Lafayette Leopards gets first win at Eighth Annual Friar Classic – Volleyball News
The 8th Annual Friar Classic Volleyball Tournament started off on Friday, September 9, in Providence, Rhode Island. The first match of the tournament featured Lafayette Leopards against Coppin State Eagles. Lafayette Volleyball Squad exhibited a tactful game and posted a 3-2 (23-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-12) victory over Eagles. After dropping the seventh match, Coppin State stands with a record of 2-7, while Leopards improve to 4-2 in the running season.
Junior outside hitter (OH), Kaitlynn Zoller, hit out strongly against the Eagles and collected a team-high 12 kills in the match. The Leopards hammered the opposite side with kills from 10 players. Danielle Towslee and Camissa Beghou formed a great combination and had seven kills apiece. Likewise, Karissa Ciliento got six kills, while Blecher and Sarah Frohnapfel supported the Leopards with 27 and 11 assists, respectively.
On the other side of the net, Eagles had to play defensive but they showed great temperament throughout the match. Freshman Gabrielle Otero was the most highlighted player on the Eagles’ side. She played at the libero position and received some of the tricky shots with great skill. She was credited with 32 digs in the match and also set a new record for Coppin State. She topped the previous record of 27 digs set by Sepiuta Tonga and Danyel Davis. Overall, the Eagles recorded 90 digs in the match and reached the second best record in the history of Coppin State volleyball. They were just 3 short from tying the previous record of 93 digs, which the team collected in 2005 season against Niagara.
Leopards played from behind in the first set, whereas Eagles sparked with a good offensive attack. They led the score in first set and pushed Leopards behind with final score of 25-23. Janka Schimtt and Salena Weekly helped the Eagles to secure opening set.
In the second set, Eagles carried its momentum and heavily influenced the opponents. Leopards couldn’t get the right tone to overcome the power of Eagles and dropped another set with a margin of seven points, 18-25.
Nevertheless, Leopards proved their endeavours in the third set and managed to break the rhythm of Eagles. Coppin State resisted in full force but could not avoid the loss of the third set. Leopards found their form back with 25-19 victory in third set and further changed the mood of the game by winning fourth set.
In the tie breaker, Leopards continued with success and put up a valiant effort. The hard work paid off and Lafayette clinched success in the golden set. They claimed the last three sets of the match in row and earned the status of victorious team.
Next up
Eagles are supposed to wrap up the tournament by playing two more matches at the 8th Annual Friar Classic. They will face Providence on Saturday morning, while in the afternoon St. Francis will come across the Eagles. On the other hand, the Leopards will also return to action at the Friar Classic on Saturday. They will meet with St. Francis and host Friars.
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