The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

A win to stop the bleeding

Karissa Ciliento ’14 has shined all season for Lafayette.
Karissa Ciliento ’14 has shined all season for Lafayette.

Photo courtesy of Athletic Communications

Saturday’s match against Bucknell University gave the Lafayette women’s volleyball team (9-7, 1-4 PL) something it desperately needed: a victory.

Losers of five straight, including four Patriot League losses, the team finally bounced back and took its first step back in the right direction.

“They work hard all the time,“ Head Coach Terri Dadio Campbell said. “To see a reward for that was critical to the emotion of team. It was a big step for us.”

Lafayette lost its first set, 25 – 21 before storming back to win the next three sets.

And to no surprise, the win came on the back of senior outside hitter, Karissa Ciliento ‘14. The captain added yet another double-double, tallying 14 kills and 15 digs.

“The Bucknell match was one of her finest moments,“ Campbell said. “She did an outstanding job on the court and an awesome job as a leader.”

Ciliento was accompanied by strong performances from Lauren Pisauro ‘16 and Jet Manzi ‘17. Manzi’s double-double and Pisauro’s 40 digs were crucial in giving Ciliento the help she’s needed.

“The key to the Bucknell win was a balanced attack,” Campbell said. “We had everyone contributing. It was a nice team win.”

Despite that fact that Bucknell remains winless in the Patriot League, Lafayette was desperate to get back into the win column. The team hopes last Thursday’s five set loss to NJIT will be the final glitch on a strong record. Lafayette was able to erase a 12 – 3 deficit in fifth set of that game before going on to lose the set 16 -14.

Moving forward, 1 – 4 in the Patriot League puts the team right back in the hunt. Games this weekend against Army and Holy Cross have the potential to set the tone before a pivotal three game home stand against Lehigh, Colgate and Navy.

“Bucknell was a big win, but we understand the significance of going to Army and how strong they are as a team,” Campbell said. “We need to play our best to make it competitive.”

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

If you wish for your response to an article to be submitted as a letter to the editor, please email [email protected].
All Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *