VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Lafayette College volleyball team closed out the Villanova Classic with a Saturday split, sweeping New Hampshire (26-24, 25-21, 25-19) before falling to Fairfield in straight sets (23-25, 22-25, 16-25).
 
Match One
 
Lafayette got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the opening frame with sophomore Abby Nieporte at the service line. However, UNH would battle back and eventually take a 24-23 lead late in the frame before the Leopards rattled off a 3-0 run, finished off by a service ace from sophomore Katie Weston to take the opener.
 
It was another fast start for Lafayette in the second, taking a 4-0 lead. Again, the Wildcats would bounce back and take an 18-15 advantage before four-straight Lafayette points made it 19-18. New Hampshire would stop the bleeding with a point, but another 4-0 run by the Leopards took momentum and clinched the set.
 
The third set was a similar story with Lafayette taking a 5-1 lead to start the final frame. Then a 5-0 Maroon and White run made it 11-4 with freshman Carol Ulichney at the service line. The Leopards would maintain their lead for the remainder of the set and close out the match with a kill by junior Gracie Gibson.
 
Two Leopards in Nieporte and sophomore Phoebe Glass reached double-digit kills with 12 and 10 respectively as Nieporte hit .381 with five service aces. Junior Alyssa Vitale recorded a double-double with 29 assists, 10 digs and five aces.
 
Match Two
 
Neiporte was extremely efficient once again, going 11-0-12 in her first 12 swings to finish with 12 kills and hitting .786 with four aces while Vitale added 25 assists and five digs.
 
However, Fairfield would hit .356 as a unit and defeat the Leopards in straight sets.
 
The Leopards are back in action next weekend, taking part in the Big Apple Tournament hosted by Columbia. They'll face the hosts on Friday night before taking on St. Francis Brooklyn and Manhattan College on Saturday.