The AU volleyball team beat Lehigh University in its semifinal match of the Patriot League playoffs at Bender Arena on Nov. 23.
The Eagles (31-2, 16-1, PL) recorded their 23rd sweep of the year in a match that marked the first time the Mountain Hawks (20-9, 11-6, PL) had been swept all season.
After beating Lehigh in four sets in its two regular season meetings, AU made it a goal to sweep Lehigh in the semifinals.
“The past two times we played Lehigh, we dropped the first set, so we just wanted to make a change,” sophomore outside hitter Allison Cappellino said. “We wanted to get out of there in three [sets], so we knew we had to turn it up, especially in the first game.”
Knowing the Mountain Hawks had not been swept this season was not a deterrent for the Eagles.
“[Coach Barry Goldberg] told us that Lehigh hasn’t been 3-0ed by a single team this year,” senior outside hitter Juliana Crum said. “It was good for us tonight to be able to shut this team down… and not really mess around.”
Similar to their previous meetings, AU and Lehigh fought a contentious first set. Neither team led by more than four points throughout the game. The Eagles and the Mountain Hawks tied each other 11 separate times. Though AU fell behind 19-21, a kill by Crum sparked AU’s offense. Despite two timeouts by Lehigh, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run that gave them a 25-21 win over Lehigh.
The second set also began with both teams playing neck-and-neck. However, AU slowly pulled away after a kill by senior middle blocker Morgan Hendrix put the Eagles up 10-9. AU eventually pushed its lead to 22-16, but three consecutive points by Lehigh forced an AU timeout. Nevertheless, the Eagles maintained their lead and won the second game 25-21.
AU dominated its third and final set against Lehigh. The Eagles jumped to a 4-0 run immediately after the break. With Lehigh looking more sluggish than in previous sets, AU was able to continually push its lead, gaining a 10 point lead over Lehigh. The Eagles completed their shutout of Lehigh with a 24-14 game win.
Cappellino notched 11 kills and Crum posted a game-high 16 kills. Junior libero Megan Rosburg earned 10 digs. Smidova posted a double-double with 11 digs and game-high 37 assists. Smidova earned more assists than the entire Lehigh team.
Prior to the match, a representative from the Patriot League presented awards to members of both the Lehigh and AU teams. Senior libero Rachel Charles of Lehigh earned the Libero of the Year honor. Junior setter Monika Smidova was recognized as the Setter of the Year and the Scholar Athlete of the Year. Goldberg received the award for Coach of the Year.
The Eagles will play in the Patriot League championship game at Bender Arena on Nov. 24 against will face Colgate University .
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