Oct. 9, 2009
Box Score
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lafayette-Lehigh rivalry takes any match up a notch and Friday night was no different as the Lafayette volleyball squad edged Lehigh 3-1 in Bethlehem. The win was the Leopards' fourth in their previous five matches.
Lafayette (11-6, 2-3) dealt the Mountain Hawks (10-10, 3-2) a critical Patriot League loss as Lehigh had entered the match tied for second place in the league standings.
The Leopards won 25-20, 18-25, 25-19, 25-19. Junior Kayly Elmer led both teams with 15 kills and fell one dig shy of a double-double. Senior Cara Mulholland continued her solid play by adding 11 kills and seven digs. Classmate Ashton Rossi posted a match-best 37 assists to go along with four service aces.
Lafayette led from start to finish in the opening set and closed out the five-point victory on a Lehigh attacking error.
Lehigh rebounded by taking the second set 25-18 and this time it was the Mountain Hawks who never fell behind. They jumped out to an early 5-2 advantage and like the Leopards did in the first set, closed out their win on a Lafayette attacking error.
The Leopards refused to let their second-set loss hand the momentum to Lehigh, however, and Lafayette dominated the next two sets. The Leopards never let Lehigh see a share of the lead in the 25-19 third-set victory that again ended on a Lehigh error, this time an Emma Melendez service error.
The fourth and final set was a bit more closely contested as midway through the action the Leopards held only a slim 13-12 lead. With a win clearly in sight, though, they refused to let Lehigh pull any closer and clinched the match on yet another Lehigh attacking error.
Lafayette returns home on Wednesday to host NJIT at 7 p.m.
