BETHLEHEM Pa. (Oct 6th) - In a match that was as hard fought and dramatic as any the Hornets have played this year, Delaware State escaped with a 3-2 victory (25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 26-24, 15-13) over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Tuesday evening in Leeman-Turner Arena.

"Sarah Wheatcroft started really well, and helped us raise our game early," said head coach Renee Arnold.  "She put a lot of balls away and had some key blocks.  And down the stretch here comes Erica (Tajchman) who was really big in sets three, four and five.  Mia (Ferrari) seemed to set her better, and she put more balls down.  But the transition for Sarah from hitter to setter has been a big part of our offense and defense."

Without senior Cassandra Joyner who sat out the match with injury, the Hornets needed other players to step up, and the juniors Wheatcroft and Tajchman capably filled the offensive loss.  DSU (10-10) had 161 total attacks, 61 of them from outside hitter Tajchman, who put away a match high 24 kills.  Wheatcroft chipped in 12 kills and 13 digs, and the sophomore setter Ferrari also posted a double-double with 47 assists and 19 digs.  The stats for both teams were very close, but the difference for the Hornets was at the net, where they outblocked Lehigh (10-9, 2-1 Patriot League) 11-4.

The Hornets kick off MEAC Conference play on Friday night as they take on the Hampton Lady Pirates at Memorial Gym at 7 p.m.  The match has been selected as the Dig For The Cure match, with all funds raised going towards the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research.  Players will be wearing pink uniforms in support of the cause.  Live stats will be available via DSUHornets.com