Women's Volleyball | September 17, 2015
PHILADELPHIA – For the second straight season the La Salle volleyball will participate in the Big 5 Tournament against its local Philadelphia rivals. The Explorers kick off the weekend against Temple at the Palestra on Friday at 4 p.m. before facing Villanova and Penn at McGonigle Hall on Saturday to round out the weekend.
Scouting the Owls...La Salle Explorers (5-7) vs Temple Owls (7-2)Friday, Sept. 18 | The Palestra | 4:00 p.m.Live Statistics -Temple enters the weekend after winning the Hilton Penns Landing Cherry & White Challenge last weekend. The Owls grabbed 3-0 wins over Montana and Binghamton while edging Duquesne 3-2.
-The Owls are one of the most efficient hitting teams in the country as they rank eighth nationally with a hitting percentage of .308 on the year.
-Senior Sandra Sydlik ranks ninth in the country averaging 11.55 assists per set.
-Senior Alyssa Drachslin ranks 29
th in the country averaging 5.13 digs per set so far this season.
-Sophomore Irem Asci leads the team averaging 4.26 kills per set which ranks 32
nd in the country. Junior Kristen Overton has been the Owls most efficient hitter hitting at a .395 clip on the season.
Scouting the Wildcats...La Salle Explorers (5-7) vs. Villanova Wildcats (7-3)Saturday, Sept. 19 | McGonigle Hall | 1:00 p.m.Live Statistics | -Villanova enters the weekend following winning the Villanova Classic with 3-0 wins over Siena and Howard and a 3-1 win over James Madison.
-Senior setter Emma Pettit ranks fifth in the NCAA averaging 11.69 assists per set. She has tallied 374 already on the young season.
-Sophomore Allie Loitz leads the team with 133 kills on the year averaging 3.80 per set with a .294 hitting percentage.
-Senior Michelle Adams leads the Wildcats back line with 142 digs on the year. She averages 4.06 per frame.
-La Salle assistant
Andrew Kroger spent three years as an assistant at Villanova prior to arriving at 20
th and Olney in 2014.
Scouting the Quakers...La Salle Explorers (5-7) vs. Penn Quakers (4-4)Saturday, Sept. 19 | McGonigle Hall | 4:00 p.m.Live Statistics | -Penn enters the weekend after dropping a tight midweek match to Delaware 3-1. The Quakers went 2-1 last weekend grabbing a 3-1 win over Fairfield, 3-0 win over Delaware State and 1-3 loss to Towson during the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West Penn Invitational.
-Senior Alexis Genske leads the Quakers with 101 kills on the season averaging 3.06 per set.
-Sophomore Kendall Covington has been Penn's most efficient hitter, hitting at a .323 clip with 53 kills on the season.
-Sophomore Michelle Pereira has been the main libero for the Quakers this year with 115 digs thus far.
Scouting the Explorers...- La Salle enters the weekend after grabbing a 3-1 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday evening. Senior
Laura Kuhlmeier led the team with 14 kills while sophomore
Rachel Carr (seven kills, .412 hitting percentage), junior
Ashley Felton (11 kills, .526 hitting %) and freshman
Madison Kuch (13 kills, .407 hitting %) all aided in the offensive effort.
-Freshman
Jensen Sharrits leads the conference and is in the top 50 nationally averaging 4.92 digs per set. Her classmate
Taylor Hite ranks second in the A-10 and 32
nd nationally with 19 aces on the season.
-The Explorers have been efficient at limiting opposing teams hitting as they rank second in the conference with a .171 opposing hitting percentage against them. La Salle also leads the A-10 averaging 1.81 service aces per set.
-Senior
Laura Kuhlmeier has led the team with 108 kills on the season. She is averaging 2.57 kills per set. Junior
Ashley Felton has aided in the attack with 95 kills of her own hitting .291 in the process.
-Hite has served as the primary setter all season with 342 assists on the year, averaging 8.14 per set. She has also aided in the offensive effort by providing 53 kills with a hitting percentage of .371 on the year which leads the team.
Next UpLa Salle hits the road for a midweek matchup against UMBC on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before returning to Tom Gola Arena to open up Atlantic 10 play against Saint Louis on Friday and Dayton on Saturday with both matches slated to start at 7 p.m.
