EASTON, Pa. -Â Lafayette was bested by Bucknell, 3-2, on Friday night at Kirby Sports Center in the opening Patriot League contest for both squads.
Outside hitters Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo and Destiny McKenzie collected 25 of the Leopards' 48 kills. Mbeche-Odhiambo notched 15 kills, marking her seventh game of the season with double-digit marks. McKenzie's 10 kills tied her season high, which she previously recorded against Marist (8/29). Defensively, Noa Kamphuis paved the way for the Maroon and White, collecting eight block assists. This season, the freshman middle blocker has 51 block assists, which leads the conference.
The Leopards gained an early 11-3 advantage following a run of 10 straight points in set one. During the stretch, Mbeche-Odhiambo tallied two kills while freshman Alyssa Chu served up two of her three aces in the match. The Maroon and White secured six of the next 10 points, pushing their lead to 17-7. After a Leopard service error, Bucknell tallied runs of four and three points, cutting into the Lafayette lead, 18-14. Two more offensive spurts granted the visitors their first advantage since the opening scores of the set (23-22). Kamphuis knotted the score at 23 before a service error and an attack error allowed the Bison to secure a 25-23 set win.
Set two featured just two lead changes and 10 tie scores. With a score of 13-13, Lafayette began to pull away with a five-point run. Kamphuis, Justine Puig and Jada Aksu all collected a kill as the lead grew to 18-13. The Maroon and White pushed their advantage to 22-17 prior to another four point run from the visitors (22-21). Down the stretch, Bucknell tied the stanza at 25, but Lafayette went on to win the set when Puig slapped down a ball for the 26-24 victory and a 1-1 set tie.
The Leopards won the third set, 25-15. Rookie Grace Jamison racked up three kills, followed by Kamphuis (2), Mbeche-Odhiambo (2) and Puig (2). Puig recorded two kills and a pair of service aces. LK LaMonica and Puig led the team in digs during the period, with six each. Lafayette tallied three blocks in the set, with five different Leopards contributing to the defense at the net.
With its 25-20 win in the fourth set, Bucknell forced a fifth frame. The Bisons' Marion Haskell notched four kills in the period and finished the match with 15. Peyton McGee was the visitors' assist leader with six. For the Maroon and White, Mbeche-Odhiambo collected four kills, followed by Kamphuis and McKenzie. Sophia Wilson and LaMonica added in five and four assists, respectively.
Runs of five and four points by the Bison in set five helped the visitors capture a 15-8 period win and a 3-2 match final. Nine of Bucknell's 15 scores came via the kill, with Kaitlyn Taylor tallying three. Lafayette hit -.120 in the set, recording three kills and committing six attack errors.
The Leopards return to the court on Sunday at 12 p.m., traveling to rival Lehigh for the first of three-straight road games.
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