Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Lehigh
Army Downs Lehigh In Patriot League Opener
September 23, 2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 23, 2011
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In the battle of former head coach against former player, former player won. Army head volleyball coach Alma Kovaci faced her former head coach Bob Bertucci, who spent the previous 16 years at Kovaci's alma mater, Temple, on Friday night and came away with a 3-1 Black Knight triumph in the Patriot League opener for both teams.
"This was an intense match from start to finish," Kovaci said. "Give credit to Lehigh. They are playing some good volleyball with tremendous defense. This was not a fast game offensively, but we were able to control our emotions and come away with the win."
Senior outside hitter Fabiola Castro led all players with a season-high 17 kills to pace Army (10-4, 1-0 PL) at Lehigh's (8-6, 0-1 PL) Leeman-Turner Arena. The Mountain Hawks took a 1-0 lead after posting a 27-25 victory in the opening set, but the Black Knights rallied to win the next three frames (25-18, 25-21, 25-22) and collect their fifth win in the last six matches.
Castro's 17 digs gave the Salinas, Calif., native her third double-double of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Margaux Jarka added 13 kills and was the only other Army player to reach double figures in that statistical category.
Senior middle blocker Rachel Willis, a team co-captain alongside Castro, totaled eight kills. Junior outside hitter Ariana Mankus led five Army players to reach double-figure digs with 20. Reigning Molten Patriot League Rookie of the Week Mary Vaccaro posted her sixth-straight double-double with 47 assists and 19 digs. Sophomores Lauren Wood and D.J. Phee helped anchor an Army defense that yielded a .075 Lehigh hitting percentage with 17 and 11 digs, respectively.
In a tight match that featured 34 ties, Army doubled Lehigh with 12 total blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Megan Wilton, who earned her first Molten Patriot League Player of the Week honors on Monday, totaled seven blocks in a standout effort.
"Margaux (Jarka) did a great job stepping in and providing an offensive spark when we needed it in the second," Kovaci said. "Fabiola was fantastic tonight, and Rachel (Willis) hit .316 and was clutch. Again, it was not our best game, but we snuck by with a win."
Lehigh posted its lone win of the day after a thrilling 27-25 triumph in the opening set. The Mountain Hawks captured momentum early, scoring four of the first five points of the match. The Black Knights retaliated with a 5-2 run in leveling the score (6-6) for the first of seven ties. Army went on to lead by a 21-16 score and seemingly have the set in hand before faltering down the stretch. Victim to a handful of errors and a livened Lehigh attack, Army dropped the set (27-25).
The Black Knights bounced back with a fairly convincing 25-18 win in the second to tie the match at 1-all. Army broke a 4-4 tie with a decisive 14-5 run during which Wood served for four points and Castro tallied six kills. A Castro kill midway through gave Army an 18-9 lead and the Black Knights never looked back.
Coming out of the break, the third set featured 15 ties and nine lead changes alone. Neither team had led by more than three points until Army broke a 20-20 tie on a Mankus kill. The Black Knights went on to score five of the final six points of the set to steal a 25-21 victory. Mankus and Jarka accounted for key kills down the stretch.
The Mountain Hawks would not go quietly in a back-and-forth fourth set. Lehigh cruised to a 10-5 lead out of the gate before the Black Knight offense began to click. Army used an 8-4 run to tie the set at 13-13 on a Vaccaro service ace at the midway point. Neither team led by more than three points from there, but it was the Black Knights with three more tallies in the end (25-22) to capture the match. Tied at 21-all, back-to-back Willis kills jumpstarted a 4-1 Army run to end the contest. Fittingly, Willis put the exclamation point on the victory with her eighth and final kill.
Senior outside hitter Angelika Kopacz was the only Lehigh player in double-figures with 16 kills. Senior setter Jessica Kudirka tallied 37 assists, while sophomore libero Rachel Charles led all players with 25 digs.
Army continues the opening weekend of Patriot League action with a 3 p.m. meeting at Lafayette on Saturday afternoon. GameTracker and a live webcast are both available by visiting www.goleopards.com. Holy Cross swept the Leopards tonight in Easton, Pa.
Match Notes: Fabiola Castro reached double-figure kills for the third time this season ... 17 kills was three off her career high (20) ... Lauren Wood's 17 digs marked a career high ... Army improved to 28-13 all-time against Lehigh ... Army won its Patriot League opener for the third year in a row ... current Lehigh head coach Bob Bertucci was the first-ever head coach at Army ... he stalked the sidelines for the program's first season in 1978.
