SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Lafayette was handed a 3-1 loss to the No. 24 Dayton Flyers on Friday afternoon at the Utah Classic, in head coach CJ Werneke's first game at the helm. The Leopards secured at least 15 points in all four sets, in addition to snagging a comeback win in the third set.
The match started with two straight 25-18 decisions in favor of the Flyers, with the Leopards keeping things close throughout. The third set began with the Leopards staring down a 6-2 deficit. Lafayette and Dayton proceeded to split the next eight points, allowing the opponents to grow their lead to four. A kill from Viktoria Wahlgren and an attack error from a Leopard built the distance between the two teams. With the score sitting at 12-6, the Leopards gained momentum after sophomore
Mackenzie Calhoun registered a service ace, keeping the ball on Lafayette's side of the court. Senior
Abby Nicholson propelled the Maroon and White back in it with two of her team-high 10 kills. The Leopards rattled off five-straight points, cutting Dayton's lead to one (12-11).
Lafayette and Dayton exchanged points, with the Flyers capitalizing on a Kamryn Hunt service ace to take a 21-16 advantage. An attack error and kill, courtesy of
Hannah Ehrich-Pollock, brought the Leopards back within three (21-18). After Dayton's Abbie Cresse had a kill of her own, Lafayette countered with a pair of kills from freshman
Jada Aksu and junior
Ally Feczko, chipping the lead to 22-20 Flyers. The opponents collected two straight points, hunting for the match point as the score settled at 24-20. With Dayton threatening to end the set and sweep the match, the Leopards tallied six-straight points to take the set 26-24.
Despite gaining momentum, Lafayette would drop the fourth and final set 25-16.
Nicholson accounted for 10 of the Leopards' 39 kills in the match. Calhoun recorded four service aces to pair with 16 assists, both of which led the team. Senior
Emily Gouldrup and Feczko rang up 18 and 10 digs, respectively.
Lafayette will play a Friday evening match against Washington State before concluding the Utah Classic on Saturday, when it plays the hosts.
To keep up with the Lafayette volleyball team, follow its social media pages.
X/@LafColVBall | Instagram/@lafayette_vb | Facebook/GoLeopards
