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Photo by: Kit Keating
Brown Tallies Career-High 39 Digs In Five-Set Win Over Loyola
10/5/2024 8:30:00 PM | Volleyball
BALTIMORE – A three-match road trip for Lehigh volleyball concluded on Saturday afternoon at Reitz Arena against the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds. The Mountain Hawks earned a hard-fought five-set victory over the Greyhounds, snapping a two-match skid.
"This was a huge win for us on the road," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "We needed it for a lot of reasons and I'm happy we showed that we could be resilient."
Lehigh (10-6, 3-3 PL) couldn't have started their day better against Loyola (6-9, 4-2 PL) than they did in set one, as the Mountain Hawks picked up a dominant 25-13 win. The Mountain Hawks hit .435 on 13 kills in the frame and took advantage of eight Loyola attacking errors to take care of business in the first set.
The Greyhounds put up much more of a fight in set two. Lehigh jumped out to a 5-1 lead initially and maintained a multi-point lead for a solid portion of the frame. However, Loyola eventually rallied to tie the contest at 16. The Mountain Hawks then responded with a 5-0 run of their own, allowing them to hang on and take a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 second set win.
Needing a win in set three, Loyola raced out ahead to a 9-2 lead to open the frame. The Greyhounds kept their foot on the gas the whole way through, taking a 25-16 third set win to extend the match. The two teams then traded blows in an intense fourth set, which ultimately went in favor of Loyola 25-23 to force a fifth and final set.
In the fifth set, Loyola started off with a 4-1 lead, but Lehigh responded to take a 6-5 lead of their own. The two teams went back and forth until the Greyhounds eventually found themselves with match point at 14-12. However, the Mountain Hawks rallied to tie the match and force extra points. Leading 16-15, sophomore Alysia Fingall converted on a service ace to clinch the win for her team.
"Alysia's match-winning ace was certainly one heck of a way to end it," said Keckler. "She served very well this evening… It was a full team effort. The team did a great job of having each other's back."
Senior libero Kyleigh Brown was massive defensively, tallying a career-high 39 digs in the five-set thriller. Junior Natalie Luscomb and sophomore Ufuoma Omene both reached double-digit kills, 11 and 10 respectively. The Mountain Hawks also found excellent play out of their underclassmen setters, as sophomore Abby Felkai reached 22 assists and first-year Kamryn Utley added 21.
"39 digs is incredible," said Keckler. "Kyleigh has been working so hard to lead our team and be a force defensively. She is making a huge difference."
The Mountain Hawks will return home for their next contest on Friday, October 11 to take on American. The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
"We need to keep pushing one day at a time," said Keckler. "Spend the week recovering and getting healthy, chip away at those areas necessary for success next weekend."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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"This was a huge win for us on the road," said head coach Alexa Keckler. "We needed it for a lot of reasons and I'm happy we showed that we could be resilient."
Lehigh (10-6, 3-3 PL) couldn't have started their day better against Loyola (6-9, 4-2 PL) than they did in set one, as the Mountain Hawks picked up a dominant 25-13 win. The Mountain Hawks hit .435 on 13 kills in the frame and took advantage of eight Loyola attacking errors to take care of business in the first set.
The Greyhounds put up much more of a fight in set two. Lehigh jumped out to a 5-1 lead initially and maintained a multi-point lead for a solid portion of the frame. However, Loyola eventually rallied to tie the contest at 16. The Mountain Hawks then responded with a 5-0 run of their own, allowing them to hang on and take a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 second set win.
Needing a win in set three, Loyola raced out ahead to a 9-2 lead to open the frame. The Greyhounds kept their foot on the gas the whole way through, taking a 25-16 third set win to extend the match. The two teams then traded blows in an intense fourth set, which ultimately went in favor of Loyola 25-23 to force a fifth and final set.
In the fifth set, Loyola started off with a 4-1 lead, but Lehigh responded to take a 6-5 lead of their own. The two teams went back and forth until the Greyhounds eventually found themselves with match point at 14-12. However, the Mountain Hawks rallied to tie the match and force extra points. Leading 16-15, sophomore Alysia Fingall converted on a service ace to clinch the win for her team.
"Alysia's match-winning ace was certainly one heck of a way to end it," said Keckler. "She served very well this evening… It was a full team effort. The team did a great job of having each other's back."
Senior libero Kyleigh Brown was massive defensively, tallying a career-high 39 digs in the five-set thriller. Junior Natalie Luscomb and sophomore Ufuoma Omene both reached double-digit kills, 11 and 10 respectively. The Mountain Hawks also found excellent play out of their underclassmen setters, as sophomore Abby Felkai reached 22 assists and first-year Kamryn Utley added 21.
"39 digs is incredible," said Keckler. "Kyleigh has been working so hard to lead our team and be a force defensively. She is making a huge difference."
The Mountain Hawks will return home for their next contest on Friday, October 11 to take on American. The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
"We need to keep pushing one day at a time," said Keckler. "Spend the week recovering and getting healthy, chip away at those areas necessary for success next weekend."
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
Lehigh
Loyola
Kills
57
64
Errors
22
32
Attempts
177
191
Hitting %
.198
.168
Points
79.0
77.0
Assists
57
60
Aces
7
6
Blocks
15
7
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
3
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballRS
/ Volleyball
S
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