Oct. 2, 2009

Box Score

EASTON, Pa. - The Leopards continued their home-court dominance by defeating Holy Cross 3-0 to pick up their first Patriot League win of the fall. Lafayette, which improved to 7-3 at home this year, saw two players reach double-digit kill totals en route to the three-set sweep.

The Leopards (9-5, 1-2) won in straight sets, 25-19, 25-23, 25-21. Kayly Elmer led both squads with 16 kills and Cara Mulholland added 12 of her own. Ashton Rossi again finished with a match-high 39 assists and Kari Horn led all players with 18 digs. Lafayette finished with a .230 hitting percentage while Holy Cross (1-15, 0-3) finished with a .144 effort.

Lafayette led from start to finish in the opening set. Alexandra Russo recorded the first kill of the match and Elmer closed out the set with a kill of her own.

The second set was a different story. Lafayette seemed to be on its way to a relatively easy win as the team lead 19-14 more than midway through the action, but Holy Cross came back and briefly took a 22-21 lead. Elmer broke a 23-all tie and Mulholland put the Crusaders away with a kill to put her squad up 2-0.

The Leopards looked like they were headed to a third-set loss as they trailed by four (12-8) early on. The team did not give in, however, and rebounded to make it a tie game at 14-14. The Leopards quickly went up by five (20-15) and sealed their first Patriot League victory of the year on another Mulholland kill.

Lafayette, in the midst of a six-match homestand, continues Patriot League play tomorrow afternoon with a 4 p.m. match against Army.