The volleyball team traveled to Baltimore this past weekend to compete in the Charm City Classic hosted by Coppin State University.
On Friday, the Leopards lost 3-1 to Coppin State and swept Iona University. The Maroon and White dropped two matches on Saturday, falling 3-1 to Towson University and 3-0 to the University of Pennsylvania.
The Leopards (2-8 overall) dropped their first set to Coppin State (5-7 overall) 25-23, after nearly clawing back with a four-point run. After winning set two 25-19, the Leopards dropped the next two 25-18 and 25-17, as the Eagles clinched the win. Sophomore outside hitter Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo recorded 21 kills in the match.
Returning to action the same day, the Maroon and White faced Iona (4-6 overall). After taking a commanding lead in set one courtesy of multiple kills from freshman right side hitter Jada Aksu, the Leopards then took the frame 25-22.
Although the Gaels won the first score of the second set, it was all Maroon and White from that point on. Iona never led again in the set, falling 25-17 and facing the risk of a shutout. Despite an early 12-8 Iona lead in set three, the Leopards poured it on in a dominating 14-1 run for a decisive 25-16 win and match sweep. A deciding factor in the match was Iona’s 23 errors compared to the Leopards’ six.
Sophomore outside hitter Destiny McKenzie led the team in service aces in both matches.
“It felt good to win with the team and just to know that we are good enough to win against tougher teams,” she said.
McKenzie said there’s been “a lot of ups and downs” so far under new head coach CJ Werneke.
“He knows these small things that a lot of people don’t focus on,” she said. “If we focus on them then we do them better than other people, and I think we’ll start winning more.”
Looking to do some more damage on Saturday, the Leopards took the first set against Towson (9-2 overall) after fending off a 4-0 Tiger run to win 27-25.
The Leopards led 20-19 in set two but allowed Towson to win five of the next six points to steal the frame. The teams engaged in a high-level affair in a tie-breaking set, with the Leopards holding a 27-26 lead, but two errors allowed the Tigers to pull ahead. The fourth set saw service aces from three different Leopards, but Towson took a 25-20 win to take the match 3-1.
Senior libero Emily Gouldrop recorded 22 digs, and McKenzie recorded four blocks.
Later in the day, the Leopards were swept by the Quakers (3-3 overall) after three close sets. The teams were neck-and-neck in the first set at 10-9, but a five-point run from Penn put the Leopards in the dust. The Quakers followed suit in set two with a 7-0 streak after Lafayette led by one. After trading points in the third set, two Penn kills put the match away.
“I think we need to work on scoring in general, and being able to create our own points,” McKenzie said.
The Leopards will host two Patriot League matches this weekend, competing against rival Lehigh University (6-3 overall) on Saturday and Bucknell University (3-6 overall) on Sunday. McKenzie said the team is confident and “excited to play at home” and “to win in general.”
“We do watch a lot of film as a team,” she said. “We can win against any team, it’s just a matter of preparation.”