PHILADELPHIA - The 2013 La Salle Volleyball Team is teeming with excitement and optimism as the last few days of preseason practice countdown. The Explorers kick off their 41^st season on Labor Day weekend at Tom Gola Arena as the host of the La Salle Invitational. The team will play four matches over the course of the two-day event. On Saturday, La Salle will open the tournament against Fairleigh Dickinson at 9:00am and will conclude the day's action with a tilt against Lafayette at 7:00pm. Sunday will feature matches against Sacramento State at 9:00am and Bucknell at 2:00pm.
 
Confidence is high that the team is looking strong heading into the season. "They've been a dream to have here at practice," said head coach Dave Stever. "Everybody is hustling and working hard." 
The Explorers are a team characterized by youth, having to replace five key contributors from last year's squad. While last year's team was led primarily by the seniors, the 2013 squad will be led by a more holistic team effort. New leaders and contributors are sure to emerge quickly, one of those being senior captain Rachel Finkbeiner. Finkbeiner is the sole senior on the 2013 squad and will be a stabilizing influence in the middle of the Explorers offensive and defensive efforts. Finkbeiner believes that while the team is young, it has developed a strong bond during preseason practice.
 
"I'd say so far this year we have a really good team chemistry going…there is definitely a different feel to the team on the court this year that I think will really help us throughout the season," said Finkbeiner.
 
One area where the Explorer's should excel is in the setting department. The team not only returns standout freshman setter Michelle Healy, but also junior captain Rachel Melich. Healy and Melich accounted for nearly 89% of the team's assists a season ago, as Melich paced the team with 572 helpers and Healy chipped in 405. While the players setting up the attack are well defined, who will be finishing the attacks is a different story.

The Explorers graduated their top two attackers from last year's team, but do return a couple strong options poised to fill the void. Junior Jennifer Whelan figures to be one end of the attacking combination as she posted 139 kills a season ago. Returning sophomore Kelly Perillo figures to be the other end of the attacking duo after enjoying a strong freshman campaign where she notched 157 kills, the third best mark on the team.
 
The team welcomes four new freshmen to the fold this fall. Expectations are high that they will make significant contributions to the team this fall. "It seems like the freshmen came in and fit in right away," said Finkbeiner.
 
The team hopes that the school will rally behind them to create a strong home court advantage to take on the tough Atlantic 10 slate. "All of our home games we really want people to come to," said Melich. "There are a lot of really good teams in the A-10 like VCU, Saint Louis, Dayton, and I think they all come here once so those are big games we want people here for," added Finkbeiner.
 
The team will participate in three different tournaments on consecutive weekends in September that will make up the majority of its non-conference schedule. The first tournament will be the Marriot Greyhound Challenge in Baltimore, MD. The second will be the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West Penn Invitational at the Palestra. The non-conference tournament swing concludes with a trip to Tennessee for the Memphis Invitational, which the team is most looking forward to.
 
"Our biggest travel tournament this year we are going to Memphis for three days," said junior setter Rachel Melich. "I think we are going to Graceland and doing all the tours and stuff so that should be fun for us."
 
The heavy tournament slate should prove to be a strong test for the youthful team as they prepare for the Atlantic 10 Conference season. The Explorers begin their conference schedule with four home dates, with the conference opener against George Mason on September 27. The team's toughest stretch will be a string of five road matches to conclude October and begin November, as the team's travel will span the A-10 with trips to Saint Louis, Fordham, VCU, Dayton, and Duquesne. They wrap up the conference regular season with home dates against Fordham and Duquesne, the latter being senior day on November 17.