BALTIMORE, Md. - The Leopards traveled to Loyola for a Patriot League contest on Saturday night. The Greyhounds walked away victorious, capturing a 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21) final.

Sophia Wilson, making her first start of the season for Lafayette, capped an early 5-0 lead to begin the opening set with her 12th service ace of the campaign. The Maroon and White used two separate stretches of four points to create distance from the hosts (16-6). Towards the conclusion of the first period, Lafayette searched for a set point after Destiny McKenzie's service ace (24-12). Loyola gained momentum with kills from Ava Nepkin (2), Elsie Afful and Riley Hamilton, cutting the gap to 24-16. Nepkin looked to continue the Greyhound run, but committed an attack error to solidify a first set score of 25-16 for the Leopards.

Set two opened with seven consecutive points for the Maroon and White, with McKenzie and Carol Ulichney each registering a pair of kills. Ulichney paced the Leopards in kills for the match, notching 11, while recording her 100th kill of the season. The senior outside hitter's six kills contributed towards the team's .289 hitting percentage in the second set. Despite the early lead, the hosts stormed back, using swings of five- and four-straight points for a 16-13 advantage. Lafayette knotted the score twice down the stretch before Addie Lowe's kill captured a 25-20 final and tied the match at one set apiece.

After a service error from Afful, the Leopards held an 11-4 score in the third period. Nepkin led charge, recording five of her team-high 18 kills in the set. Loyola knocked down 18 kills to Lafayette's 11. Set three witnessed a total of six ties and four lead changes. Both teams battled throughout the period before the Greyhounds' four-point spurt closed out the set 25-23.

Loyola took the decisive fourth set 25-21, ending the match on a five-point run. Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo tallied four kills in the set to lead Lafayette. McKenzie (2) and Jada Aksu (2) followed behind. Mackenzie Calhoun and Wilson racked up five and four assists, respectively. 

Lafayette returns to the court on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. when it travels to Lehigh.


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