Oct. 6, 2006
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - With its third straight win in a close series with archrival Lehigh, the Lafayette volleyball team improved to 11-5 overall and 4-1 in the Patriot League. A solid team effort propelled the Leopards to their sixth straight win, as the team blanked the Mountain Hawks (0-18, 0-5) by a 3-0 score on Friday night at Leeman-Turner Arena.
The Leopards, who have now won 11 of their last 12 matches, took the first two games convincingly before Lehigh made things interesting with a tight game three. Lafayette surged to a 13-5 lead in the opener, as junior outside hitter Michaela Donohue served for seven straight points before the Mountain Hawks were able to break-up the run with a kill from Brittany Thurston. Donohue notched a pair of aces, while freshman Cara Mulholland picked up her first kill of the day during the stretch. Mulholland then closed one of two blocks for junior middle Maura Kelly, giving the Leopards the healthy cushion. Lafayette sailed to a 30-22 win from there, never allowing Lehigh back within less than five points.
The teams played for control early in the second session before a kill from Kelly ignited an 8-0 run, thanks in large part to her serving consistency at that point. Lafayette registered five kills during the stretch, including three from Mulholland and a pair from senior middle Shannon Fisher. Lehigh never narrowed the gap to less than six as the Leopards' rolled to a 30-19 win. Lafayette hit for a match-high .500 percentage with 18 kills and just two errors. On the other side, the Leopards' defense held Lehigh to a match-low .026 hitting percentage on the game.
In clearly the tightest game of the match, the Leopards escaped with a 30-27 win. Lafayette never trailed in the game, but Lehigh stayed on the Leopards' heels throughout. Lafayette's hitting struggled, but luckily Lehigh did not have enough offensive explosiveness to get over the hump. The Leopards were on the verge of easily taking the third game, sitting on a 29-21 lead before Lehigh rallied with six straight points to make it 29-27 late. Senior tri-captain Veronica Canto-Ponce then took things into her own hands, drilling one of her team-high nine kills on the night, halting Lehigh's advances.
The Leopards hit for a .263 percentage as a team, while holding Lehigh to a .075 mark. Following Canto-Ponce's nine kills, to which she added 10 digs, Lafayette spread the wealth as four other hitters came up with even contributions in the win. Mulholland and Kelly finished with eight kills apiece, while Donohue and Fisher added six and five, respectively. Sophomore setter Megan Carter played started all three games, tallying a match-high 32 assists on the night.
Lafayette doubled Lehigh's five aces with 10 of its own, while the Leopards registered seven blocks to the Mountain Hawks' two.
The team returns to action after fall break with a pair of key Patriot League matches next weekend. Lafayette is set to take on Army on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. before traveling up to Holy Cross for a Saturday afternoon battle with the Crusaders.
