Sep 6, 2013
| | | Kill Leaders | | Player | Kills | | Wright State - Splinter | 11 | | Lafayette - Ciliento, Towslee | 9 |
| | | | Dig Leaders | | Player | Digs | | Wright State - Puthoff | 11 | | Lafayette - Manzi, Woodworth | 9 |
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Easton, Pa. -Lafayette improved to 3-1 on the season with an impressive 3-0 sweep of Wright State on Friday night in the brand new Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards won their first game of the Lafayette College Tournament, 27-25, 25-23 and 25-19. Senior Karissa Ciliento and junior Danielle Towslee paced the Leopards with nine kills apiece.
Sophomore Brianne Giangiobbe and freshman Jet Manzi each tallied eight kills, while senior Molly Belcher led the team with 21 assist. Additionally rookie Samantha Volk contributed 15 assists for the Maroon and White. Wright State was led by senior Heidi Splinter's 11 kills and freshman Emily Meng's 34 assists.
The first game was tight from start to finish, playing within three points all the way through. Following a Lafayette timeout with the game tied at 25, Manzi smashed a kill off a feed from Belcher to give the Leopards a one point lead. The next play, junior Katy Rooney rose up in the middle of the court to block the Wright State attack and seal the game for Lafayette.
In the second set, the Leopards found themselves trailing 17-12, but The Maroon and White clawed their way back into the game, making it 17-15 thanks to kills from Towslee, Rooney and Manzi. After a Raider point, back-to back kills by Ciliento and Rooney, followed by a block from Rooney and Giangiobbe, knotted the game at 18 all.
The Leopards took the lead at 20-19 on a Giangiobbe kill, and extended the lead to 22-19, completing a 10-2 spurt, after an ace from Ciliento. A pair of points by Wright State made it a one point game, 22-21, before back-to-back kills from Giangiobbe and Towslee put the Leopards ahead 24-21. Two more Raider points brought the visitors within one, but Giangiobbe killed a set from Volk to close out the 13-6 run and give Lafayette game two.
The final game was all Leopards from the start as they never trailed. The Maroon and White jumped out to a 3-0 lead on another kill from Giangiobbe, and later on a pair of kills from Ciliento and a kill plus an ace from Towslee extended the lead to 14-8. With the Raiders mounting a comeback, Ciliento slowed their attempt by scoring the final two points in the 25-19 triumph.
Lafayette returns to the court tomorrow morning with a match at 9 a.m. against Farleigh Dickinson, followed by another contest versus St. Peter's.
