NEW YORK, N.Y. - Lafayette dropped a 3-1 decision to Iona on Friday at the Big Apple Tournament, hosted by Columbia.
Destiny McKenzie (9), Justine Puig (8) and Noa Kamphuis led the Leopards in kills. Setters Mackenzie Calhoun and Sophia Wilson recorded 14 and 13 assists, respectively. Defensively, Lafayette tallied seven blocks, with Kamphuis and Paige Chmura tallying four block assists each.Â
The first set witnessed both teams battling early on, with the Leopards gaining a slight 16-14 advantage over the game's first 30 points. A Puig kill pushed the Maroon and White ahead by three before the Gaels countered with a three-point spurt to knot the set at 17. Down the stretch, Lafayette pulled ahead 22-19 after an Iona attack error and a kill via Jada Aksu. Iona responded with a six-point stretch, closing out set one 25-22.
Iona put up a dominant performance in the second set, winning 25-8. Buse Tinaz paced the Gael's offense in the stanza, recording five of her team's 12 kills. Jaylyn Simon, who finished the contest with 29 assists, tallied eight of them in the set. Iona also controlled the set defensively, outblocking Lafayette, four to one.
The Leopards and the Gaels traded scores to begin set three. Iona found itself trailing by one early in the period after an attack error by Grace Jamison (9-8). Immediately after, Puig fired a ball down for a kill, starting a six-point run. Following an Iona attack error to cap off the rally, Lafayette led 15-8. The Leopards built their advantage towards the end of the set, thanks to a trio of attack errors from the Gaels and a kill from Kamphuis (24-15). Facing the set point, Iona rattled off five consecutive points prior to McKenzie slapping a kill for a 25-20 third set win.
The fourth and final set was captured by the Gaels, who ended both the match and the set on a five-point run, 25-22. In the period, Iona's Julia Leonardo (6) and Katherine Ferng (5) combined for 11 kills. Five different Leopards recorded kills during the frame, with McKenzie tallying three.
Lafayette returns to the court tomorrow at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., closing out the Big Apple Tournament with games against FDU and Columbia.
To keep up with the Lafayette volleyball team, follow its social media pages.
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