PHILADELPHIA- The La Salle Volleyball team captured a stunning five set victory over Penn on Sunday, Sept. 10 to conclude the Valley Forge Sports Invitational. La Salle was able to outlast the Quakers in a 3-2 final contest with match scores of 25-18, 25-17, 21-25, 24-26 and 17-15.

With the result, La Salle improves to 9-3 on the season and captures a third place finish in the tournament overall. Samantha Graver was named to the All-Tournament team as one of six selections.

In their first victory over the Quakers since 1999, La Salle charged past Penn in set one. Led by the defense, the Explorers limited Penn to just 11 kills in the first set. La Salle totaled six blocks to shut the Quakers down, with Kathryn Wood, Devin Corah and Maya Barton all posting a solo block apiece.

With the momentum of the first set to guide them, La Salle jumped out to an early 5-1 lead over the Quakers to get the second set underway. With a pair of kills from Corah and Graver to fuel a three-point run at the end of the set, the Explorers gained a two set advantage.

After the Quakers adjusted to open set three on a 7-0 run, La Salle slowly crawled back to close the gap at 10-7. A five point run by Penn put the Quakers up ahead to hold control of the match. La Salle took a five point run thanks to a pair of kills from Graver and an ace from Corah, but Penn outlasted the Explorers to take the set 25-21.

Penn opened the fourth set with another five point run, which the Explorers were quick to answer with a four point run thanks to a pair of aces from Graver and a kill by Corah. From there, the two teams battled it out past the 25 point end mark until Penn grabbed the final point to end the set 26-24.

In what looked like a match ending advantage, the Quakers opened the final set in an 11-7 lead. La Salle would not let the Quakers slide by them and took a three point run thanks to a pair of aces from Hannah McGary at 13-11 to even the score. In an exciting final two rallies, the Explores edged ahead with a kill from Bryanna Davis and Corah to end the match in La Salle's favor.

Davis lead all attack with 22 kills on the day, while Graver posted her fifth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 22 digs. The freshman also added five aces to lead the match. 

Corah also recorded a double-double with 17 kills and 14 digs. Barton lead the match with two solo blocks, while Reilly Lowe contributed four block assists to hold Penn down in the defensively driven match.

Kathryn Wood contributed 56 assists on the day, while Jensen Sharrits added 21 digs in the win.

La Salle will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 15 when the team travels to Colgate to face a trio of teams in the Colgate invitational. The Explorers will take the court against Stony Brook at 12:30 p.m. to open the weekend.