Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Lafayette and Bucknell battled for five tight sets when the two teams met for the first time this season on Oct. 3, with the Bison ultimately securing the victory. The Leopards were unable to make up for that defeat on Friday night, falling this time in three sets to their conference rivals.

Set scores were 25-19, 25-17, 25-14. Lafayette (11-12, 3-9 PL) has now lost two straight matches since defeating Loyola last Friday, while Bucknell (11-11, 5-7 PL) snapped a three-match losing streak.

The Bison earned nine of the first 12 points in the opening set, and they went on to expand that lead up to 20-9. The Maroon and White, though, did not go quietly. A kill from Kelly Flynn moved the serve over to the Patriot League's top server, Jet Manzi, and the visitors won six points in a row to cut the deficit down to 20-16. The Leopards would unfortunately get no further, as leading Bucknell attacker Karen Campbell stopped the run with a kill, and a kill from Erika Eastley clinched the set seven points later.

Lafayette again fell behind early in the next set, dropping nine of the first 10 points and never getting closer than four points the rest of the way. The Bison also led throughout set three, jumping out to an 8-3 lead and maintaining their advantage until the end. The Leopards forced a Bucknell timeout after winning three-straight points to get within four at 18-14, but the home team ended the match on a 7-0 run after that stoppage.

Elizabeth Walsh closed out a strong month with a team-high nine kills. Manzi added 17 digs, her highest total in a three-set match this year, and Katherine Stevens finished with six blocks. Campbell notched 11 kills to lead the Bison offensively.

Tonight's match concluded a seven-match stretch which included five contests away from Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards will now have three-straight matches at home, beginning with a 7 p.m. tilt against Holy Cross next Friday night.