SOUTH ORANGE, N.J.—Women's volleyball rattled off six straight sets in consecutive sweeps of Binghamton and Seton Hall on Friday. The team led in most major categories, out-killing its opponents 82-49 and out-digging them 89-61. Ultimately, both games were a tale of efficiency on the offensive end. Considering that errors recorded were almost equal between the sides, the Explorers' kill percentage of .277 over the pair of games was striking when comparing their opponents' combined mark of .070. 
 
La Salle 3, Binghamton 0
HOW IT HAPPENED

• La Salle jumper out to a 5-2 lead before trading blows with the Bearcats. The Explorers would extend their advantage to 10-4 but the 'Cats would claw back and keep things close until 14-11. At that point, kills by junior Samantha Graver and freshman Marisa Guisti book-ended a pair of aces from senior Kathryn Wood, and all of sudden La Salle had opened up a ten-point lead—one which Binghamton could not recover from.
• In identical fashion, La Salle began the second set at 5-2 and pushed its lead to an 11-7 mark.  But this time the Bearcats capitalized on some errors and rattled of five straight until Andrew Kroger called timeout. This allowed the Explorers to stay in the game and eventually tie things up at 16 each. Then, Graver tallied four straight kills, effectively sending the Bearcats to a second set grave and giving La Salle a 2-0 advantage.
• The third frame began in massively different fashion, with Binghamton throwing together four unanswered points en route to a 7-3 start. While the Explorers were determined to finish the match off in straight sets, the Bearcats continued to make that a difficult possibility, leading at 15-14. They would surrender that lead because of three errors and the Blue & Gold made them pay: leading at 20-18, La Salle scored five unanswered to claim the game.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Graver headlined this one with her fourth straight double-double, racking up game-highs in kills (12) and digs (10). She was equaled in the digs department by junior Allison Laucella, while followed by senior Devin Corah on nine kills.
• Freshman tandem Rachel Hess and Guisti combined for 11 kills, while Hess also added two aces and five digs.
• Wood led both teams in assists with 23 and aces with three, the latter of which coming one shy from tying a career high.

 
La Salle 3, Seton Hall 0
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Despite a 20-minute delay, the Explorers proved to be unaffected and got off to a good start against the hosts, beginning on a 7-3 front foot. Even more impressive is how they continually staved off a team in its own building, maintaining a lead anywhere between two and five points until finding a moment to kill off the set. That moment arrived when leading at 19-15. An error by Seton Hall, an ace by Graver, a kill by Corah and the Explorers were up by seven. The Pirates attempted to recover with two straight points, but a kill from Guisti and a pair of errors from the hosts surrendered the set to La Salle.
• La Salle began a set strongly again and got out to a 6-3 advantage before Seton Hall tied it up at 6-6. The pair of opponents would go back and forth until the Explorers stretched the lead to 15-11, a margin which they would maintain until 19-15. Then kills from sophomore Elizabeth Osborn, senior Catherine Edgington and Graver, sprinkled in with some errors from the Pirates, decided the set for the Blue & Gold.
• When the final frame started off 5-1 to the Explorers, it seemed that the away side might stroll to a sweep. All credit to the Pirates, they battled back on their court to take a 12-10 lead. La Salle, however, demonstrated an equal fortitude by responding to Seton Hall's 5-1 run with a 7-1 stretch of its own; redshirt freshman Sarah Nahas served up two assists over that time and Edgington delivered a pair of kills. The Pirates would fight to a one-point deficit, but—going with the flow of the game—La Salle hit its form late on. Six unanswered points from the visitors, dictated by two aces and two assists from Laucella, gave the Explorers the perfect day.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• How dominant were the Explorers against a team in its own gym? Seton Hall only led four times across the three sets: 1-0 in the first, 2-1 in the first and 11-10 and 12-10 in the third.
• Edgington had a game to remember, making her presence felt on offense and defense. Notably, her four solo blocks mark a career best for the number 14.
• Wood tallied 37 assists to continue a fantastic start in that category which she has made her own.
• Hess (15) and Graver (12) both managed to record double-digit digs, with Graver coming agonizingly close to a fifth straight double-double, falling just short of that feat on nine kills.

 UP NEXT

• After a good day on the hardwood, the Explorers must refocus for a battle on Saturday. They face reigning Big Sky champions Northern Arizona at 4:30 p.m.