Nov. 16, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. (www.lafayette.edu) - It's been five years in the making, but Lafayette's first full-time head coach, Terri Dadio Campbell, has her team competing in this weekend's Patriot League Tournament. The fourth-seeded Leopards drew top-seeded American in Friday night's early game at 6 p.m. at Bender Arena.

Lafayette's 9-5 league record not only solidified the team's first tournament bid since 1995, it marked the most Lafayette wins since the inception of the league in 1991-92. The Leopards finished the regular season at 18-9, matching the most wins the program has seen since an 18-win year in 1986.

"We're generally excited to be participating in the tournament at all," Campbell said. "We always look forward to playing American, and I think we challenge them in a different aspect of the game each time we meet. Friday will be no different. We are hoping to go in with a fresh approach and see what happens."

The Leopards fell in both regular-season matches to the Eagles, despite solid efforts in both outings from 2006 All-Patriot League selections Veronica Canto-Ponce (first team) and Shannon Fisher (second team). Canto-Ponce peppered American with 14 kills overall and hit .321 in the last meeting on Oct. 21 in Washington, D.C. Fisher, who enters the weekend leading the league with a .379 attack percentage, has hit .424 over her two matches played against the Eagles.

Campbell's team comes in with youth and inexperience, including two freshmen in the regular starting rotation, but says that could work in favor of the Leopards.

"Since this is a new experience for the entire team, there is little pressure," Campbell said. "We have already met our goal for the season, and now we just want to go out, have fun and see what happens."

Meanwhile, American (23-6, 14-0) is looking to defend the Patriot League title for a record sixth straight year. American head Coach Barry Goldberg fields a team that ranks second in the nation in aces (2.73) and 16th in hitting percentage (.274). The Eagles are led by three All-Patriot League selections in 2006, including sophomore Rubena Sukaj who ranks third in the nation in aces (0.73) and 11th in kills (5.08).

Second-seeded Army (21-7, 11-3) and No. 3 Bucknell (19-11, 10-4) will square off on Friday night at 8 p.m., while the championship match is set for Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Patriot League All-Access broadband coverage will make its debut at the Patriot League Volleyball Tournament, beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 17. Fans can catch all the action through live streaming of video and audio, free of charge. All three matches will be available by visiting the Patriot League website, www.patriotleague.com, on either the home page or the volleyball page.