Mountain Hawks Nearly Perfect In 3-0 Sweep Of Loyola

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh volleyball returned to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on Friday evening for a Patriot League match against the visiting Loyola Maryland Greyhounds. The Mountain Hawks put on a dominant display in a 3-0 sweep of the Greyhounds that lasted only a little over an hour.

Lehigh (9-7, 3-4 PL) took full control of the match from the start, quickly building a 16-8 lead in the first set over Loyola (4-12, 2-5 PL). From there, the Mountain Hawks concluded the set on a 9-4 run to take set one by a score of 25-13. Lehigh hit .321 in frame while holding the Greyhounds to a .167 hitting percentage.

The Mountain Hawks built upon their dominant first set with an incredible effort in set two. Lehigh hit an absurd .588 in the period while limiting Loyola to a .000 hitting percentage. Leading 11-6, sophomore Sophia Bond took serve and helped orchestrate a 12-0 run that included five service aces from Bond. Lehigh ultimately came away with a 25-8 win in set two.

Loyola showed more fight in set three, playing to a 14-14 tie at the midway point of the set. However, the Greyhounds’ offense struggled to find consistency, hitting a match-worst -.028 in the frame. After the tie, the Mountain Hawks soared past the Greyhounds with a 10-1 run to set up match point. A Loyola service error sealed the deal in a 25-17 set three win and resounding Patriot League victory for Lehigh.

Lehigh stuffed the stat sheet in Friday’s win, hitting .373 as a team on 36 kills. Junior Ufuoma Omene tallied nine kills on a blistering .583 hitting percentage while senior Natalie Luscomb matched with nine kills on a .320 hitting percentage. First-year Mary Massias chipped in six kills on a .600 hitting percentage. First-year Chloe Fisher led the way with 12 assists on a .750 assist percentage while Bond impressed with eight service aces on the night.

The Greyhounds were led offensively by Kacy Sekunda and Ava Nepkin with seven kills apiece.

The Mountain Hawks are back at Grace Hall on Saturday, October 11 at 4 p.m. to take on reigning league champion Colgate.

Like Lehigh Volleyball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
 

Source link