Women's Volleyball | August 25, 2015

PHILADELPHIA- The La Salle volleyball team opens its 43^rd seasons this weekend as they head to Williamsburg, Va. for the William & Mary Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Explorers open up against Norfolk State on Friday at 4:30 pm before capping off the invitational against the hosts and Gardner-Webb on Saturday at 10:00 am and 4:30 pm respectively.
 
"Every head coach wants to be as successful as possible," stated head coach Caitlin Rimgaila. "We scheduled our preseason to be as competitive as possible. The A-10 is always very competitive. Our first weekend is down at William &Mary and we are worried about our first match against Norfolk State. We aren't focused on day two yet. We take each match, day, and set one at a time."
 
Head coach Caitlin Rimgaila looks to continue to build the program in her second season at the helm after guiding the Explorer to a nine game turnaround in her first season on campus. Despite losing three seniors La Salle return a wealth of experience as they bring back 94% of their starts from a season ago and 82% of their kills.
 
We were extremely pleased as a coaching staff after taking the program," added Rimgaila. "We weren't really sure what goals to set with wins and losses. To record 10 wins we thought that was huge for the program."
 
At setter the Explorers return senior Michelle Healy who is coming of a season that saw her record 1,000 assists which is the tenth most in a season in program history. She also sits seventh in career assists with 1,784 and ninth in assists per set at 5.70. Healy also led the team with 46 service aces on the season.  She will be joined by incoming freshman Taylor Hite. The 5-9 native of Hamburg, New York was a three time 1^st Team All-Western New York and helped lead her team to two sectional championships and one division championship.
 
"We are really focusing on our ball control," said Healy.  "With ball control we can run a faster offense and have more options. We are also focusing on our defense. I think we can start off strong with the competition that we will see. We want to be strong heading into Atlantic 10 play."
 
La Salle returns a wealth of depth in the back row as senior Erin Noga returns after handling the libero duties to end the season while sophomore Bryanna Davis and junior Phoebe Cook also return after seeing time at both libero and defensive specialist. Noga led all Explorers with 340 digs on the year, averaging 3.30 per set which ranks fifth in program history. Davis ranked third on the team with 290 digs averaging 2.64 per set. Cook averaged .50 digs per set while amassing 36 on the year. They will be joined by freshman Jensen Sharrits. The 5-5 libero from Concord Township, Ohio was a two-time NCL First Team honoree and helped lead her club team to the 2015 Girls Junior Nationals championships game while receiving All-Tournament honors.
 
In the middle the Explorers return a pair of experienced veterans while also introducing a freshman to the mix. Junior Ashley Felton was the most successful of the La Salle middles last season recording 201 kills on the year while also leading the team with 12 solo blocks and 54 assisted blocks on the year. Felton was clutch in a win at Davidson last year recording 11 kills while adding three solo blocks in the win. Also returning is Rachel Carr. The sophomore from Glen Allen, Virginia featured as a right side hitter but also played in the middle. Carr recorded 21 kills on the year while adding 23 blocks on the season. Joining the pair will be 6-2 freshman Maya Barton from Bloomfield, N.J. Barton was named 1^st Team All-Super Essex County as a junior and senior who recorded 97 kills and 18 blocks during her senior campaign.
 
The position with perhaps the most depth for La Salle is outside hitter where the Explorers return four players who featured prominently a season ago while introducing a freshman to the mix as well. Seniors Kelly Perillo and Laura Kuhlmeier have the most experience of the bunch. For the second straight season Perillo led the team in kills notching 306 a season ago. Kuhlmeier ranked third on the team with 206 kills in 2014. The Philadelphia native had five games last season where she recorded double digit kills. Sophomores Hannah McGary and Bryanna Davis also saw time at outside hitter last year. McGary finished top five on the team in kills and came on strong at the end of the season including a 10 kill performance in a win over George Mason. Joining the returners is freshman Madison Kuch. The 6-2 native of Freeland, Michigan helped lead H.H. Dow High School to a district championship during her final two years while recording 295 kills over those two seasons with a .332 hitting percentage.
 
"This season we are a lot stronger than in the past," added Healy. "We have a very strong class that came in and a strong core returning, but we lost three seniors. I think with our core we are still a strong team and we work well together."
 
La Salle opens their season this weekend at the Tribe Invitational. The Explorers face Norfolk State at 4:30 p.m. on Friday before rounding out the tournament on Saturday against William & Mary and Gardner-Webb.