RICHMOND, Va. – The La Salle University volleyball team hung tough with defending Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament champion VCU in its first league match of the season, but ultimately fell by a 3-1 (30-28, 25-19, 26-28, 25-20) margin on Friday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Freshman Elizabeth Osborn put down the first two kills for La Salle in game one, helping the Explorers find an early edge over VCU.
• While La Salle maintained the lead for the majority of the set, the Rams came back and fought off a game point to force a tie at 25-25.
• La Salle fended off three game points of its own, before VCU registered the final two points, closing out the set at 30-28.
• Senior Madison Kuch paced the offense in the second set with five kills to keep the score within a narrow margin.
• A six-point run gave VCU leverage to take the game 25-19.
• The Explorers entered the third set eager for a comeback,as Kuch, Osborn, and junior Catherine Edgington put forth a strong offensive effort, registering five kills each.
• La Salle emerged victorious with a 28-26 win over the Rams.
• The Explorers began the fourth set with two back-to-back kills in an attempt to even it up.
• Despite besting the Rams in kills, La Salle fell 25-20 in game four.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Kuch recorded a season-high in kills for the second straight match with 20, besting her 14 against UMBC.
• Senior Jensen Sharrits had 20 digs, and currently heads the Atlantic 10 conference in boths digs/set (5.61) and total digs (286).
• Osborn registered a season-high in blocks with four.
• Junior Kathryn Wood had 47 assists and ranks first in the A-10 in assists per set (11.33).
• The Rams went 30-3 last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers will remain on the road through the weekend, traveling to North Carolina on Saturday to face off against Davidson on Sunday, Sep. 23 at 1:00 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.