Sept. 3, 2010

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - In the opening match of the third annual Big 5 Invitational the Explorers fell to Villanova, 3-0 (12-25, 18-25, 23-25).

After dropping the first two sets, the Explorers found a rhythm in the third, punctuated by the hitting of Samantha Tulskie, Lauren Noga and Danielle DiMarco, who chipped in five kills in the final set.

In a tight third set, a DiMarco kill gave the Explorers a late 20-19 lead and a service ace by Noga extended it to 21-19. La Salle again held a two point lead at 23-21 after a Jacquelyn Mitrovich kill.

However, the Wildcats dug in and won the next four points to seal the match.

The Wildcats, whose 2-3 record includes a loss to defending national champion Penn State, dominated on the attack in the first set, hitting .429 as a team.

In the second set, the Explorers kept the game close and found themselves down 17-15 before the Wildcats went on a 7-3 run to bring up set point. A kill by Mitrovich starved off one set point, before the Explorers fell 18-25.

DiMarco and Tulskie notched nine and eight kills respectively, while Kourtney Clark posted 23 assists. Emily Merrick and Noga each had two services aces. For the Wildcats, Morgan Petkovich led all attackers with a match-high 14 kills and Alyssa Anderson added 32 assists.

La Salle will continue play in the tournament tomorrow with matches against Temple at 10 am and against Penn at 4 pm. Explorer fans can follow both games online via gametracker. The match against Penn can also be streamed online with a subscription to the Penn Sports Network.