Saturday, September 5
10 a.m.
Lehigh University
4-2
3
vs
0
Fairleigh Dickinson
1-5
1
2
3
F
Fairleigh Dickinson
27
18
17
0
Lehigh
29
25
25
3
Lehigh claims Crosstown Invite title with wins over FDU and Morehead State
9/5/2015 5:57:00 PM | Volleyball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A 3-0 (29-27, 25-18, 25-17) win over Fairleigh Dickinson and 3-1 victory against Morehead State (25-22, 16-25, 25-22, 25-21) helped the Lehigh volleyball team secure the Crosstown Invitational title Saturday inside Leeman-Turner Arena. The Mountain Hawks finished their home tournament with a perfect 4-0 record.
"Fairleigh Dickinson and Morehead State were both scrappy teams and both really challenged us today," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "Overall we had a very good weekend. We still have a lot of work to do, but I'm sure we'll be able to adjust and get better as we get more games under our belt."
Senior Ana Vrhel and freshman Emily Develle landed on the All-Tournament Team. Vrhel tallied 29 kills, a .418 hitting percentage, 12 total blocks and seven service aces throughout the four matches, while Develle registered 28 digs.
A lengthy first set in the day's opener against Fairleigh Dickinson began in a 10-10 tie. The Knights were able to pull ahead 13-10 and force a Mountain Hawk timeout, but kills from three different Lehigh players eventually helped the Mountain Hawks pull even at 15. The score was tied again at 18 before two kills from senior Stephanie Slater and one from freshman Hannah Wagner put Lehigh ahead 21-18. The Knights returned the favor with a 3-0 run of their own to knot the score at 21 and then eventually held set point at 24-22. A kill from Vrhel was followed by a Knights error and a service ace from Develle as the Mountain Hawks fought off three set points to earn a 25-24 advantage. A Lehigh service error put the score at 25 all and FDU eventually pulled ahead 27-26. A spike from senior Leah Turner evened it at 27 before a kill from sophomore Kelly Bennett was followed by another Turner spike that gave Lehigh a 29-27 set-one victory and 1-0 match advantage.
Kills from four different Mountain Hawks helped Lehigh to a quick 10-4 lead in the second set. A kill from sophomore Whitney Krantz eventually extended Lehigh's advantage to nine at 17-8 before the Knights rattled off four straight points. Kills from Slater and Krantz, coupled with an FDU attack error, re-extended Lehigh's lead to 20-12, but the Knights quickly put together a 6-0 run to narrow the Mountain Hawk advantage to 20-18 and force a Lehigh timeout. A kill from freshman Megan Polak followed the break and sparked a 5-0 Lehigh run to lead the Mountain Hawks to a 25-18 set-two win and 2-0 match advantage.
The third set started much like the second as the Mountain Hawks found themselves ahead 13-7. A Turner kill then sparked a 7-2 Lehigh streak that gave the Mountain Hawks a dominant 20-9 edge. The Knights were able to string together five straight points to make it 20-13, but a kill from Vrhel eventually recorded match point as Lehigh walked away with a 25-17 set-three victory and the Mountain Hawks' third straight-set win in as many matches.
Turner led Lehigh against Fairleigh Dickinson with 13 kills, while Vrhel followed with nine kills, a .412 hitting percentage and five service aces. Senior Amy Matula dished 21 assists, while junior Mariah Brantley registered a team-best 13 digs. The Mountain Hawks hit .211 as a team and held the Knights to a clip of .139.
The first set of the tournament finale against Morehead State began in a 9-9 tie. Turner helped the Mountain Hawks take a 15-10 lead with three kills and a pair of service aces. Four kills from Meredith Jewell then helped the Eagles put together a 9-4 run to knot the score at 19. Lehigh answered with kills from Turner, Slater and junior Katie Jennison to jump ahead 23-19, a lead the Morehead State wouldn't be able to overcome as a Krantz kill made it 25-22 and gave Lehigh a 1-0 match advantage.
Morehead State grabbed a slim 6-5 lead to begin the second set, but then erupted on a 10-4 run to claim a commanding 16-9 advantage. Lehigh was never able to recover as the Eagles hit a match-high .333 in the second set to capture a 25-16 set win and even the match at 1-1.
The third set started in an 8-8 draw before the Eagles were able to pull ahead 14-11 with the help of a 6-3 streak. Lehigh slowly battled back and eventually knotted the score at 18 following a Turner spike. After another tie at 20-20, kills from Turner and Bennett put Lehigh ahead 22-20 before back-to-back Slater spikes capped off the set to help Lehigh to a 25-22 victory and 2-1 match advantage.
Lehigh quickly got down 7-1 in the fourth set, but the Mountain Hawks capitalized on Eagles attack errors to string together a 12-6 run and knot the score at 13. Kills from Vrhel and Krantz broke a 15-all tie to put Lehigh ahead 17-15, a lead the Mountain Hawks wouldn't relinquish. Morehead State pulled within one at 19-18, but that would be the closest the Eagles would get the rest of the way as a kill from Slater secured a 25-21 set-four victory and 3-1 match win.
Turner tallied a team-best 16 kills to go along with nine digs against Morehead State. Slater chipped in 13 kills, while Krantz tallied 12. Matula dished 37 assists and Brantley registered 15 digs. Lehigh hit .248 compared to Morehead State's mark of .248.
The Mountain Hawks return to action Tuesday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at 7 p.m. when Lehigh hosts Villanova. Free video will be available on the Patriot League Network.
Crosstown Invite All-Tournament Team
Marlena Budna, Saint Peter's
Kelsey Lahey, Marist
Meredith Jewell, Morehead State
Taylor Wyckoff, FDU
Jet Manzi, Lafayette
Brianne Giangiobbe, Lafayette
Ana Vrhel, Lehigh
Emily Develle, Lehigh
Tournament Champion: Lehigh
Tournament Runner-Up: Lafayette
Like Lehigh volleyball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates and team content.
Team Stats
FDU
LEHIGH
Kills
32
45
Errors
15
19
Attempts
122
123
Hitting %
.139
.211
Points
42.0
62.0
Assists
31
41
Aces
4
13
Blocks
6.0
4.0
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/OH
/ VolleyballVolleyball vs. Holy Cross
Saturday, November 08
VB vs. Loyola
Friday, October 10
Volleyball vs. American
Saturday, October 04
Mountain Hawk Talk - S2 EP2 - Volleyball
Friday, September 26
