FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Lafayette College volleyball team fell in a pair of 3-1 decisions to Fairfield and UC Irvine Saturday to close out the Sacred Heart Invitational.
 
Senior Leanna Deegan led the way in both matches, recording her third-straight outing with 20-plus kills with 23 against Fairfield and added 18 against UC Irvine.
 
The Leopards got off to a quick start, winning the opening set against the Stags before dropping the next three. Senior Grace Tulevech had 11 kills, hitting .429 in the match while Deegan had a double-double with 14 digs. Sophomore Alyssa Vitale had 42 assists.
 
Lafayette dropped a tight opening set to UC Irvine, 26-24, before coming back to take the second, 25-20. Also in double figures was freshman Abby Nieporte who had a career-best 11 kills and hit .308.
 
Vitale had 31 assists and a pair of services aces, but UC Irvine was able to take the next two sets to win the match.
 
The Leopards return to action and College Hill Tuesday when they host NJIT at Kirby Sports Center at 6 p.m.