Oct. 5, 2010
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - Sophomore Kaitlynn Zoller and freshman Molly Belcher each recorded a double-double, but the Lafayette volleyball team fell to the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Tuesday by a score of 3-1 at Kirby Sports Center.
With the non-Patriot League loss, Lafayette falls to 4-14. NJIT, which now leads the all-time series by a 3-2 count, improves to 4-11.
Zoller's double-double, which was the first of her career, consisted of 10 kills and 12 digs. The second double-double in Belcher's freshman campaign came courtesy of 16 assists and 10 digs.
Offensively, senior co-captain Katrina Racibarskas shared the match high with 11 kills. Junior Alana Taylor added eight finishers, sophomore Alexandra Russo had six and senior co-captain Kayly Elmer tallied four kills to round out the Lafayette attack. Sophomore Sarah Frohnapfel, who split setting duties with Belcher, had a team-best 17 assists.
Taylor also had a hand in three blocks to lead the Leopards at the net. Belcher picked up two rejections, and three Lafayette players tallied one apiece. As a team, the home team was outblocked, 7-4.
Freshman libero Mackenzie Larsen shared the match best of 14 digs to head the Leopards' 66-61 advantage in digs.
Racibarskas also paced Lafayette with four aces, while Russo and Frohnapfel each landed one. Though the Leopards added six more aces to their impressive season total, the Highlanders posted 15 winners in the four-set encounter.
After a dismal 25-10 loss in set one in which the Leopards failed to score a point off of their own serve, the Maroon and White fired back in the second frame. Lafayette began to score in bunches and soon held seven-point edge at 21-14. NJIT would fire back to tie the score at 23-23, but the Leopards won the next rally to earn a set-point opportunity. The Highlanders thwarted the chance and earned one of their own, but a Russo kill knotted the score at 25-25. Lafayette cashed in on new life, grabbing the final two points of the frame to even the match with a 27-25 win.
NJIT grabbed a large advantage in the pivotal third set, leading by as many as 11 points en route to a 17-7 cushion. But at that point, the Leopards came back strong with an 8-0 run to pull without two points at 17-15. Lafayette would not score again in the set, however, as the Highlanders closed the frame on an 8-0 spurt of their own to earn a 25-15 decision.
A 5-0 run in set four gave NJIT an early 7-3 edge and forced the Leopards to play from behind for most of the frame. Lafayette would eventually surge into an 18-18 tie but immediately surrendered the next three rallies to give the Highlanders a 21-18 advantage. The two squads would trade points for the remainder of the set, which was enough to give NJIT a 25-23 win.
The Highlanders were led by 11 kills from Janet Snell and 10 from the arm of Baaba Hughes. Anna Mercado tallied 22 assists and five service aces, and Audrey Snell led the back row with 14 digs.
Patriot League play resumes in a big way on Thursday with a visit from historic rival Lehigh in a match that will be streamed live on LSN All-Access. First serve from Kirby Sports Center is slated for 7:30 p.m.
