Oct. 17, 2005

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - After leading Lafayette to a pair of wins over Lehigh and Providence last weekend, the Patriot League honored junior Veronica Canto-Ponce (La Jolla, Calif./The Bishop's School) with Player of the Week accolades for the period ending on Oct. 16.

The right side hitter recorded consecutive double-double performances last weekend, while Lafayette improved to 12-9 overall and 2-5 in league play. Canto-Ponce hit .284 over the two matches, including a season-best .417 in the Leopards' 3-0 win over Providence on Saturday.

Lafayette traveled to archrival Lehigh on Friday night, leaving with a 3-2 win over the Mountain Hawks. Canto-Ponce led the effort with 22 kills and 19 digs.

The west coast native followed up a team-leading performance at Lehigh with one of her best outings of the season against Providence on Saturday at Kirby Sports Center. Canto-Ponce drilled 17 kills on 36 attempts with just two errors. She also came up big defensively with 11 digs and chipped in with one block and one service ace. Canto-Ponce was key in a roaring start for the Leopards, as the team rattled off the first 11 points of the opening game en route to the 3-0 match victory.

Canto-Ponce entered the week ranked 11th in the country with 0.67 service aces per game, while she also ranks fourth in the Patriot League in kills (3.67).

Canto-Ponce was an All-Patriot League Second Team selection a year ago after leading Lafayette to its first winning season (15-14) under the tutelage of head coach Terri Dadio Campbell.

Next up for the Leopards is a home match-up with Loyola (Md.) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.