first-year Alysia Fingall's five kills. Stewart also added 12 total blocks (2 solo, 10 assists) and Madison McCartney joined her with four block assists. Makena Smith tallied 35 assists for the Mountain Hawks while Kyleigh Brown's 21 digs were a team and match high.
"Alysia is coming into her own. She's a talented player and will continue to grow and develop," said Keckler. "Megan did a solid job tonight on both pins. Madison and Emily were a huge impact on the blocking side and gave us some great momentum."
Lehigh will conclude play at the Steel Classic presented by SureStay at Best Western Saturday, as the Mountain Hawks will face both Binghamton and FDU. Lehigh will face Binghamton at 12:30 p.m. followed by a tilt with FDU at 7 p.m. to close out the weekend's events.
"Tomorrow we need to limit our errors and play disciplined to finish the weekend on a high note."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"It was important for us to rebound tonight, and after dropping that first set, we needed to get our offense going," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "Getting the middles going opened up some good stuff. Blocking came up huge in sets three and four, and that was crucial."
Delaware State (3-6), who played Virginia Tech hard in their opening match of the Steel Classic, started off Friday's match strongly. Despite Lehigh (6-2) jumping ahead to an early 7-2 advantage, the Hornets rallied to tie the set at seven apiece. After a bit more back and forth, Delaware State and Lehigh found themselves neck-and-neck headed to the 20th point. Once both sides were locked at 20, the Hornets conducted a 5-1 run to steal set number one.
The Hornets once again looked to take control in set number two, as the visitors again earned an early 9-7 lead. From that moment on, Lehigh began to put together solid runs, completing successful offensive possessions and capitalizing on Delaware State errors. After extending their lead to nine off of a Makena Smith kill, the Mountain Hawks finished the job with a 25-19 set victory.
The third set proved to be more competitive, with neither side gaining more than a two-point lead the entire way through. Leading 22-20 and in prime position to take control of the set, the Mountain Hawks conceded three consecutive attack errors to put Delaware State one point away from set point. However, kills from Emily Stewart and Smith along with a Hornets attacking error gave Lehigh the set win and 2-1 advantage in the match.
With the momentum on their side, Lehigh jumped out to a 10-4 start in the fourth and looked to carry that energy to a fourth set win. However, the Hornets proved once again to be a pesky opponent, climbing out of a seven-point deficit to cut the Mountain Hawk lead to two. Although Delaware State battled to the end, Megan Schulte ultimately sealed the deal for Lehigh with a kill to win the set 25-22 and end the night's match.
Megan Schulte led the way for Lehigh with an impressive 13 kills, followed by Emily Stewart's nine and first-year Alysia Fingall's five kills. Stewart also added 12 total blocks (2 solo, 10 assists) and Madison McCartney joined her with four block assists. Makena Smith tallied 35 assists for the Mountain Hawks while Kyleigh Brown's 21 digs were a team and match high.
"Alysia is coming into her own. She's a talented player and will continue to grow and develop," said Keckler. "Megan did a solid job tonight on both pins. Madison and Emily were a huge impact on the blocking side and gave us some great momentum."
Lehigh will conclude play at the Steel Classic presented by SureStay at Best Western Saturday, as the Mountain Hawks will face both Binghamton and FDU. Lehigh will face Binghamton at 12:30 p.m. followed by a tilt with FDU at 7 p.m. to close out the weekend's events.
"Tomorrow we need to limit our errors and play disciplined to finish the weekend on a high note."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
DSU
Lehigh
Kills
44
40
Errors
32
21
Attempts
143
147
Hitting %
.084
.129
Points
56.0
65.0
Assists
42
37
Aces
5
8
Blocks
7
17
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
12
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
4
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
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