The volleyball team (1-10 Patriot League, 6-14 overall) saw its losing streak reach nine games with a pair of home losses last week, dropping matches against Bucknell University (9-1 Patriot League, 17-2 overall) on Saturday and rival Lehigh University (6-5 Patriot League, 13-8 overall) on Sunday.
The Leopards’ woes began early on, ceding 6-0 and 5-0 runs in the opening set against Bucknell, falling 25-14. While the Leopards knotted the second set at 7-7, the Bison pulled away with another 5-0 run.
Kills by sophomore outside hitter Emma Patmon, junior middle blocker Hannah Ehrich-Pollock and junior outside hitter Carol Ulichney kept the Maroon and White close, but they could not keep up as Bucknell took the second set 25-17.
The third set looked more promising, as the Leopards roared to an 11-4 lead, sparked by three consecutive service aces from Patmon. Bucknell responded immediately, winning 12 of the next 13 points en route to a 25-17 win to close out the game.
“After the Bucknell game, we reflected on the fact that when we executed the game plan effectively, we played well and scored a lot of points,” sophomore setter Anna van Wyck wrote in an email.
The Leopards looked to bounce back the next day in their rivalry game against Lehigh.
“During the Bucknell game we were able to get a few good leads and strides of momentum,” Patmon wrote. “As the match continued, we continued to be learners within the game, bettering our serve receive and scoring some big points from the set up of our offense in receive and transition. We took those strengths and tried to focus on them going into the Lehigh game.”
The Mountain Hawks soared to a 7-2 lead in the opening set. However, the Leopards fought back to narrow the deficit, cutting the Lehigh lead to just two at 21-19. The Leopards failed to close out, ceding a 3-0 run as the Mountain Hawks took four of the final six points to take the set 25-21.
Patmon and freshman outside hitter Destiny McKenzie led the charge in the second set, both notching four kills. Despite their efforts, the Mountain Hawks’ offensive attack remained an obstacle for the Maroon and White, falling 25-18 to go down two sets to none.
The defense was the difference in the third set, as the Mountain Hawks recorded five blocks to the Leopards’ zero. The Maroon and White again gave up lengthy scoring runs, as the Mountain Hawks tallied a pair of 5-0 runs along the way to make it another straight sets loss.
“We will take away our resiliency and determination in every point going forward for the rest of the season,” van Wyck wrote. “Our pursuit on defense is allowing us to get into a lot of long rallies, and we will continue working on our offense to score points in any situation.”
The Leopards return to action with a pair of Patriot League games against American University (9-2 Patriot League, 19-4 overall) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Loyola University Maryland (5-6 Patriot League, 7-13 overall) on Saturday at 4 p.m.
“Though the weekend didn’t go how we wanted, we know what to work on in the practice gym,” Patmon wrote. “The weekend helped us grow in our mental game as well and we gained new ways to attack our game plan for the rest of the season ahead.”