BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Coming off a pair of wins on Saturday, the Lehigh volleyball team will look to keep things going as it travels to take on NJIT on Tuesday at 7 p.m. On the final day of the James Madison Invitational, the Mountain Hawks had an impressive five-set victory over Robert Morris followed by a sweep of Coastal Carolina.
"Being able to come out of the weekend with a couple of wins even though we still have a lot of work to do is encouraging," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "It’s really exciting and the girls are going to keep working hard and getting better."
Senior Angelika Kopacz and sophomore Rachel Charles were named to the all-tournament team after leading Lehigh to a 2-1 record for the Invitational. In three matches, Kopacz had 47 kills and 45 digs, averaging a double-double of 15.67 and 15 while Charles had 53 digs and 11 service aces.
At the week’s end, Kopacz ranked first in the Patriot League in kills per set (3.81), second in points per set (4.34) and fourth in digs per set (3.75) while Charles ranked second in digs per set (4.56) and first in service aces per set (0.81).
Lehigh's (3-1) lone loss of the year came on Friday in a tough five-set match to host James Madison in the opening match of the Invitational. Two days earlier, the Mountain Hawks won their season opener in three sets against Rider.
Tuesday’s match against NJIT will be Lehigh’s fifth straight on the road as the Mountain Hawks open the 2011 season with nine road matches.
NJIT (1-3) has dropped its last three matches. After a season-opening win against St. Francis (NY), the Highlanders fell to Rutgers, Princeton and Fairfield each in four sets.
The match will be NJIT’s home-opener. NJIT is led by freshman Camilla Tinari who has 46 kills and 3.07 kills per set.
"They are a very solid defensive team and they are going to test our offense," said Bertucci. "We will have to be better on putting balls away. But it is encouraging that we are going into that much with a positive frame of mind."