PHILADELPHIA –La Salle (7-8) fell to George Washington (9-7) on Sunday afternoon in straight sets, putting its record in conference play at 2-2. Junior Samantha Graver paced all players in kills (12) for the second straight game, adding 11 digs for a double-double. Sophomore Elizabeth Osborn tallied double-digit kills (10) and put a shift in on defense with two total blocks and five digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Explorers took an early 4-2 lead in the opening set, but the visitors answered back with an 8-2 run. With La Salle trailing by four, the team would close within one point on three separate occasions (12-11, 15-14, 16-15), but never retake the lead. The Colonials hit back for four unanswered, opening up a lead that would win them the set.
• The opponents went point-for-point to start the second before the visitors rattled off four straight to lead 7-3. La Salle managed to get two back from an Osborn kill and an ace by redshirt freshman Sarah Nahas, but George Washington kept the Explorers at bay, stretching its lead to four and then, with the score at 14-10, tallied five straight. The Blue & Gold got as close as within seven after that, but the Colonials would take a 2-0 advantage.
• La Salle opened up the decisive third set on a mission, jumping out to a 10-6 lead. The Colonials narrowed the gap to within two, but the home side responded with three unanswered to make it 16-11. Following a George Washington timeout, the visitors embarked upon a five-point jaunt to tie the game and then take the lead by tallying seven of the next 10 possible points. With the Explorers down 23-19, a pair of kills by senior Devin Corah and a kill by classmate Catherine Edgington, plus two attack errors tied the score again at 24-24. Two points from the Colonials sealed the game.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Graver double-double was her 10th of the season—a team-high. If she can manage three more over the next 11 games, she will have a new career high.
• Graver's dig tally was the second most on the team behind freshman Rachel Hess. La Salle's number 17 finished with 13—a game high.
• The visiting Colonials held the upper hand in most of the statistical categories, but the Explorers did finish with more aces (4-1). That makes six straight games where the Blue & Gold have won that category and, notably, have lost the battle of aces only twice all season (against Notre Dame and San Diego).

 UP NEXT

• The Explorers will look to get back to winning ways in the A-10 as they host Duquesne on Friday at 7 p.m. They will follow that with a Big 5 showdown with Villanova a day later. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.