Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College volleyball team hosted FDU in a conference match at Ted Grant Court on Wednesday evening. Despite taking a 2-1 set lead, the Dolphins dropped the match in five sets, with scores of 17-25, 25-23, 25-22, 19-25, 8-15. Le Moyne now has a 4-18 overall record while going 3-7 in conference play this season.
In set one, the Dolphins were able to come with one point of tying the Knights early on due to back-to-back kills by outside hitter Nina Salas (Austin, T.X. / McNeil) but streaks of three and four-straight points from FDU were enough to keep them in the lead and give them the set victory, 25-17.
The Dolphins stood neck-and-neck with the Knights in the second set, eventually falling down, 12-16, before kills from freshman middle hitter Eiley Schneider (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) and Salas put them ahead, 19-18. Le Moyne scored the final three points to take the set, 25-23, capping it off with a kill from sophomore outside hitter Jazmin Rodriguez (Madera, C.A./Madera).
Set three began with four consecutive points from the 'Phins as they were able to extend their early lead to 7-2 behind four kills from sophomore outside hitter Denali Louden (Murrieta, C.A. / Murrieta Mesa). FDU fought back in the set, eventually coming within one point of tying it at the 18-19 mark, before Le Moyne closed it out with a pair of late kills from Louden and junior opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School).
Le Moyne came out to a quick 7-3 lead in set four before tying the score six times through the remainder of the frame. The Knights took a 19-17 lead late and held on to the 25-19 set win thanks to a trio of multi-point streaks.
The fifth and final set opened with a pair of kills from Lupton and another from Louden to keep the Dolphins on pace with FDU, but four-straight points from the Knights later on proved to be the deciding factor as they took the set and match, 15-8.
Louden posted a team-high 16 kills in the match while Salas (12) and Lupton (11) both finished in the double-digits, as well. Senior setter/DS Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) tied for the match-high in assists with 27 while sophomore setter Skylar Jehlen (Rochester, N.Y. / Churchville Chili) added another 14 for the Dolphins. Sophomore libero/DS Brooke Menke (St. Louis, M.O. / Visitation Academy) rounded out the offense with a team-high three service aces.
On the defensive end, Menke led with a match-high 23 digs while Louden added another 14, as well. Senior middle hitter Nil Ezgi Tasdelen (Izmir, Turkey / Ugur Okullari) tallied a career-high six block assists while Lupton (five) and Schneider (three) followed closely behind.
For FDU, Kylie Nott (20) and Alessia Zampieri (10) led in kills while Isabella Scarfone tied Gerken for the match-high in assists with 27. Vittoria Bertoli led the match with four service aces. Defensively, Kyndal Ganoe led with 14 digs as Madeline Joyce registered another 11. Bertoli led the Knights with two block solos while MacKenzy Ruggerio put up another five block assists in the win.
What's Next:
The Dolphins will travel to West Haven, Conn. for a pair of weekend matches against NEC-newcomer New Haven on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
