The volleyball team (4-2 overall) went 1-1 at the VCU Invitational in Richmond, Virginia this weekend with a 3-0 loss against Winthrop University (2-2 overall) followed by a 3-1 win against Virginia Tech (2-3 overall).
Early in Friday’s match against Winthrop, senior outside hitter Abby Nieporte kept it close in the first set with some crucial kills and ended with a team-high of 11. However, Winthrop’s efficient offense kept the pressure and won three straight sets with scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-17.
The Leopards looked to rebound from Friday’s loss in their second and final game on Saturday against Power Four opponent Virginia Tech.
The Maroon and White started the first set off cold, giving the Hokies a 5-1 lead. Although junior libero Emily Gouldrup attempted to narrow the lead with a crucial service ace, Virginia Tech’s offense continued to roll and took the opening set 25-19.
“I feel like we could do a little better job of starting off and keeping our momentum,” sophomore outside hitter Emma Patmon said. “The first few points of the game are very important, especially in a game of mistakes, in a game where we’re only playing to 25.”
Patmon brought out her A-game in the second set, spearheading Lafayette’s offense and helped to establish a 13-9 lead. Capitalizing on the Hokies’ early errors, the Leopards stayed aggressive and clinched the second set 25-17.
“We were all locked in, everybody on the team was locked into the same goal,” Patmon said. “We weren’t expected to win at all, so after winning that second set, we said, ‘We worked hard for this, we earned this, we might as well earn the whole win.’”
During the third set, the Maroon and White offense excelled while the Hokies faltered, making 10 errors in the set. The Leopards let their lead slip to just two points at 20-18, but crucial kills from Patmon and junior outside hitter Carol Ulichney were instrumental in securing the third set 25-21.
“We worked very hard in practice all week focusing on key areas that needed improvement!” Nieporte wrote in an email. “We watched film on our opponents as well as ourselves and focused on what we could control in order to put us in the best position to win!”
Lafayette dominated the fourth set by building a commanding lead early on, going up by as many as 10 points. Patmon continued her stellar performance, registering six more kills to finish hitting .412 for the match with a career-high 17 kills. The Leopards would go on to beat Virginia Tech 25-15 in the final set and seal their 3-1 triumph over the Hokies.
“The setters, they did so good feeding the ball to both pins, the middles,” Patmon said. “They did such a great job, both of them. The decision-making was so good. Everybody around me and everybody on the team, everybody did what they could do. Everybody did their job.”
Along with Patmon, freshman setter Mackenzie Calhoun was named to the VCU Invitational All-Tournament Team for her performance, in which she notched 28 assists over the weekend.
“I’m very excited for what is in store for the rest of the season!” Nieporte wrote. “We have a great group of girls who are all very dedicated to the program and our success. It feels great to have beat a team in the Power [Four] which definitely gave us some confidence moving forward however just reminding ourselves to control our side of the net and take each game one at a time will help us be successful this 2024 season!”
Lafayette resumes play facing both Fordham University (2-3 overall) and Fairleigh Dickinson University (2-4 overall) today and tomorrow at the FDU invitational.