Sept. 26, 2009
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - In a five-set thriller, the Lafayette volleyball team seemed poised to come from behind and steal a victory from Navy, but the Midshipmen held on for a 17-15 fifth-set win to capture the match. The Leopards rallied after dropping the first two sets to force a fourth and fifth set but could not put Navy away.
The Mids won the first two sets (25-18, 25-23) before Lafayette won 25-14 and 25-23 decisions in the third and fourth sets, respectively. In a back-and-forth fifth set, Navy held on for the 17-15 win.
Senior Cara Mulholland led Lafayette with a double-double, registering 20 kills and 18 digs. Classmate Kari Horn led both squads with 19 digs and fellow senior Ashton Rossi posted a match-high 49 assists. The junior duo of Katrina Racibarskas and Kayly Elmer added 12 kills apiece.
The Midshipmen's Carolyn Ewert had a double-double, as well, with 16 kills and 11 digs.
Navy (4-11, 1-1) and Lafayette (7-5, 0-2) both saw shares of the lead for the majority of the first set but the Midshipmen went ahead for good on a kill from Krista Eschelman that made it 13-12. The Leopards kept it a four-point contest (20-16) late in the action, but did not pull any closer.
The second set was a nail-biter. Lafayette fell behind early, 7-2, and continued to trail by five (17-12) past the midway point. The Leopards proceeded to score six of the next seven points and tied the match at 18 on an attacking error by Navy's Maida Kalic'. The score was tied four more times but Navy pulled off the win by scoring the final two points, including the set-winner from Eschelman.
Lafayette rallied to easily take the third set, 25-14. The Leopards again trailed early on, but tied the score at eight on a Mulholland kill and took the lead, one they would not relinquish, on a Racibarskas kill. Lafayette clinched the set on another Racibarskas kill.
The fourth set was another two-point decision but this time it was the Leopards who came out on top. They again trailed late in the set but tied it for the first time at 18-all. Two kills - one from Mulholland and the set winner from Alana Taylor - forced a fifth and decisive set.
That final set took extra points to determine a winner as there were 10 ties throughout the course of play. Navy tied the match at 15-all on a kill from Meghan Carpenter and scored the final two points to take the victory.
The Leopards, who are in the midst of a six-match homestand, host Manhattan on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
