Posted: November 20, 2009
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh volleyball team returns to the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2003 this Saturday at West Point. The Mountain Hawks defeated Holy Cross 3-1 last Friday night to clinch the final spot in the tournament. Lehigh will face the first place Army Black Knights at 4 p.m. from Gillis Field House. The Brown and White finished the season 14-15 overall and 7-7 in Patriot League play.
Four days after clinching the final spot in the tournament, two Mountain Hawks were honored by the league. Sophomore Emma Melendez was named Defensive Player of the year and earned Second Team All-League honors. She is second in the Patriot League with 414 digs and is the first Lehigh player to win the award since Marta Mielcarz (1997). Her classmate Angelika Kopacz was named First Team All-League and is leading the Patriot League in service aces with 41. She has 14 double-doubles (kills+digs) and is second on the team with 329 digs.
“It is great to see your players get honored,” head coach Jenny Maurer said. “They’re very deserving candidates, but it honestly is a testament to how well our team has done. The good thing is that they’re only sophomores so they have a lot of time left at Lehigh and they have clearly gained the respect of the other coaches in the league.”
Lehigh will face a tough Army squad that finished the season with a 24-5 record and the Black Knights only had two blemishes to their league record (12-2). Army is led by freshman Ariana Mankus who was recently honored by the Patriot League as Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Mankus leads the league in kills with 386 and she is averaging 3.86 per set. The Black Knights also have the three-time Setter of the Year Maureen Bannon, who is currently 4th all-time in the Patriot League with 3,988 career assists.
Despite falling to Army twice during the regular season the Mountain Hawks are confident heading into Saturday’s match.
“We’re definitely confident in our chances this weekend,” Maurer said. “We played them tight both times during the regular season and one thing we have been good at this season is adapting to the other teams strengths. We’ve been practicing hard all week and have worked to sharpen our skills.”
Maurer, now in her third season, has seen the team improve significantly from the end of last season. “The players really embraced that it’s a process. After last season ended you could see they wanted to take a bigger leap forward. They have worked hard since last season, established goals and are now ready to reach their goals. We’ve had our ups and downs and it has helped make us a stronger team. I am really proud of them.”
The action will kick off from West Point Saturday afternoon when Lehigh takes on Army at 4 p.m. In the second match, Colgate and American will square off at 6 p.m. Check back to Lehighsports.com for the latest news surrounding the tournament.