PHILADELPHIA- What started as a slow beginning for the Explorers led to a comeback victory in a thrilling five sets to outlast Rhode Island in a 3-2 final. A pair of sets were forced into extended points for scores of (12-25, 25-22, 22-25, 30-28, 16-14).

A rowdy crowd at Tom Gola saw the Explorers drag through the first set, allowing six points from the Rams before they were able to answer. La Salle continued to trail as the Rams plowed forward to win the set on an ace.

With the first set behind them, La Salle fought back to open set two, jumping ahead on a pair of kills each from Bryanna Davis and Madison Kuch. The teams fought tooth and nail until La Salle pushed ahead to a slight 21-18 advantage. A kill apiece from Reilly Lowe and Davis sent La Salle the edge they needed to capture the second set 25-22.

La Salle jumped out to a 5-0 lead after intermission, but the Rams used a six point run spurred by a pair of kills to fight back. The teams battledanother back and forth contest, featuring seven tied scores until the Rams were able to outlast La Salle in a 25-22 score.

A wild fourth set saw four lead changes and nine tied score reports as the Explorers refused to hand the Rams the victory. A trio of kills from Davis led the Explorers off, building their lead to as large as 16-12 before the Rams were able to slow La Salle down. In front of a crowd up on their feet with anticipation, La Salle toughed it out to end the set on another three kills from Davis to take the set 30-28.

La Salle again leapt out to an early 4-1 lead over the Rams before the scored was equalized at 10-10 in the tiebreaker set. After an ace from Davis and a kill from  Kuch, the Rams fumbled through the final points for the Explorers to win their second conference victory.

Davis was a force to be reckoned with as the senior stuffed stat sheets with 24 kills, 14 digs and an ace for her second double-double of the season. Kuch followed with 16 digs and contributed a block assist on the defensive end. Kathryn Wood led La Salle with 50 assists and chipped in three kills.

Reilly Lowe and Catherine Edgington posted a solo block each, with the latter contributing two block assists to help cage the Rams. Jensen Sharrits recorded a match-high 25 digs, while Jenny Edwards added 19 to go with a pair of aces.

La Salle improves to 2-6 in conference play and 11-12 in overall records with the win. The team will look to continue their momentum as they hit the road to face Duquesne on Saturday, Oct. 21. First serve will be at 4:00 PM in Pittsburgh, Pa.