NEW ORLEANS-The La Salle volleyball team dropped two matches to close out the second day of the New Orleans Invitational. The Explorers fell to Providence 3-0 before dropping a tight final match of the tournament 3-2 to the host New Orleans.
 
La Salle fell to Providence in the first match 3-0 (21-25, 22-25) Sophomore Bryanna Davis led the Explorers with 12 kills on the afternoon. Junior Kelly Perillo added nine of her own hitting at a .421 clip.
 
Set one was tight throughout. After the teams were tied at 9-9 the Friars opened up a four point lead at 19-15, however, the Explorers fought back and closed the game to just one at 21-20. During the 5-1 run from La Salle three separate players recorded a kill. Providence was able to close out the set 25-21 and take a 1-0 lead.
 
The second set again saw the two teams battle tight early in the set but Providence get hot late in the set to take the middle set 25-22. La Salle took an 11-9 lead after a Davis kill, but the Friars went on a 7-1 run to regain control of the set. Davis led the team with five kills in the frame on just ten swings while freshman Jensen Sharrits tallied five digs during the set.
 
Providence closed out the match with a 25-23 win in set three. The Friars jumped out to an early 14-9 lead and never looked back. Perillo led the team with five kills in the frame on just eight swings. Sharrits led the team with 11 digs on the match while freshman Taylor Hite finished with 27 assists in the match.
 
The second match of the day saw La Salle jump out to an early 2-0 lead but the host New Orleans fight back to grab a 3-2 (25-16, 25-16, 18-25, 22-25, 10-15) five-set victory. Junior Ashley Felton led the Explorers with 14 kills hitting at a .591 clip while adding seven blocks. Davis also reached double-digit kills finishing with 11 in the second game.
 
Hite finished with 46 assists on the day while classmate Sharrits added 24 digs in the loss.
 
La Salle hit .333 in the first frame to win the set 25-16 and take a 1-0 lead. Perillo lead the Explorers with three kills on just six swings. La Salle finished the set on a 12-6 run to seal the first set victory. Sharrits tallied 10 digs in the set to fuel the defensive effort.
 
The Explorers were able to frustrate the Pioneers in the second set forcing the hosts to hit -.032 in the frame with 11 errors. Perillo, Felton and freshman Madison Kuch all tallied three kills to fuel the Explorers offense while Hite added two blocks in the frame.
 
New Orleans kicked off its comeback effort in the third frame grabbing a 25-18 win. Despite five kills from Davis, the Explorers were not able to overcome a New Orleans attack that hit .304 in the frame.
 
The host Privateers forced a decisive fifth set thanks to a 25-22 fourth set win. New Orleans grabbed an early lead and despite La Salle keeping things tight throughout the set the Explorers weren't able to come back and close out the mat. Felton led the way with four kills on just six swings in the frame.
 
Despite, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in the fifth set La Salle fell 15-10 to New Orleans in the decisive frame. New Orleans hit .375 to close out the match and despite three more kills from Felton La Salle didn't have an answer.
 
The Explorers return to action on Wednesday as they welcome Delaware State to Tom Gola Arena for a 7 p.m. first serve.