Sept. 16, 2011

Box Score

EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette volleyball team bested La Salle on Friday evening at Kirby Sports Center in five sets, 3-2. The Leopards dropped the first set in the match, won the next two and claimed the decisive fifth set for the victory. Lafayette improves to 7-3 on the season, while the Explorers drop to 3-10 overall.

In the first set, Lafayette jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Explorers quickly answered with five consecutive points of their own, taking a 5-4 lead. La Salle held three point leads at 13-10 and 19-16 before the Leopards battled back to take a 23-22 advantage.

The visitors responded with three straight points and won the set 25-23. The Maroon and White took the second set, 25-23 that was capped off with an ace by Kaitlynn Zoller, who finished the match with 10 kills.

With the contest at a stalemate after two sets, Lafayette's Alexandra Russo contributed seven of her team-high 13 kills, including the first three and the set-clinching point.

La Salle found success with its back against the wall in the fourth set, winning 25-20. Lafayette jumped out to a 3-1 advantage in the final set, before the Explorers ripped off 4 straight points to take a 5-3 lead. A 6-2 run put Lafayette up 9-7 and forced La Salle to take a timeout. The Explorers quickly tied the score at nine before Lafayette scored three in a row to go up 12-9. The Leopards kept their foot on the pedal and closed out the match, winning the final set 15-12.

Setter Sarah Frohnapfel had the winning kill, one of her seven, and also finished second on the team with 9 digs. Libero Christy Mebust had a match-high 27 digs to her credit for the Leopards.

Sophomore Karissa Ciliento added 10 kills in the five-set triumph and Danielle Towslee added seven of her own.

The Leopards next match in the 2011 Lafayette-Lehigh Crosstown Invitational is Saturday morning at 10 a.m. when Lafayette hosts Hartford.