Box Score BALITMORE, Md. – The Lafayette volleyball team fought a close match against Fairfield University this afternoon in their final game at the UMBC Invitational tournament, forcing five sets but ultimately dropping the match, 2-3.

Fairfield took control of the first set right away, quickly going out to a 5-3 lead and continued to build on that lead the rest of the set, winning 25-13.

Both the second and third set was a back and forth battle. The game was tied 19 times over the two sets with the Leopards prevailing and coming away with a 25-20 victory in set two and a 25-22 victory in set three.

Fairfield won the fourth set to force a 15 point set five, to decide the match.

The Stags jumped out to an early lead in the fifth, keeping themselves at least four points ahead of the Leopards for most of the set. A kill by sophomore Leanna Deegan and back-to-back kills by freshman Ellie Carrera-Justiz brought the Leopards within one.

A timeout and an attack error by Fairfield tied the set up at 14 apiece and another attack error gave the Leopards the lead for the first time in the set. With a match point on the line for Farifield, Carrera-Justiz responded with a kill to keep the Stags from securing the victory, keeping the game tied. But a service and attack errors by Lafayette proved to be the deciding factor, as Fairfield came away with the 17-15 victory.

Carrera-Justiz exploded in just her third collegiate game with 21 kills, 12 digs and a .308 hitting percentage. Deegan and sophomore Grace Tulevech also recorded double-digit kills, 14 and 10, respectively.

The Leopards will next host the Crosstown Tournament and welcome Delaware State, Manhattan, Penn and University of Maryland Eastern Shore to Kirby Gym. They will first face off against Delaware State at 4 p.m. on Friday and then Manhattan at 7 p.m.