EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette College volleyball team took down American in straight sets (25-15, 34-32, 25-6) Friday night at Kirby Sports Center, marking the first win over the Eagles in the five-set era.
 
Lafayette's last win over American was also a sweep, however in two sets in 1987.
 
Senior Leanna Deegan led the way with 25 kills, hitting .321 on the night with five digs while classmate Grace Tulevech came off the bench to go 14-0-25.
 
Sophomore Alyssa Vitale had 49 assists and classmate Katie Weston tallied 24 digs in the win.  
 
The Maroon and White got off to a ferocious start, jumping out to a 9-3 lead in the opening set and forcing the American timeout. Lafayette took control with Weston at the service line, going on a 4-0 run to make it 18-9.
 
Things got interesting in the second frame after Lafayette jumped out to a 5-0 run. American battled back and eventually got within a point at 12-11 and again at 13-12 before Lafayette rallied for another 5-0 run. The Eagles managed to stay alive late and forced a 24-24 tie and Lafayette fought off four set-points to eventually pull it out, 34-32.
 
Lafayette had a dominant showing in the third, scoring 11 straight points to close out the match.
 
The Leopards hit .364 as a unit and held American to just .140 and 28 total kills. Freshman Abby Nieporte had nine kills and hit .400 while sophomore Gracie Gibson put down seven, hitting .500 with three blocks.
 
Lafayette has won four-straight Patriot League matches, only dropping one set in that span. It marks the first time it has won four-straight conference matches since the 2006 season.
 
 
The Leopards make a quick turnaround, taking on Loyola Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside Kirby Sports Center as part of Homecoming weekend on College Hill.