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Having lost seven matches in a row, the La Salle volleyball team looked to this past week as the most important of the season. They would open the week with non-conference Delaware State and then back-to-back Atlantic 10 matchups against Rhode Island and Fordham.
The Explorers defeated Delaware State on Tuesday before losing to Rhode Island and
Fordham at home this weekend. -Sara Allen
Tuesday night saw La Salle take on the Hornets of Delaware State in a match the Explorers absolutely dominated from start to finish. La Salle toyed with the Hornets but eventually won the first game 30-26.
The second game was one in which the Explorers showed just how strong of a team they have, winning it 30-19. The final game saw the team struggle but rally and pull away for a 30-27 victory.
Junior Stephanie Owen led the match with 11 kills. She was joined in a big team effort by junior Erin Sullivan and sophomore Christa Dominick with nine kills and sophomore Amy McKeon with seven. Senior Caitlin Conner had a match high 34 assists to go with her two kills, while senior Carolyn Judge had 19 digs, also a game high.
The Explorers hoped that Tuesday's win would propel them into a successful weekend against two A-10 opponents, and that run began on Friday against the Rams of Rhode Island.
A sluggish Explorer team came out and was convincingly beaten in the first game 30-23, with Rhode Island hitting an impressive .333. Rhode Island continued its strong play and even an improved La Salle squad couldn't knock them off, falling 30-28 in a heartbreaking loss.
The A-10-mandated 10-minute intermission only seemed to delay the inevitable as the Rams closed out the match with a 30-22 game three victory. Sullivan led the team with just six kills, and the struggles were also apparent when looking at the stats of the senior stars: Conner had 24 assists and Judge had 11 digs. Looking to avoid another losing weekend, La Salle played host to the Fordham Rams the next day.
The first game matched up a team riding the momentum of a strong non-conference season and a team playing with very little confidence. Fordham went on a 10-1 run to take a 12-12 tie and continued on to a 30-22 game win.
Eerily similar was game two, as the team again fell 30-22, but the Explorer faithful in the stands stood behind them. Those fans were rewarded with a 5-1 start for La Salle in game three. And then, in one of their most inspired efforts, feeding off the crowd, La Salle controlled the game and won 30-28.
In game four, the Explorers' demons awoke as they fell behind early and never recovered, losing the game and match, 30-23. Owen led the Explorers with 13 kills, and Sullivan (nine) and Dominick (eight) contributed to the offense as well.
Conner's 36 assists and Judge's match high 29 digs were vital to the La Salle attack. The Explorers fell to 7-14 (0-4) and will travel to city rival Penn on Tuesday and then head west to Ohio for weekend matches against Dayton and Xavier.
pettym1@lasalle.edu
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