LEWISBURG, Pa. - Lafayette traveled to Bucknell on Sunday afternoon, with the Bison capturing a 3-0 win.
Eight different members of the Maroon and White tallied spikes. Freshman Justine Puig led the team, racking up eight kills. Jada Aksu and Grace Jamison added six spikes each, followed by Paige Chmura (4) and Johanna Groger (4). The Lafayette defense notched six team blocks. Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo was responsible for two solo blocks, while Groger (3) and Chmura (3) combined for six block assists.
Bucknell grabbed an early 11-5 advantage in the opening frame, but Lafayette answered back with a five-point surge to cut the deficit to 11-10. The Bison quickly regrouped, engineering a 5-0 run of their own to push the lead to 16-11. After extending their margin to 21-17, the hosts closed out the set with a decisive four-point run to capture the opener, 25-17.
The second stanza featured 16 tie scores and seven lead changes. Puig powered the Leopard attack, racking up five kills of the squad's 16 spikes. Lafayette slapped a .240 hitting percentage and committed just four attack errors. Meanwhile, the Bison offense notched 22 kills (.226 hitting percentage), with three different players recording six kills each. With the score at 24-22 in favor of Bucknell, the Maroon and White used an Mbeche-Odhiambo kill and a Bison attack error to knot the score. Both teams exchanged points until the set was tied at 29. Bucknell's Cameron Lloyd notched her fifth and sixth kills of the period to win set two, 31-29.
The Bison won the third set, 25-12, for a 3-0 match victory. In the set, the Bison hit .276. Sidney Shaffer led her team with four kills, while Peyton McGee collected eight assists.
Lafayette returns home on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. for the first of a two-game homestand against Navy.
To keep up with the Lafayette volleyball team, follow its social media pages.
X/@LafColVBall | Instagram/@lafayette_vb | Facebook/GoLeopards
