Box Score La Salle vs. Saint Louis Box (PDF)
 
PHILADELPHIA – The Explorers returned to the court Saturday evening to take on surging Saint Louis, dropping the match to the Billikens in straight sets (14-25, 14-25, 24-26). Junior middle hitter Jennifer Whelan played a strong match with 6 kills and 4 block assists. Sophomore setter Michelle Healy continued her strong run of play with 14 assists, while also chipping in 5 kills.
 
La Salle faced a difficult challenge Saturday evening, as they had to faceoff against two of the top hitters in the Atlantic 10 in the outstanding freshman duo of Mallory Dillon and Danielle Rygelski. The Billikens (7-10; 3-1 A-10) also seemingly were hitting their stride, as they entered the night on a two-match road winning streak against Dayton last weekend and George Mason on Friday evening. The Billikens never allowed the Explorers to get into an offensive rhythm, while they rode their dynamic duo of Dillon and Rygelski to the three set victory.
 
The matched opened positively for the Explorers, with both teams exchanging points through the first few rotations. With Saint Louis holding a one-point advantage, they strung together a 4-0 run to be the first team to 8 at the early going. The teams continued to exchange points with the Billikens continuing to slightly build their opening set lead. The Blue & Gold began to mount a charge in the middle of the opening frame with a 4-1 run on the strength of kills by Ashley Felton, Kelly Perillo and Michelle Healy respectively. The rally was short-lived, however, as the powerful Billiken flexed its muscles on a 7-2 run that opened up a comfortable lead to cruise to the opening set victory.
 
The second set began with the Billikens stringing together an early 6-1 run. The Explorers rebounded to cut the deficit to three points. However, a subsequent 5-1 run by the Billikens opened up a sizeable lead that they would maintain for the rest of the middle set. The Explorers tried to mount a comeback late, stringing together a 3-0 run to bring the score within six points, but kills by Rygelski and Dillon stymied the run and iced the second set for Saint Louis.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Explorers came out strong in the third set, putting together one of their strongest sets of the season to date. They jumped out to an early lead on Saint Louis, leading the Billikens 8-7 at the 1/3 mark of the set. The teams continued to exchange points throughout the middle portion of the set. The Explorers looked primed to extend the match to a fourth set when they notched a 4-0 run to open up a two-point lead at 18-16, prompting a Saint Louis timeout. The Billikens regrouped during the timeout, claiming the next three points to snatch the lead back. The teams continued to trade points until the bitter end. The Explorers were able to stave off one Saint Louis set point opportunity, and had their excellent libero Erin Noga on serve with a chance to try and take control of the set. Back-to-back outstanding plays by Dillon sealed the match for Saint Louis, as she nailed an emphatic kill and finished the match with a service ace.
 
Junior middle hitter Jennifer Whelan played one of her strongest matches of the season. She matched her season high with 6 kills on a scalding hot .455 hitting percentage, while also setting a season high with 2 service aces and 4 block assists to lead all players.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Kelly Perillo was relatively held in check by the Billiken defense, but was still able to manage 6 kills, 6 digs, and 2 block assists.
 
Sophomore setter Michelle Healy played an excellent all-around game for the Explorers. She posted 5 kills (.143) and 14 assists to lead the Blue & Gold for the sixth straight match. Defensively, she chipped in 3 digs and 2 block assists.
 
Sophomore libero Erin Noga led all players with 14 digs.
 
The Explorers (1-21; 0-4 A-10) return to action next Friday, October 11^th, as they travel to Washington D.C. for their conference road opener against the George Washington Colonials.