Final Stats

WASHINGTON - One day removed from picking up the first Patriot League victory of the season, the Lafayette volleyball team was defeated 3-0 (18-25, 11-25, 19-25) by American on Saturday afternoon.

It was the third contest of a four-game road trip for the Leopards, who fell to 3-10 on the season and 1-2 in conference play with the loss, while American improved to 11-6 and 2-0 in league play. Elizabeth Walsh had the highest kill count for the Leopards with nine, while Maria Balus tallied 22 assists and eight digs.

The first set was a back and forth affair for the first several volleys, however, with the score evened at 10-10, American went on a 7-1 run. The Leopards were able to trim the deficit to three after an Eagles' error and kills from Kelly Flynn and Katherine Stevens. That was as close as Lafayette would get though as American was able to put away the set 25-18 with back-to-back kills from Kennedy Etheridge and Aleksandra Kazala.

American took off running in the second set with a 15-5 run to start things off. The Leopards had a difficult time trying to climb back into the set and after a Christian Luhnow kill, the score was 17-10 in favor of American. The Eagles went on an 8-1 run though to close out and win the set.

Leading the match 2-0, American carried its momentum into the third set and grabbed a 7-1 lead. Lafayette called a timeout to halt the run and once the Leopards stepped back onto the court, they went on a 5-2 run that featured kills by Walsh and Katherine Stevens.

Lafayette continued to chip into the Eagles' lead and within time, it was a three-point game, 20-17. Rethmeyer racked up two straight kills to pull the Leopards within a single point, but American responded with a 5-0 run to close out the set and grab the conference victory.

The Leopards will be back on the court on Saturday, Oct. 1 for a road conference match at Bucknell slated for 5 p.m.