PHILADELPHIA – La Salle (6-12) hits the road for its first road trip of conference play this weekend. The Explorers head to Kingston R.I., to take on Rhode Island (10-5, 1-1 A-10) on Friday at 7 p.m., before rounding out their trip to the northeast when they head to the Bronx, N.Y. to faceoff with Fordham (0-15, 0-2 A-10) on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Scouting the Rhode Island Rams...La Salle Explorers (6-12, 0-2 A-10) at Rhode Island Rams (10-5, 1-1 A-10)Friday, Oct. 3 | 7 p.m.Live Statistics | Live Video | Sign Up For Text AlertsRhode Island opened up conference play last weekend by splitting their first two games. The Rams dropped a heart breaker at George Washington, 3-2, to start off conference play, before rebounding on Saturday and picking up a 3-1 win at George Mason. The Rams had a strong start to the season in out-of-conference play, winning their first eight games of the season on their way to winning the Delaware Invitational and SHU Hampton Inn Shelton Invitational.
A large part to the Rams success thus far this year has come from their defensive effort. Rhode Island comes into the weekend leading the Atlantic 10 in both digs per set with 16.62 d/s, and in opposing hitting percentage, holding opponents to just a .161 clip. Sophomore middle blocker Layne Self has been a key component to that defensive effort, she ranks second in the A-10 and 16
th overall in the nation with 74 total blocks. Junior libero Lizzy Scanlon has aided in that effort adding 232 digs on the season which is good for third overall in the conference.
Offensively, Rhode Island has been led by outside hitter Franki Darnold. The junior has racked up 246 total kills, which in second in the conference and 21
st in the nation, and has averaged 4.47 kills per set which leads the conference and is 16
th overall in the nation. Darnold has produced double digit kills in all but one game so far this season, and already has four matches that have seen her tally at least 20 kills.
Scouting the Fordham Rams...La Salle Explorers (6-12, 0-2 A-10) at Fordham Rams 0-15, 0-2 A-10)Saturday, Oct. 4 | 7 p.m.Live Statistics | Live Video | Sign Up For Text Alerts Fordham has struggled to start the season, going winless through the first 15 games on their schedule. The Rams dropped straight sets to both George Mason and George Washington to start off conference play last weekend.
The Rams struggles have been highlighted by their offensive output so far this season. They rank tenth in the Atlantic 10 in hitting percentage, hitting at a .064 rate. Graduate student Lisa Hipp and junior Brennan Delsing lead the team with 125 and 105 kills respectively.
Defensively, Fordham has three players with at least 100 digs on the season. Grace Muller, Lisa Hipp and Abigail Konovodoff have tallied 156, 125 and 108 digs respectively thus far. Konovodoff ranks ninth in the conference with 7.1 assists per set in addition to her impressive number of digs on the season.
Scouting the Explorers...La Salle had a rough start to conference play last weekend, losing in straight sets to Saint Louis and Dayton. The Explorers faced a tough start to the season as their first two opponents have won ten of the last eleven Atlantic 10 Championships.
The Explorers lead the Atlantic 10 in several categories including team digs with 1,003 on the season, and team service aces having tallied 122 on the season, which is 1.82 aces per set.
Offensively La Salle has been been led by
Kelly Perillo. The junior has been a workhorse, ranking second in the conference and 14
th nationally, having already attempted 665 total attacks on the year. Perillo has finished 213 of those swings into kills, which ranks fourth in the A-10 and 53
rd in the nation. Perillo has provided more than just offense though, ranking third on the team with 190 digs and service aces with 18 on the year. She has also tallied a team high nine double-doubles on the year.
Michelle Healy has been the vessel that the offense has run through all season, tallying 627 assists on the season which ranks third in the conference and 19
th overall in the nation. If she continues the pace she is on, Healy could have the first 1,000 assist season for La Salle since 2006 when Caitlin Conner tallied 1,076 assists. Healy has also added in 28 aces on the year which leads the team and is second in the A-10 and tied for 12
th nationally in the category.
Defensively, The Explorers have been aided by the emergence of freshman
Bryanna Davis. She ranks fifth in the A-10 in digs with 214 on the season, despite transitioning to libero part of the way into the season. She also has added in 27 service aces which ranks third in the conference and tied for 18
th nationally. Davis has also moonlighted as an outside hitter tallying 79 kills on the season in her limited attempts.
Next UpLa Salle continues their road swing in conference play when they head south to face VCU on Friday, October 10 at 7 p.m. and new Atlantic 10 member Davidson on Sunday, October 12 at 1 p.m.
