Final Stats

EASTON, Pa. - For the second time this week, the Lafayette volleyball team faced a fifth and final set to determine the game and against Loyola on Saturday afternoon, the Leopards were defeated 3-2 (22-25, 25-27, 25-17, 25-20, 6-15) at Kirby Sports Center.

The Leopards (3-18, 1-10 PL) were down 2-0 after the first two sets, but bounced back to force a fifth set against the Greyhounds (5-16, 2-8 PL). Senior captain Jet Manzi had a team-high 12 kills in the game to go along with 14 digs for the Maroon and White. Alongside Manzi was fellow senior Kelly Flynn who had a very efficient game, connecting on nine of her 18 attacks.

Sophomore Maria Balus recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 18 digs while freshman Sonia Musso and junior Katie Kidder also tallied double-digit digs on the afternoon.

The opening set of the day was a close one and the Leopards took a 17-13 lead following back-to-back errors committed by the Greyhounds. However, Loyola took a timeout and immediately out of the break responded with an 11-5 run to take the set.

Loyola continued to take charge and commanded a 14-9 lead midway through the second set. The Leopards went on a 6-1 run to knot the game up at 15-15 before the Greyhounds recaptured the lead after a short 4-0 run. Lafayette used a 4-0 run of its own to tie the game, but once again Loyola retook the lead and was two points shy of winning the set.

The score was even at 25-25 when Loyola got two straight kills from Ann Ernst to put away the set.

In the third set, the Leopards used a 9-2 run to separate themselves from the Greyhounds. Lafayette remained in the lead for the entire rest of the set and closed things out with six unanswered points.

The fourth set was a lot tighter as both teams traded points for most of the way. Lafayette held a 21-18 advantage before Loyola scored on back-to-back volleys to trim the deficit to one. However, Lafayette stayed composed and took the set after Manzi and Musso combined for three kills and Kidder recorded a service ace.

In the fifth and final set, the Greyhounds led 6-5 before going on a 9-1 run to grab the conference victory over the Leopards.

Lafayette will be back on the court on Saturday, Oct. 29 for a Patriot League match against Bucknell at 5 p.m. at Kirby Sports Center.