Friday, September 27
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
9-4,2-1Patriot
3
vs
0
Lafayette College
6-6,1-2Patriot
1
2
3
F
Lafayette
15
13
20
0
Lehigh
25
25
25
3
Mountain Hawks Rout Leopards 3-0 In The Rivalry, Presented By Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute
9/27/2024 11:00:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh volleyball hosted the Lafayette Leopards on Friday night at Grace Hall in the season's first installment of The Rivalry, presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. The Mountain Hawks took care of business against the Leopards, sweeping their rivals 3-0 in front of a crowd of 538, the largest crowd at Grace Hall during head coach Alexa Keckler's seven seasons at the helm.
"I felt the crowd in every play, which was so exciting," said Keckler on tonight's crowd. "As we know, nothing is better than a win over Lafayette, especially when you can do it in sweep style."
Lehigh (9-4, 2-1 PL) set the tone of tonight's rivalry match right away, earning a quick five-point lead over Lafayette (6-6, 1-2 PL) to begin the first set. The Mountain Hawks enjoyed three separate runs of four-straight points or higher, allowing their first set lead to balloon. Lehigh ultimately pulled away to take set one 25-15 while hitting an impressive .364 in the frame.
While the Mountain Hawks certainly impressed in set one, they seemed to be unconscious offensively in set two. Lehigh hit an absurd .727 in the frame, leading to a dominant 25-13 second set win. The Mountain Hawks steadily increased their lead throughout the set until a 5-0 lead allowed Lehigh to a take a commanding 23-11 lead before closing it out shortly thereafter.
Although Lehigh made statements in sets one and two, the Leopards put up more of a fight in the final set of the match. The Mountain Hawks would take a massive lead at 16-7, but Lafayette was able to eventually cut the lead to four. However, kills from senior Emily Stewart and sophomore Alysia Fingall allowed Lehigh to complete the sweep of their rivals.
Lehigh hit .347 as a team, marking the second consecutive match that the Mountain Hawks have hit .333 or higher. Stewart (13 kills, .667), Fingall (11 kills, .500) and junior Natalie Luscomb (10 kills, .333) all reached double-digit kills to lead the team offensively.
In addition, Stewart tallied eight total blocks, which pushed her into fourth all-time in Lehigh history. Sophomore Abby Felkai led the team with 20 assists, but senior Makena Smith's 15 helped her move into fourth place on the school's all-time leaderboard. Finally, Kyleigh Brown's 16 digs led Lehigh and made her number three on Lehigh's all-time digs leaderboard.
"I think our setters are doing a great job finding our hitters and putting them in a position to score," said Keckler. "I also think that we've been especially focused in practice on increasing our shot selection, and that has proven to be helpful in the last few matches."
The Mountain Hawks will make their first league road trip on Saturday afternoon to take on the 10-1 Bucknell Bison. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in Lewisburg.
"Heading into our first road Patriot League match, I think we take these successes and use them as a boost to elevate our play," said Keckler. "Recognizing we are capable of really big things, especially at the net with the physicality that we have, and our defense has certainly made a big impact in the last week."
Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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"I felt the crowd in every play, which was so exciting," said Keckler on tonight's crowd. "As we know, nothing is better than a win over Lafayette, especially when you can do it in sweep style."
Lehigh (9-4, 2-1 PL) set the tone of tonight's rivalry match right away, earning a quick five-point lead over Lafayette (6-6, 1-2 PL) to begin the first set. The Mountain Hawks enjoyed three separate runs of four-straight points or higher, allowing their first set lead to balloon. Lehigh ultimately pulled away to take set one 25-15 while hitting an impressive .364 in the frame.
While the Mountain Hawks certainly impressed in set one, they seemed to be unconscious offensively in set two. Lehigh hit an absurd .727 in the frame, leading to a dominant 25-13 second set win. The Mountain Hawks steadily increased their lead throughout the set until a 5-0 lead allowed Lehigh to a take a commanding 23-11 lead before closing it out shortly thereafter.
Although Lehigh made statements in sets one and two, the Leopards put up more of a fight in the final set of the match. The Mountain Hawks would take a massive lead at 16-7, but Lafayette was able to eventually cut the lead to four. However, kills from senior Emily Stewart and sophomore Alysia Fingall allowed Lehigh to complete the sweep of their rivals.
Lehigh hit .347 as a team, marking the second consecutive match that the Mountain Hawks have hit .333 or higher. Stewart (13 kills, .667), Fingall (11 kills, .500) and junior Natalie Luscomb (10 kills, .333) all reached double-digit kills to lead the team offensively.
In addition, Stewart tallied eight total blocks, which pushed her into fourth all-time in Lehigh history. Sophomore Abby Felkai led the team with 20 assists, but senior Makena Smith's 15 helped her move into fourth place on the school's all-time leaderboard. Finally, Kyleigh Brown's 16 digs led Lehigh and made her number three on Lehigh's all-time digs leaderboard.
"I think our setters are doing a great job finding our hitters and putting them in a position to score," said Keckler. "I also think that we've been especially focused in practice on increasing our shot selection, and that has proven to be helpful in the last few matches."
The Mountain Hawks will make their first league road trip on Saturday afternoon to take on the 10-1 Bucknell Bison. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in Lewisburg.
"Heading into our first road Patriot League match, I think we take these successes and use them as a boost to elevate our play," said Keckler. "Recognizing we are capable of really big things, especially at the net with the physicality that we have, and our defense has certainly made a big impact in the last week."
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
Laf
Lehigh
Kills
23
49
Errors
17
14
Attempts
95
101
Hitting %
.063
.347
Points
26.0
63.0
Assists
22
43
Aces
0
3
Blocks
3
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
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