Box Score

WASHINGTON - Lafayette was forced to settle for a split of its weekend Patriot League road trip, as first-place American remained unbeaten in the league with a 3-0 victory Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles (19-6, 10-0 PL) have registered sweeps in nine of their 10 conference wins this fall, with two of those victories coming at the expense of the Leopards (11-11, 3-8 PL). Set scores today were 25-14, 25-22, 25-11.

Lauren Pisauro finished the match with 17 digs, registering nearly half of the Maroon and White's match total of 42. Brianne Giangiobbe paced the offense with seven kills, and Maria Balus had two of the visitors' five aces from the service line.

American had a commanding edge at the net, out-blocking Lafayette by an 8-1 margin. Five of those blocks came from Loren McKenzie, and her nine-kill total was tied for the match high. Defending Patriot League Player of the Year Monika Smidova, meanwhile, was three kills shy of a triple-double, finishing the match with seven kills, 23 assists and 11 digs.

The Leopards' top offensive performance came in set two, with the team finishing with a .154 attack percentage to remain competitive with the Eagles throughout. Four kills from Elizabeth Walsh, and three apiece from Katie Rethmeyer and Katherine Stevens led the way for Lafayette in the frame.

Next up for the Leopards is a 7 p.m. road match at Bucknell Friday night. Very little separated the two teams in the first meeting this season, with the Bison ultimately emerging with a 3-2 (25-16, 21-25, 25-20, 27-29, 15-7) win at Kirby Sports Center on Oct. 3.