PHILADELPHIA- The Explorers put up a strong front against powerhouse VCU on Friday, Nov. 3 at Tom Gola arena, but were ultimately overpowered in a 3-0 finish. La Salle hung with the conference-leading Rams, finishing the sets in (25-19, 26-24, 25-21) outcomes.

After VCU leapt out to a five point advantage to start set one, La Salle used a four point run at 7-14 to begin their fight back on a pair of kills from Madison Kuch and Catherine Edgington. The Explorers were unable to fully recover as VCU used four blocks to claim the first set.

La Salle presented the largest challenge to the Rams in the second set, posting a .433 attack percentage as they forced the match into extended points. The second set featured 13 tied scores as the two teams battled it out and four lead changes. The Rams slipped by the Explorers to take the second set, despite five kills from Bryanna Davis and seven from Kuch.

The deciding set saw La Salle jump out ahead by two on a kill from Davis before the Rams took charge. The Rams tied the score at 2-2 and surpassed the Explorers by as large as 18-11. La Salle posed a comeback with a four point run to be in striking distance, but it was not enough to stop VCU, who ended the match leading by just four in a 25-21 finish.

Individual Explorers led the match in four of the five main statistical categories. Kuch led all kills with 14 on the match, while Davis also tallied double-digit kills with 11. Davis' back-to-back aces in the second set tied for the most on the night with the Rams' Vicky Giommarini.

Kathryn Wood turned in 36 of La Salle's 40 totalassists, while Jensen Sharrits racked up 18 digs. Defensively, the Rams outplayed the Explorers with 10 total blocks as Kuch and Edgington posted three each. Reilly Lowe also added a pair of blocks.

La Salle will return to the court for a meeting with Davidson on Sunday, Nov. 5. A brief senior day ceremony to honor the class of 2017 will begin at 1:00 p.m. before first serve.