EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette volleyball was bested by Loyola, 3-0, on Saturday at Kirby Sports Center.
Six members of the Maroon and White collected five-plus spikes. Freshman Johanna Groger turned in a team-best eight kills and set a new career-high. Fellow rookies Grace Jamison and Noa Kamphuis each added six spikes, while Justine Puig and Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo sent down five balls for points. Defensively, Jamison and Kamphuis racked up four block assists apiece. Alyssa Chu was responsible for 12 digs, a game-high.
The first set was tightly contested (17-17) before the Greyhounds used a four-point spurt to build a 21-17 lead. Immediately after, Lafayette countered with four-straight scores of its own, with a kill from Kamphuis and Jamison, to knot the set at 21. Loyola responded with a quick three-point rally to push itself to match point, 24-21. The Leopards added another score, but Morgan Crawford ended the set, 25-22, with a spike to give the Greyhounds a win in the first stanza.
Loyola took the second set, 25-13, behind a .542 hitting percentage. The visitors slapped down 14 kills, while committing one attack error. Loyola's Crawford collected six points in the period (five kills, one service ace). Lafayette witnessed five Leopards record two kills, while LK LaMonica (5) and Mackenzie Calhoun (4) were responsible for nine of the squad's 10 assists.
At the midway point of the third set, the Maroon and White trailed, 15-11. Out of the media timeout, the Leopards claimed four of the next five points (16-15). During the stretch, Groger slapped down two balls, with Puig accounting for another kill. Back-to-back Loyola points pushed the score to 18-15, but Lafayette retaliated with a three-score run to pull even at 18. Scores were traded throughout the end of the set, but the visitors capped off the period via an Addie Lowe kill to win the set, 25-23, and the match, 3-0.
The Leopards return to action on Sunday, traveling to Colgate at 2 p.m.
To keep up with the Lafayette volleyball team, follow its social media pages.
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