PHILADELPHIA- The La Salle volleyball team picked up a 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-15, 25-17) win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena. Three Explorers finished with double-digit kills on the evening led by senior Laura Kuhlmeier with 14.
 
Freshman Madison Kuch recorded a career-high 13 kills while hitting .407 on the day. Junior Ashley Felton (11 kills, .526 hitting %) and senior Laura Kuhlmeier (14) also played prominent roles in the Explorers (5-7) attack.
 
"Maddy started off the game with two errors and as a coach the mindset is whether or not to pull her," added head coach Caitlin Rimgaila. "We kept her in there and let her work through that and she ended the match with 13 kills, hitting .407. If we can get 13 kills, that's what Kelly Perillo does for us. We talked about some stepping up into that roll and that's what Maddy did tonight."
 
La Salle grabbed set one 25-17 to jump out to an early lead. Felton and Kuhlmeier each had four kills in the set while sophomore Hannah McGary added three of her seven kills on the night in the first frame. The Explorers were able to limit the Knights attack to just a .111 hitting percentage in the frame and limited the runs they could go on thanks to a 76% sideout percentage.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson climbed back into it and evened things up at 1-1 with a 25-19 set two win. Things were tight at 19-19, but the visitors scored six straight points to close out the set. Sophomore Rachel Carr added three kills in the set.
 
The Explorers came out of the break and were able to regain momentum with a commanding 25-15 third set win. La Salle closed out the set on an 11-5 run. The Explorers were able to hit .533 as a team with 18 kills on just 30 swings in the set. Kuch posted six kills on just seven attempts in the set for a .857 hitting percentage. Only once did La Salle allow Fairleigh Dickinson to serve multiple times in a row as they were 14-15 in sideout attempts in the set for a .93 sideout percentage.
 
"For us to be able to pass in system and have three options including our setter as an attacker at all times, it's hard for other teams to stop," said Rimgaila. "One thing we haven't been able to do recently is find a way to score on the first ball and we did a much better job with that tonight."
 
The hosts closed out the win with a 25-17 win in the fourth set. Felton and Kuch each had four kills in the frame with Felton connecting on four of her five swings for a .800 hitting percentage.
 
Freshman Taylor Hite finished with 46 assists on the evening and eight digs. She was able to aid in the offensive effort with seven kills of her own and a .538 hitting percentage.
 
"Taylor being able to score takes a lot of pressure off our attackers," stated Rimgaila. "She sees the court really well and sees the defenders well so she knows when to do it. There is a difference between doing it all the time and knowing when to do it. She does it well in transition and it has been effective."
 
Freshman Jensen Sharrits led the team with 16 kills on the evening. Kuhlmeier added 15 of her own to finish with a double-double on the evening.
 
La Salle returns to action this weekend as they participate in the Big 5 Tournament. They open up the weekend on Friday as they face Temple at the Palestra with first serve scheduled for 4 p.m.