EASTON, Pa.(www.lafayette.edu), February 22, 2005 — Despite missing its starting setter and dropping the opening game, the Volleyball Club defeated Lehigh Sunday at Kirby Sports Center to continue its undefeated season.

After a 22-25 setback, Lafayette won the next contest, 25-18. The Leopards were one game away from losing the match after a subsequent 25-13 defeat, but finished with two decisive victories, 25-15 and 15-4.

Civil engineering major Kyle DeLabar '05 (North Catasauqua, Pa.), club president, says the match was much closer than it should have been because he filled in at setter for biochemistry major Ryan Evans '05 (Mohrsville, Pa.), who was visiting a graduate school.

“Lehigh did have a roster full of big hitters, but luckily for us, their passing and defense was sub-par,” he says. “What I think won the match for us was our ability to dig their big hits and send the ball back at them just as powerfully.”

Key performances included:

• DeLabar, setter, 13 kills, 3 blocks, and 24 assists;
• mechanical engineering major Doug Fox ’05 (Peace Dale, R.I.), right-side hitter, six kills and five digs;
• mechanical engineering major Wayne Scott ’05 (Moscow, Pa.), outside hitter, five kills and six digs;
• A.B. engineering major Russ Dinardi '07 (Pleasantville, N.Y.), outside hitter, four kills, five digs, and five aces;
• Anthony Rucci ’08 (Catasauqua, Pa.), outside hitter, five kills.

The Leopards (6-0) will put their perfect record on the line again this weekend in a tournament at Bloomsburg University against Bloomsburg (2-0) and Lock Haven (2-0), the other top-ranked teams in the North Division of the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Volleyball Conference.

“A solid performance this weekend is crucial to our hopes for a long and fruitful post-season,” says DeLabar. “We will have our setter back and so far everyone is healthy. It should be a wild weekend.”