Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Penn Box Score
Villanova Box Score
PHILADELPHIA- La Salle volleyball came away winless on day two of the Big 5 Tournament at the Palestra Saturday afternoon. The Explorers dropped two 3-1 decisions to host Penn and later Villanova.
Bryanna Davis earned all-tournament honors racking up 35 digs over the three games.
La Salle started the day off dropping a back-and-forth match to the host Penn Quakers, 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 24-26, 10-25).
Kelly Perillo and
Jennifer Whelan led the Explorers with 14 and 10 kills respectively. Both
Erin Noga and
Bryanna Davis added in 11 digs in the match.
Despite jumping out to a huge first set lead, the Explorers weren't able to hold onto their advantage. Eight straight points for La Salle were capped off by two
Phoebe Cook kills, and a
Michelle Healy ace gave La Salle the early 9-1 advantage. Late in the set, Penn was able to go on their own run picking up ten straight points to cut the La Salle lead to 23-21. Ultimately the Quakers picked up the vital points late in the set and took the first frame, 26-24. Perillo led the Explorers with four kills, while Whelan and Kuhlmeier both added three of their own in the first set.
La Salle again jumped out to an early lead, and this time was able to hold off the late Penn charge. The Explorers were up 9-5 after a Whelan ace and a Cook kill. However, the Quakers got right back into it and took the next five points to give them a 10-9 lead. The Explorers were able to regain the advantage as the set went on and set up set point at 24-21 after an
Ashley Felton kill. Ultimately, it was a big solo block from the senior
Jennifer Whelan that gave La Salle the set, 25-22. Perillo led the team with eight kills through two sets, while hitting at a .533 clip, and adding in ten digs. The Explorers had seven service aces already through two sets, with
Michelle Healy setting the pace with three to her name.
The third set proved to be as tight as the first two, with the teams battling from start to end. With the Explorers down 14-20, they were able to grab four straight points thanks to two Whelan kills that closed the gap to 18-20. Down 21-24, La Salle fought off three straight set points to even things at 24. However, again Penn was able to respond and closed out the set with two straight kills to win 26-24.
The Quakers momentum carried over into the fourth set where they controlled much of the action. La Salle was never able to really get going in the fourth frame and ultimately dropped it 25-10. Perillo recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs, both of which led the team.
Michelle Healy added 35 assists in the losing effort as well as three service aces.
In the second half of the double header, La Salle dropped a 3-1 decision to Villanova (20-25, 15-25, 25-21, 17-25).
Kelly Perillo picked up her second double-double of the day finishing with 15 kills and 14 digs.
Erin Noga picked up 23 digs in the losing effort.
The opening set saw La Salle fall behind early, but the Explorers fought back and made things interesting late. Down 15-24 and facing set point, La Salle scored five straight points including a block from Cook and Whelan. Ultimately they didn't have enough to complete the comeback and dropped the first set 20-25. Whelan led the team with three kills, while
Michelle Healy added eight assists and five digs in the set.
Despite jumping out to an early lead, the Explorers couldn't hang on in set two. Back-to-back kills from Perillo and Whelan gave La Salle a 6-5 lead in the early going, but the Wildcats got hot and ultimately took the set 25-15.
Laura Kuhlmeier had a great second set, grabbing five kills in the set while hitting .556. Perillo added six kills of her own in the set.
La Salle refused to roll over and came out and took the third set 25-21. The Explorers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, thanks in part to two
Erin Noga service aces, and were able to hold on to that early lead for the remainder of the set. Perillo again led the team with six kills, while Healy added 12 digs in the set.
Villanova was able to come out and regain their form in the fourth set, grabbing the set 25-17 to take the match 3-1. Despite jumping to an early 6-4 lead after an
Ashley Felton kill, the Explorers allowed the Wildcats to respond and retake the lead at 15-14, which proved to be a lead that Villanova wouldnt give up.
Bryanna Davis paced the Explorers with four kills in the fourth frame.
La Salle returns to action on Friday, when they open up their Atlantic 10 slate hosting Saint Louis at 7 p.m. in Tom Gola Arena.
