Sept. 1, 2012

(3-5)     1 2 3 4 5 F  Fairleigh Dickinson 25 21 21 25 13 2  Lafayette 19 25 25 22 15 3             Box Score |  Photo Gallery  (5-0)

EASTON, Pa.- The Lafayette volleyball team notched its fifth-straight victory Saturday night against Fairleigh Dickinson in the Lafayette College Tournament, extending its historic win streak. The Leopard program has never started better than 3-0 in its history until this season.

“The girls have been showing great leadership and a ‘never say die’ attitude,” head coach Terri Dadio Campbell said. “Their heart and willingness to fight has set them apart this year.”

After dropping the first set 25-19, Lafayette took the next two 25-21 apiece. The Leopards squandered a 21-18 lead late in the fourth to lose 25-22. However, their will took over in the fifth as they scored three straight points after being down 13-12 to pull off the set victory 15-13.

Senior Kaitlyn Zoller recorded a season-high 13 kills for the Leopards offensively, while junior Karissa Ciliento and sophomore Katy Rooney added 11 and nine respectively. Senior Sarah Frohnapfel followed up a 40-assist performance in the morning session with a 39-assist performance in the evening match-up.

Defensively, sophomore Michelle Woodworth tallied 23 digs and classmate Danielle Towslee added seven blocks.

In the first, the Knights jumped out to an early 12-4 lead, featuring four kills by freshman Jordan Collis. Ciliento brought the Leopards closer with two kills to pull within five, but the Knights methodically closed out the set with a 25-19 opening win.

Lafayette took the next two sets with identical scores of 25-21. In the fourth, the Leopards let leads of 16-10 and 21-19 slip away as they dropped the set 25-22.

The Knights won the first four points in the fifth, featuring a Collis kill and a Corey Lostetter ace. Then, senior Kaitlynn Zoller notched the first of her four kills in the fifth to get Lafayette on the board. A hard-fought set led to a 13-12 deficit late, when Frohnapfel set up her classmate, Zoller, for the momentum-shifting kill to pull even at 13-13. The Leopards took the next two points to pull out the 15-13 set victory.

Lafayette heads to New Brunswick, N.J. on Tuesday to take on Rutgers at 7 p.m.