Philadelphia – The La Salle volleyball team outlasted the visiting George Mason Patriots, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in Tom Gola Arena. Four Explorers notched double digit kills in the winning effort with junior Kelly Perillo and senior Jennifer Whelan leading the way with 13 kills apiece.
 
"Our win today was a total team effort with an extremely balanced attack from all of our hitters," said coach Caitlin Rimgaila.  "Michelle Healy did a great job distributing the ball, and kept George Mason's defense guessing. We also served and passed really well, and knew that was critical for us to be successful in this match."

The Explorers (9-17, 2-7 A-10) set the tone for the entire match in set one, as they pulled out a 25-18 set win. With the score at 7-6, La Salle pulled off four straight points to get distance themselves. The run was fueled by two kills from sophomore Ashley Felton and a Whelan service ace. Later after the Patriots cut the lead to 14-11, the Explorers won five of the next six points to grab a 19-12 lead, from which they wouldn't look back. The set was sealed after back-to-back Kelly Perillo kills gave La Salle the 25-18 win. Junior Laura Kuhlmeier led the way in the set with five kills, while Felton was efficient hitting .429 in the frame. Junior Erin Noga had seven digs in the set.
 
Set two saw more of the same as La Salle took the frame 25-18 to give them a 2-0 lead heading into the break. Despite being up early, the Explorers allowed the Patriots (6-17, 2-7 A-10) to get back into the set and even take a 15-14 lead. However, La Salle grabbed the next eight points to take a 22-15 lead and regain control of the set. The run saw three kills from Laura Kuhlmeier, and two each from freshman Hannah McGary and Jennifer Whelan. Kelly Perillo again finished off the set with a big kill. The Explorers hit .462 as a team thanks to 19 kills and only a single hitting error. Kuhlmeier led the way with six kills on ten swings in the frame while Hannah McGary was close behind five kills on just ten swings in the set.
 
After the break George Mason fought their way back into the match. Despite La Salle having a set point opportunity with the score at 24-23, the Patriots scored the next three points however, to take the set 26-24 and close the gap to 2-1 overall. Whelan led the way with three kills while Perillo and Felton also added multiple kills. The Explorers had four team blocks in the set led by three block assists from Ashley Felton.
 
La Salle was able to fight off a late rally from George Mason in set four to seal up the match with a 25-23 set win. Despite the Explorers holding a 19-14 lead, the Patriots rallied off six of the next seven points to tie things up at 20-20 late in the set. Things were again tied at 22-22 when La Salle was able to grab some vital points to ensure things didn't go to a fifth set. Back-to-back kills gave the Explorers match point at 24-22. After a Patriot kill closed the gap to one, Hannah McGary again came up big with a vital kill to finish things off at 25-23. Perillo and Whelan led the way in the fifth frame with five kills each. Whelan went 5-7 in the set for a hitting percentage of .714, while McGary was equally as efficient going 4-6 for a .667 hitting percentage of her own. Erin Noga was solid in the back with seven digs in the frame. Junior Michelle Healy had 13 assists in the set and added two service aces.

"I give the team a lot of credit for how hard they are working in practice to improve certain skills...especially defense," added coach Rimgaila. "Erin Noga has been a critical defensive player for us in the past few matches, and she really kept us in some long rallies with major digs." 
 
On the day Perillo and Whelan led the way with 13 kills apiece, while Kuhlmeier and McGary also added double digit kills. For McGary ,the ten kills was a career high, while she hit a productive .286 on the day. Whelan led the way with a hitting percentage of .429 thanks to only one attack error on the day. Three Explorers had double digit digs with Erin Noga leading the way with 21. Perillo and Kuhlmeier both had double-doubles with 10 digs, while Michelle Healy added her own double-double from assists and digs. The team again utilized the service game as a source of offense with eight service aces on the day, led by three from Healy.

"Hannah McGary also is starting to find her niche on the right side and played one of her best offensive matches this year," noted coach Rimgaila. "Jen Whelan and Ashley Felton have both been extremely consistent offensively from middle blocker, and when we pass in system we are hard to stop." 

"Laura Kuhlemeier and Kelly Perillo continue to find ways to score on the OH, and have done a solid job in serve receive," said Rimgaila. "Overall, I am very proud of the team as winning multiple conference matches in a season is a big step for La Salle volleyball." 
 
La Salle returns to action next weekend when they host Fordham on Friday evening and Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon. Sunday the team will celebrate senior day with a ceremony prior to the first serve.