Philadelphia, Pa.- La Salle volleyball travels to New Rochelle, N.Y. this weekend as they participate in the Iona Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Explorers open the tournament on Friday at 4:00 p.m. against the Hartford Hawks. On day two of the action, the Blue and Gold will face the Bryant Bulldogs at 10:00 a.m. before taking on the host Iona Gaels to cap off the tournament at 7:00 p.m.
 
If you can't make it up to New Rochelle, you can follow along with live stats, and be sure to follow us on twitter for updates throughout the weekend.
 

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Scouting the Iona Gaels
 
Iona (1-6) enters the tournament coming off a tough weekend at the SHU Hampton Inn Shelton Invitational in Fairfield, Conn. The Gaels were swept 0-3 by both Rhode Island and Hartford and dropped a narrow 2-3 match to Sacred Heart. Iona picked up their sole win on the season when they traveled to St. Francis Brooklyn on September 3, picking up the win in straight sets.
 
Seniors Taylor Cembalisty and Catrina Warren lead the Gaels attack with 68 and 65 kills respectively. Both have averaged over 2.7 kills per set so far this season serving as a staple of their offense. They both have added tremendous defense to complement their offense as well. They are second and third on Iona in digs behind only libero Katie Marabella.
 
Fellow senior Shannon Ward was named All-SHU Hampton Inn Shelton Invitational following her performance last weekend. The middle blocker has added 13 blocks on the season to go along with 97 kills and owns the second highest hitting percentage on the team at .206.
 

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Scouting the Bryant Bulldogs
 
Bryant sits at 3-7 on the young season. The Bulldogs enter the weekend after dropping a midweek matchup against New Hampshire, 1-3. Last weekend Bryant went 1-3 at the Akron Invitational, dropping matches to Akron 0-3, Drake 0-3, and Austin Peay 0-3, while picking up a 3-1 win over Binghampton.
 
The Bulldogs are led by senior Elena Lohr and sophomore Sara DePouw. Lohr leads the team in kills with 97 on the year, averaging just short of three kills per set. DePouw has been named to both all-tournament teams that the Bulldogs have played in so far this season. The sophomore averages 2.44 kills per set and is hitting at a .312 clip.
 
This will be the first career matchup between Bryant and La Salle. Bryant transitioned from Division II to Division I in 2007 competes in the Northeast Conference.

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Scouting the Hartford Hawks
 
Hartford enters the tournament sitting at an even 4-4 on the year. The Hawks picked up a midweek win over Holy Cross 3-2, and prior to that went 2-1 in the Sacred Heart Tournament last weekend with wins over Iona, 3-0, and Sacred Heart, 3-2, while losing to Rhode Island, 0-3.
 
The Hawks offense has been run through senior Sareeta Nethersole. Nethersole is coming off a 20 kill performance in their midweek matchup against Holy Cross. Senior Jackie Tamburri was named this week's American East Setter of the Week after breaking the all-time school record for career assists last weekend. Freshman Katy Henechy has also emerged as an offensive threat for the Hawks racking up 35 kills last weekend.
 
The Explorers hold a 5-2 advantage in previous meetings between the two programs. The last meeting between the two programs came in 2011 in Hartford, with the Hawks picking up a 3-0 win over La Salle.

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Scouting the La Salle Explorers
 
The Explorers enter the weekend sitting at 4-5 on the year after a midweek 3-1 win over Rider. Last weekend at the Towson Invitational, La Salle went 1-2 dropping matches to Coppin State and Towson in straight sets, while picking up a 3-1 win over Saint Peter's.
 
Offensively, La Salle has been led by junior Kelly Perillo and senior Jennifer Whelan. Perillo leads the team with 108 kills on the year averaging over three kills per set. Whelan has been the most effective hitter on the team, leading the team with a .322 hitting percentage.  Both players have been earned spots on all-tournament teams so far this year with Perillo getting the honor at the Towson Invitational and Whelan earning it during the La Salle Invitational.
 
Junior Michelle Healy leads the team with 338 assists on the season. During Tuesday's matchup against Rider, Healy passed Connie Blades to move into tenth place on La Salle's all-time assist list with 1,122 assists in her two-plus years at La Salle.
 
Defensively the Explorers have been led by junior Erin Noga with 111 digs on the season. Freshman Bryanna Davis is third on the team in digs with 91 and has shown her versatility this year, starting matches at both the libero spot as well as at outside hitter.
 
After this weekend, the Explorers travel to Queens, N.Y. for a midweek matchup with St. John's before returning home to participate in the Big 5 Tournament next weekend facing Philadelphia-foes Temple, Penn, and Villanova.