POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.- The La Salle volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on the second day of the Volley in the Valley tournament. The Explorers fell 3-0 to Marist before dropping a tight 3-1 decision to Bryant to close out the tournament.
 
Marist took the first match in straight sets over the Explorers, 3-0 (22-25, 17-25, 22-25). Freshman Madison Kuch led the Explorers with seven kills in the match.
 
La Salle jumped out to a 4-0 in the first set but the Red Foxes were able to climb back into the set and eventually notch things up at 10-10. Late in the set after things were tied at 17-17, Marist scored three straight points, two of which off of aces to take control of the set on its way to a 25-22 win. Freshman Taylor Hite had two kills and two service aces in the frame.
 
Set two saw the hosts jump out to a 9-1 lead, and despite La Salle cutting the gap to just three at 10-7, they couldn't complete the comeback. The Explorers used a 6-1 run with three kills from Kuch to close the gap, but the Red Foxes regained their composure and finished out the set 25-17. Kuch finished the set with four kills while freshman Jensen Sharrits had seven digs in the frame.
 
Marist was able to close out the set with a 25-22 set win to complete the sweep. The Red Foxes jumped out to a 17-8 lead, but La Salle scored 13 of the next 14 points to take a 21-18 lead in the frame. However, the momentum would swing again with the hosts ending the frame on a 7-1 run. Senior Laura Kuhlmeier finished with three kills in the final set.
 
The second game of the day saw La Salle drop a tight 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 20-25, 17-25) to Bryant. Kuhlmeier and junior Ashley Felton finished with double digit kills in the match for the Explorers.
 
La Salle jumped out to an early lead as they took the first set by a score of 25-20. The Explorers lead the entire match and were able to close out the set on a 5-2 run. A balanced offensive attack was led by Kuhlmeier (3 kills) while Felton, Hite, Kuch, and sophomore Hannah McGary all added two kills in the frame. Sharrits tallied eight digs in the set.
 
Set two again saw La Salle jump out to a lead, as they held a 20-14 lead late in the set after back-to-back kills from Kuhlmeier, but a late Bulldogs rally allowed them to fend off set point and take the set 26-24. Kuhlmeier had six kills in the frame hitting .600 while as a team La Salle hit .371 in the set. Sharrits provided eight more digs in the set.
 
Bryant continued rolling in the third frame as they grabbed the set 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead over the Explorers. Felton led the way in the set with four kills. The Bulldogs were able to close out the match with a 25-17 win in the fourth frame to take the match 3-1.
 
Sharrits finished with 34 digs in the loss, which sets a career high for the freshman. The 34 digs also sets an Atlantic 10 high for digs in a four set match this season, besting the previous high by ten digs.
 
La Salle returns to action on Wednesday as they welcome Fairleigh Dickinson to Tom Gola Arena for a 7 p.m. match.