BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After making its 17th trip to the Patriot League Tournament in program history, the Lehigh volleyball team reflected on an impressive season on the court at its annual awards banquet held on Sunday, January 13. The banquet featured a luncheon, awards ceremony and a season reflection by head coach Bob Bertucci.
The Scholar Athlete of the Year award was presented to junior Amanda Clark for the third consecutive season after her strong year on the court and in the classroom. Clark won multiple Patriot League awards throughout the season, earning the Molten Patriot League Player of the Week honor after totaling 39 kills over two matches, including a 20-kill performance when the Mountain Hawks handed the Colgate Raiders their first Patriot League loss of the season. Clark was also named to the Academic All-Patriot League team after holding a 3.73 GPA as a biology major and finishing the season second on the team in kills with 203 and third with a .240 hitting percentage. She had also won the award the previous two seasons.
Junior Lizzy Silverstein was awarded the Coaches Award for the second consecutive season as the student-athlete who made noteworthy contributions to the team in areas of attitude, improvement and leadership. Silverstein set a career-high with 20 matches played, recording 44 kills, 11 digs and six blocks on the season. Silverstein knocked down a season-high 12 kills in a five-set win against Princeton and followed that performance with a team-high eight kills against Colgate in the Patriot League opener.
The Athlete of the Year honor was presented to junior Rachel Charles after the Farmington Hills, Mich. native led the team with 473 digs, finishing second in the Patriot League with a 4.98 digs per set average. Charles also finished second on the team and third in the league with 28 service aces on the season. For her play, she was named the Patriot League’s Libero of the Year for the second straight season and earned a second team All-Patriot League selection.