NEW YORK – The Lafayette College volleyball team closed out play in Columbia University's Big Apple Tournament Saturday, falling to St. Francis Brooklyn in five sets (19-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 14-16) before sweeping Manhattan (25- 12, 25-21, 25-13).
 
Match One
 
Sophomore Abby Nieporte put down a career-best 20 kills with five digs while classmate Phoebe Glass and junior Gracie Gibson each added 11 kills apiece. Freshman Carol Ulichney recorded her first career double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs.
 
The first set was back-and-forth before St. Francis Brooklyn rattled off a 6-0 run late in the frame to take momentum. The Leopards battled back with a strong second set, and fought off a late 4-0 run by the Terriers to tie the set at 22.
 
The teams traded points before Gibson scored two straight with a kill followed by a service ace to take the second.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn hit .406 as a team in the third frame to jump out to a 2-1 match lead before the Maroon and White responded with a win in the fourth to force a fifth set. Gibson teamed up with Nieporte for the block to make it 24-22 before Ulichney ended the fourth with a kill.
 
Lafayette fell behind early in the fifth before battling back to take a 9-8 lead. The teams would trade blows before the Terriers scored three-straight points to finish the match.
 
Junior Alyssa Vitale had a season-best 49 assists and eight digs while classmate Katie Weston had 21 digs.
 
Match Two
 
Nieporte continued her stellar play with 10 kills and a career-high nine service aces in the three-set victory over Manhattan. Glass also chipped in with eight kills and eight digs.
 
Lafayette led 12-10 in the first before rattling off 10 unanswered points with Nieporte at the service line. The Jaspers showed signs of life in the second set, but the Leopards finished off the set with a 4-0 run to jump out to a 2-0 match lead.
 
The run would continue into the third and final set as Lafayette took the first four points. Lafayette would dominate the third, with four separate 4-0 scoring runs in the frame.
 
Sophomore Anna Penman had 31 assists and classmate Natasha Zorbas added seven blocks.
 
Lafayette opens its home schedule Wednesday night when Saint Peter's comes to Kirby Sports Center for a 7 p.m. first serve on ESPN+.