Women's Volleyball | November 7, 2014
PHILADELPHIA – La Salle volleyball caps off their home schedule this weekend when they welcome Duquesne University to Tom Gola Arena for a 7 p.m. first serve on Friday evening.
Scouting the Dukes...La Salle Explorers (10-18, 3-8 A-10) vs Duquesne Dukes (15-9, 8-3 A-10)Friday, Nov. 7 | 7 p.m.Live Statistics | Live Video | Sign Up For Text AlertsDuquesne comes into this weekend having pulled off quite an impressive run of victories. The Dukes have won their last eight games including seven consecutive Atlantic 10 matches. They currently sit in second place in the conference with an 8-3 record, two games back of conference leader Dayton.
The Dukes utilize a formidable offense that leads the conference with a hitting percentage of .261 as a team; this percentage also puts them in the top 30 teams nationally in the category. Senior middle hitter Arielle Love has led the way offensively for the team. She enters the weekend as the most efficient hitter in the conference, hitting at a .427 clip which is good for seventh nationally, while also leading the team in kills per set with 3.47. Sophomore Lacey Levers has also added to the attack with 216 kills on the year while hitting .354 which is fifth in the conference.
Love has also been a force at the net defensively for the Dukes. The senior is fourth in the conference averaging 1.19 blocks per set. Behind her Duquesne has four players with over 200 digs on the season. Freshman Molly Davet (214), junior Mary Henry (209), senior Patti Abshire (282), and sophomore Sammy Kline (242) have all combined to lead the backline effort for the Dukes.
Mary Henry has been the quarterback of the offense for the Dukes, as she ranks fifth in the conference averaging 10.35 assists per set with 921 total on the season.
Scouting the Explorers...La Salle enters the weekend after splitting their two games last weekend. The Explorers pulled out a tight 3-2 victory over Fordham on Friday night before dropping straight sets to Rhode Island on Sunday. Senior
Jennifer Whelan had a great evening on Friday, as she tallied a game high 16 kills while hitting at a .467 clip. Junior
Laura Kuhlmeier added to the attack with 12 hills and an impressive .400 hitting percentage.
The Explorers have used multiple threats throughout the season on offense. Four players have recorded over 175 kills on the season with juniors
Kelly Perillo (293),
Laura Kuhlmeier (189), sophomore Ashley Fleton (189) and senior
Jennifer Whelan (199) leading the way.
As a team the Explorers have used a strong service game to supplement their offense. Junior setter
Michelle Healy is second in the conference and ninth nationally with 44 total service aces on the year. The team as a whole is tops in the conference and sixth nationally with an average of 1.77 service aces per set.
The junior class as a whole has led the way on defense for the Explorers. Libero
Erin Noga leads the team with 301 digs on the season, averaging 3.20 digs per set. Classmate
Kelly Perillo is close behind with 281 digs on the season.
Laura Kuhlmeier and
Michelle Healy have both also aided on defense with 227 and 187 digs respectively. Sophomore
Ashley Felton come on strong recently at the net and leads the team with 63 total blocks on the year.
Michell Healy has helped organize the offense on the season as she has tallied 933 assists on the season. Healy passed Amanda Woods last weekend for eighth all time with 1,717 total assists in her career. She is also knocking on the door of the first 1,000 assists season for an Explorer since 2006 when Caitlin Conner recorded 1,076.
Next UpLa Salle closes out their regular season with a pair of road matchups next weekend. They travel to conference leader Dayton for a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday before closing out the season on Sunday at Saint Louis with first serve scheduled for 1 p.m.
