WILLIAMSBURG, Va.- The La Salle volleyball team opened up its season with a 3-2 (25-10, 27-29, 23-25, 25-17, 16-14) over Norfolk State. Three Explorers finished with double-digit kills led by senior Kelly Perillo.
 
"We had solid contributions from several players tonight," added head Coach Caitlin Rimgaila. "We asked our senior outside hitters to take the lead and guide our four freshman starters and they did extremely well."
 
Freshmen Taylor Hite, Madison Kuch, Maya Barton, and Jensen Sharrits all made the first starts of their Explorer careers on Friday night. Perillo (18 kills, 12 digs) and fellow senior Laura Kuhlmeier (16 kills, 19 assists) both finished with double-doubles in the win to open up the Tribe Invitational.
 
La Salle jumped out to a 7-0 lead in set one and never looked back on their way to a 25-10 set win. The seven point run featured two service aces from Hite and a pair of kills from Perillo. The senior from Wilmington, Delaware finished the set with seven kills on only ten attempts.
 
The Spartans rebounded by grabbing both the second and third sets by scores of 29-27 and 25-23. Despite the Explorers keeping both sets close the Spartans were able to pull them out and take a 2-1 lead into the fourth set.
 
The Explorers were able to rebound and take a must win fourth set by the score of 25-17 to force a decisive fifth set. La Salle jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the set and never looked back. Kuhlmeier, Perillo, and junior Ashley Felton all finished with three kills in the set.
 
In the winner-takes-all fifth set, the Explorers again jumped out to an early led, but the Spartans were able to fight back and tie things up six times throughout the set. With the score tied at 14-14 back-to-back kills from Felton and Perillo gave La Salle the set 16-14, and the match 3-2.
 
Felton finished off the match with 13 kills hitting a team high .565 with six blocks. Hite and Barton both finished with six kills in their college debuts while Kuch added five of her own and Sharrits adding 16 digs from the libero spot. Hite added 51 assists on the day.
 
"Norfolk State competed hard and was very scrappy defensively," said Rimgaila. "We had an outstanding performance from Ashley Felton, and we expect her to have a breakout season this year. Overall I am pleased with our first performance and we look to build on this momentum and grab two more wins tomorrow."
 
La Salle closed out the invitational with a 10 a.m. match against host William and Mary and a 4:30 p.m. game against Gardner-Webb tomorrow.