Loyola Greyhounds down Lafayette Leopards in five set match – Volleyball news
The girls’ volleyball team of Loyola University, Maryland played an exquisite match against Lafayette Leopards on Wednesday, September 7, where they claimed a 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 25-17, and 15-11) victory. The match was hosted at Kirby Sports Centre in Easton, Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening. The Leopards managed to overcome an early deficit to take a 2-1 lead in the game but could not keep up the same momentum in the final two sets and lost the crucial match. With a win against the Leopards, Loyola has improved to 3-5 in the early part of the season while Lafayette has a 3-2 record.
Junior Kaitlynn Zoller, freshman Danielle Towslee and junior Sarah Frohnapfel were the most productive players in the Lafayette squad. Zoller led the scores with 18 points through her successful attack attempts and bump passes. Towslee got seven kills, while Sarah Frohnapfel helped the Leopards with 32 assists. She also collected four kills in the match. Similarly, Christy Mebust and Michelle Woodworth did a great job at serving and digging. Camissa Beghou, the freshman, led the effort with her four blocks for Lafayette. Tina Catanach of Greyhounds also bagged 18 points.
The first set of the game was a close fight as both sides descended on the court with the ambition to stage a memorable performance. The Leopards served well, while the Greyhounds came out firing with a strong offensive attack. The scores inched up but Greyhounds managed to take the lead with some tricky cross court shots. Leopards dropped the opening set by trailing behind by 4 points, 25-21.
The Leopards did not take slip after losing the first set but struggled to cover the deficit. They were fuelled by strong serves of Mebust, which worked out a good position for them. Moreover, Zoller got excellent kills and finished the second set with 25-21. Success in second set allowed Leopards to make further progress in the third set. They slammed sharp spikes and rallied past Greyhounds in the third set. Loyola attempted to break the rhythm and tone of Leopards but couldn’t fully control the game. Leopards kept on moving at fast pace and eventually closed the third set with 2-ponit margin 25-23.
The Greyhounds suffered the damage to two sets in row but responded with backs against the wall in the fourth set. They attacked aggressively and threw everything into the assault. In the meantime, they paid more attention to defence and restricted Leopards to a low score. The combined effort of Greyhounds put them back on track and they hit the equaliser in fourth set.
The game entered a 15-point golden set, while both sides were under pressure. The Greyhounds stepped up their game and outshone the Leopards with a better score and clinched success in the match.
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