PHILADELPHIA, PA - The volleyball team returned to Tom Gola Arena Friday night to host the Charlotte 49ers in an Atlantic 10 conference match-up. In just under 90 minutes, the Explorers posted a 3-0 loss to the 49ers. Charlotte improves to 15-8 overall and 3-3 in the A-10, while the Explorers slip to 7-18 and 0-7.

In game one, the 49ers jumped out to a commanding 9-2 lead and looked as if they would cruise to an easy victory, but the Explorers put fear into Charlotte, closing the gap to three at 14-11 and forcing the 49ers to call a time out. La Salle kept it close for a bit, but when the 49ers mounted a five point lead,La Salle called a time out and after the discussion saw the game slip away.

In game two, the Explorers took their first lead of the game at 3-2 and stretched the lead to two points at 7-5. At this point, Charlotte went on a 19-2 run bringing the score to 24-9. the 15-point deficit proved to much for La Salle and Charlotte took a 30-17v victory and went up 2-0 going in to the 10-minute break.

Game three started out the same as game two, with La Salle taking a 3-2 lead. The Explorers kept the game withing two points until the 10-12 mark. Charlotte inched its way ahead further and further until they claimed a 30-23 win.

Sophomore middle hitter Christa Dominick led the Explorers with 10 kills and posted an impressive .562 hitting percentage on 10 kills one error and 16 attempts. Stephanie Owen landed eight kills to pace the Explorers. Setter Caitlin Conner assisted on 25 of La Salle's 39 kills and tallied four kills of her own.

On defense, libero Carolyn Judge led the way with 12 digs and Conner chipped in eight. Freshman Danielle DiMarco played in two of the three games and tallied seven digs for the Explorers.

Charlotte brought a triple threat to Tom Gola Arena, as Cori Dayton dropped 20 kills on the Explorers, followed by Jessica Oldenburg's 12 kills and Lynae Mulder's 11 kills. Each member of the trio hit over .500 for the match.

On defense, Carly Romberg led all players with 21 digs and Dayton completed a double-double with 11 digs to go with her match-high 20 kills.

The Explorers return to action on Saturday evening when they host the George Washington Colonials at 5:00 p.m. at Tom Gola Arena. Prior to the game, the Explorers and the Athletic Department will honor the two seniors, Carolyn Judge and Caitlin Conner.