The volleyball team (1-8 Patriot League, 6-12 overall) came up just short in a hard-fought match on the road against Navy (4-5 Patriot League, 4-14 overall), falling in five sets on Saturday.
The loss made it a seven-game losing streak for the Leopards, all against Patriot League opponents.
Going into the opening set, both teams were attacking back-and-forth, with the score tied 9-9 early on. Facing a 14-10 deficit, the Maroon and White put together a 6-0 scoring run, including a service ace and four attack errors forced by junior libero Emily Gouldrup.
However, Navy capitalized on a string of Leopard miscues, pushing the score to 18-18 before gaining seven of the 10 final points to win 25-21.
“As a team, our goal is to make the conference tournament,” said sophomore outside hitter Emma Patmon. “Yes, we haven’t been winning as many games, but there is a new half to the season so it is a good way to reset. Even though we might not be expected to win certain games, we as a team will try our best.”
Both teams showed strong offensive play in the second set, each hitting above .300. Junior middle blocker Hannah Ehrich-Pollock led the Leopards with four kills on five attempts, but Navy’s offense again proved too much, securing another set 25-21.
The Maroon and White responded in the third set with a determined effort. Patmon carried the offense, notching five kills to help Lafayette earn a narrow 25-23 victory.
“Personally, I am coming off an injury and others are as well,” Patmon said. “I just want to stay healthy, perform offensively and help the team.”
Trailing 10-7, the Leopards went on a 7-1 scoring run led by Patmon with help from Navy errors and a kill from freshman Paige Chmura, who tallied 11 kills for the match.
While the Midshipmen hung in there, the Maroon and White closed out the third set in a back-and-fourth affair, winning the final two points off Navy errors to steal the set 25-23.
With the momentum on their side, the Leopards dominated the fourth set, never trailing. Freshman outside hitter Destiny McKenzie and Chmura combined for eight kills as the Leopards cruised to a 25-19 win to force a decisive fifth set.
“I think the energy during the fourth set was intense and high, we had to keep fighting cause we were down and wanted to come back,” McKenzie said. “This fighting spirit helped us execute at a high rate.”
In the final set, both teams traded points to a 4-4 tie, but Navy pulled ahead with a crucial 2-0 run. Despite kills from McKenzie and Ehrich-Pollock, the Leopards could not regain the lead and Navy closed the match with a 5-2 run to take the set 15-9.
“Going in we had a lot of energy and we were really fired up as we had just played them the week before, so we knew a little bit about them,” Patmon said. “It was a tough loss but we played well, even though some points didn’t go our way.”
The Leopards look to bounce back this weekend with a home game Saturday at 6 p.m. against Bucknell University (7-1 Patriot League, 15-2 overall) followed by the rivalry game against Lehigh University (5-4 Patriot League. 12-7 overall) on Sunday, both at Kirby Sports Center.
“We want to beat Lehigh and we have a lot to prove, not only to everyone watching, but ourselves, too,” Patmon said.