Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
10-13, 5-5Patriot
Lehigh
15-9, 8-2Patriot
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lehigh | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Army | 25 | 22 | 17 | 17 | 1 |
Lehigh Hands Volleyball 3-1 Setback
October 24, 2014 | Volleyball
The result completed a season sweep of Army for the Mountain Hawks, who improved to 15-9 on the year and 8-2 in Patriot League matches. Army dipped to 10-13 and 5-5 in the conference.
"We have to do a better job taking care of our leads," head coach Alma Kovaci said. "Losing an early lead in the second set was a huge momentum shift and we were unable to recover. Our youth showed tonight, but we can't dwell on this loss because we have a very good opponent in Bucknell waiting for us tomorrow."
Avery Alexander totaled 32 assists and seven digs in the losing effort for Army. Deanna Dalton added 16 digs and Carolyn Bockrath had a team-high nine kills. Jaden Pickell, Amber Clay and Rachel Gearon each chipped in seven kills.
Army came from behind to win the opening set by scoring five of the final six points of the frame. Trailing 22-20 after using its final timeout, Army took control on a kill by Amber Clay that put Kristen Smeland in serving position. Smeland landed an ace that forced Lehigh to call timeout at 22-22. After the stoppage, Smeland benefitted with an ace that clipped the top of the net which helped Army to the lead. A fourth straight Army point, off the right hand of Gearon, put the Black Knights a point away from victory (24-22). Stephanie Slater's point drew Lehigh within one, but Pickell sealed the deal with a spike from the right side.
Army raced out to a quick 11-5 lead in the second set that prompted Lehigh to use a timeout. Army scored the next point following the timeout, but Lehigh bounced back with five in a row to trim the deficit to 12-10 as Army used a timeout of its own. The run officially ended at 6-0 before a kill by Pickell and Army regained a three-point edge with an ace by Smeland. Down 14-11 at that point, Lehigh ripped off seven of the next eight points to secure the lead at 18-15 when Army called timeout. A Bockrath kill, a Lehigh attack error, and Janaya Simmons' ace tied the game at 18-18. Four points later and score knotted at 20, Perri delivered a point for Army, but Lehigh stormed back with five of the final six points (25-22) to even the match at a game apiece.
Lehigh continued its momentum in the third game by scoring the first six points prior to Army's timeout. The Lehigh advantage increased to 11-1 out of the break and Lehigh led by as many as 11 points en route to a 25-17 win.
The visiting Mountain Hawks built a 13-7 lead through the first 20 points of the fourth set. A kill by Alexander pulled Army within four (17-13), but Lehigh's Ana Vrhel put down a kill and combined with Slater on a block to extend the cushion to six points as Army used a timeout. The Black Knights were unable to level the score and Lehigh came away with the clinching 25-17 win.
Army returns to the court on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Bucknell in its annual Dig Pink match. First serve is slated for 4 p.m. and the match can be seen live on Knight Vision.
