EASTON, Pa. - The Delaware State University volleyball team fought for a first-set win, but then dropped the next three as Lafayette took a 3-1 victory Friday evening to kick off the Lafayette College Tournament at the Kirby Sports Center.
Juniors Jessica Croucher (Brisbane, Australia) tallied a double double with 13 kills and 14 digs in addition to three aces and a block assist while fellow junior Brooke Redmon (Warrenton, Va.) recorded 12 kills and a team-leading .381 attack percentage.
Freshman Jasmine Jackson (South Riding, Va.) led the Hornets with 15 digs and added in nine kills and three aces. Senior Laisha Davis (Riviera Beach, Fla.) also notched double-figure digs with 10. Senior Bel Fakaosi (Salt Lake City, Utah) led all with 38 assists.
The first set was a back and forth affair featuring eight ties. A Redmon kill off of a Fakaosi feed broke the final 19-19 tie mark, giving the Hornets the momentum they would need to earn their first set victory of the season, 25-23.
The momentum shifted in the second set as the Leopards took their largest win of the night, 25-16. Del State recorded their lowest attack percentage of the night (.032) while Lafayette posted their highest (.379).
In the third, controversy settled in as a dispute over the serving rotation led to an approximately 15-minute delay with the Leopards up, 15-11. After the break, the Hornets fought to pull even at 24-24. The set went into extra points before Lafayette took the 29-27 win.
Things stayed close in the fourth set, but the Leopards pulled away with the 25-22 victory to seal the 3-1 match win.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 0-4 on the season while Lafayette stayed undefeated at 3-0.
Karissa Ciliento posted 13 kills for the Leopards while Camissa Beghou and Danielle Towslee added nine and seven kills respectively. Lafayette boasted two double-digit defensive performances as Michelle Woodworth collected 16 digs while Kaitlynn Zoller added 10.
The Lafayette College Invitational continues Saturday as DSU faces off against Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday at noon and Saint Peter's at 3 p.m. Live stats links are available via www.DSUHornets.com.
---DSU WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL---
