AKRON, Ohio- The La Salle volleyball team captured a pair of wins on day two of the Akron Invitational. La Salle topped Loyola Maryland to take the first match of the day with a final score of 3-2 before defeating Akron 3-1. After the undefeated weekend, La Salle was named the Akron Invitational champions.

"I am really proud of our perseverance and grit this past weekend," said head coach Caitlin Schweihofer. "We fought through three tough matches and had to win by excelling in different skills in each. Our serve and pass game continues to be strong, however our blocking has struggled. We really picked it up in our match against Akron and were successful at the net."

The Explorers started with a hard fought battle against Loyola to open the day but ultimately edged the Greyhounds with set scores of  25-13, 23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-7.  La Salle emerged victorious in set one, derailing the Greyhounds quickly before Loyola could answer. 
 
Loyola came firing back to take the next two sets by two points before La Salle could slow them down. In the fourth set, La Salle regrouped to take the set to equalize the score. The Explorers used this momentum to propel through the tiebreaker set to capture the game with a 15-7 set score.
 
Against Loyola, Bryanna Davis and Samantha Graver each put up spectacular 18 kill performances to lead the team to victory. Catherine Edgington made a strong return to the court with nine kills.
 
Hannah McGary posted five service aces in the match, while Alyssa Cianciulli put up two for La Salle. Kathryn Wood tallied a match-high 50 assists against the Greyhounds.
 
Graver had a double-double performance with 17 digs on the defensive side, while Jensen Sharrits tallied 13 in the match. Davis was a force to be reckoned with as she put up a team-high two solo blocks.
 
In what was a rocky start to the final match of the day against Akron, La Salle recovered to take the match 3-1 for the team's sixth consecutive win. The Explorers fought another hard battle in the second match on Saturday with set scores of 16-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-17.
 
When the Zips charged though the first set in a 25-16 lopsided contest, the Explorers regrouped to take back control of the next in the next three sets.
 
La Salle boasted a total of 53 kills over Akron's 49. Graver claimed 22 of La Salle's kills, while Madison Kuch recorded 13.
 
McGary contributed three aces, while Corah, Graver and Sharrits contributed two apiece for La Salle's nine total.
 
Sharrits contributed 19 assists when going toe to toe with younger sister Taylor Sharrits, a defensive specialist at Akron. Wood contributed 44 assists to help La Salle to the win.
 
After going 3-0 on the weekend, three Explorers were named All-Tournament. Graver was named tournament MVP after she posted double-digit kills across every match to total 50 on the weekend. She added 27 digs and four aces to complete the impressive weekend. 

"Graver continues to be a solid attacker and is able to find open court or tool the block at times when the team really needs a point," said Schweihofer.

Also named to the All-Tournament team was setter Wood, who contributed 119 assists on the weekend. The seasoned setter helped La Salle by creating scoring opportunities to anchor the team through the weekend. 

"Wood's previous experiences in pressure situations and tight matches allowed her to provide leadership and good decision making all through the weekend," said Schweihofer. "She continues to push tempo and put the ball in a great position allowing our attackers to take big swings."

Kuch, who posted 22 kills over two games and four solo blocks against Akron was also named All-Tournament. She proved to be an essential tool for La Salle both offensively and defensively. 

"Kuch was able to come off the bench and provide support on both pins," said Schweihofer. "Her ability to do so is a testament to how hard she has worked to improve her all around skills. She brought a positive lift and was a big reason we won our final two matches of this tournament." 
 
The Explorers will have a quick turnaround to face Youngstown State on Monday at 2:00 p.m. to wrap up the four-game road trip.