VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Lafayette College volleyball team fell in straight sets Friday night (23-25, 24-26, 27-29) to the host school of the Villanova Classic to open the 2022 season.
 
Freshman Carol Ulichney led the Leopard attack with nine kills in her collegiate debut with six digs and a block while junior Gracie Gibson and sophomore Abby Nieporte each had seven putaways.
 
In a back-and-forth affair, two of the three sets went beyond 25 points with the Leopards having opportunities to clinch late in the second and the third.
 
In the second set, Lafayette took a 22-18 lead to force the Villanova timeout after back-to-back kills by Nieporte and freshman Hannah Ehrich-Pollock. Out of the timeout, the hosts went on a 4-0 scoring run to tie the set and take momentum.
 
It was a similar story in the third and final set as the Maroon and White got out to a 24-21 lead after a 4-0 Leopard run. However, the Wildcats would go on to score four unanswered to take the lead and win the set and match in extra points.
 
Junior Katie Weston had 18 digs while classmate Alyssa Vitale had 25 assists, six digs and two service aces. Sophomore Phoebe Glass added six kills while Gibson had a pair of rejections.
 
The Leopards make a quick turnaround and continue play in the Villanova Classic with a pair of matches Saturday, facing New Hampshire at 10:30 a.m. and Fairfield at 7 p.m. on the campus of Villanova.