Volleyball drops a couple at home

By Mike Petty
Collegian Staff
October 18, 2006

The La Salle volleyball team looked to build on last week’s surprise performance against Dayton with back-to-back home matches against the Charlotte 49ers and the George Washington Colonials.

Freshman Danielle DiMarco serves the ball. -Sara Allen

The 49ers came to the Tom Gola Arena Friday night. Maybe they just wanted to stop in for a quick visit because they definitely didn’t stay long.

In just under 90 minutes, Charlotte defeated the Explorers by a score of three games to none. In the first game, La Salle was within three at the halfway point, but Charlotte pulled away and won.

The second game saw the Explorers take an early lead, but a 19-2 49ers run ended the hopes for La Salle, as they dropped the game, 30-17.

The Explorers stayed with the 49ers in the final game as well, but they faded late and Charlotte took the match with a 30-23 game three win.

Sophomore Christa Dominick led the team with 10 kills and just one error, which gave her an amazing .562 hitting percentage. Junior Stephanie Owen had eight kills with the help of senior Caitlin Conner’s 25 assists.

The defense was led by senior Carolyn Judge’s 12 digs. In a match where Charlotte had three players with 11 plus kills and .500 plus hitting percentages, the 49ers were just too strong for the Explorers.

On Saturday afternoon, the Explorers took on the George Washington Colonials and honored their senior tandem of Conner and Judge before the game.

Unfortunately, La Salle was not able to capitalize on the emotions and feeling of honoring their four-year stars, as they were swept for the second time on the weekend.

It was an odd match because the Explorers won the kill battles and finished with more than George Washington, but still lost the match. Owen finished with a match high 13 kills and the only two aces of the match. Sophomore Amy McKeon finished with eight kills and a team high .462 hitting percentage.

The honorees finished as team leaders in their respective categories: Conner had 28 assists, and Judge had 16 digs.

La Salle goes on the road for its next three matches, and the next will be on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Fairleigh Dickinson.

pettym1@lasalle.edu