PHILADELPHIA – Volleyball improved to 5-1 this season and reclaimed its spot atop the Atlantic 10 East with a five-set win over Fordham on Saturday. In the thrilling home finale of the season, the opening three sets were pushed past 25 points, while the final frame saw the teams tied at 14-14 before sophomore Sydney Stone tallied back-to-back kills.
 
For Stone, it capped a career day where she recorded her first ever double-double while setting career-highs in kills (14) and digs (16).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game began in a back-and-forth fashion, all tied at 7-7 when La Salle made the first run. The Explorers scored nine of the next 12 points to go up 16-10, but the Rams answered right back with a 7-1 run to tie the game at 17-17. The home side responded well and positioned itself to take the opening set when it went up 23-20, yet again stymied by a 6-1 Fordham surge that gave the visitors the first frame.
• Neither team separated itself until midway into the second. La Salle was up 14-13 when Fordham scored six of the next seven to take the lead, 19-15. The hosts would not be deterred, however, and a 7-3 stretch tied the set at 22-22. The Rams struck first, countered by two points by La Salle. Again, Fordham found an answer to notch things at 24-24, but a kill from senior Reilly Lowe and an ace from junior Elizabeth Osborn tied the match at a set each.
• The away team sprinted out of the gates in the third, taking a quick 12-5 advantage. The Explorers dominated the next phase of play, embarking on an 11-3 jaunt to give them the lead. Fordham then retook the lead with four straight points, 19-16. The Rams remained narrowly ahead until an Osborn kill tied the set at 22-22. Fordham edged back ahead, Osborn struck to tie it, the Rams went up again, Lowe swung to tie it, the visitors again went ahead and, again, Lowe was there to answer. At 25-25, Fordham found two kills to take the third set.
• La Salle started brighter in the fourth and took an early 12-8 lead. Four points from Fordham briefly leveled the score, but the Blue & Gold owned the frame and scored 11 of the following 15 points to hold a 23-16 advantage. The Rams made things interesting with three unanswered points, but the Explorers soon closed out the fourth to force a final set.
• Osborn began the set with two consecutive kills, which the Rams quickly countered with three points of their own. The teams parried to-and-fro with the away side holding an 8-6 lead at the media timeout. Out of the break, the Explorers scored five unanswered to go up 11-8. The Blue & Gold managed to stay slightly ahead of Fordham until, up 13-11, two straight points for the Rams tied the game. A Lowe kill gave La Salle match point, countered by Fordham, but answered back with a pair of kills from Stone.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Stone wasn't the only player to have a career day. Osborn was constantly active and finished with a personal-best 29 kills.
• Redshirt sophomore Sarah Nahas was dishing all day and recorded a career-high 63 assists – one short of matching the five-set program record set by Caitlin Conner in 2005.
• Osborn was one of four Explorers to tally double-digit kills, joined by Stone (14), Lowe (14) and freshman Yaiza Franco (10).
• Franco made her biggest impact on serve, finishing with six aces.
• Freshman libero Isa Lopez amassed a season-high 31 digs against the Rams, also adding six assists.
• The Explorers drastically out-killed Fordham in the match, 72-49.  They also finished with large gaps in assists (70-44) and digs (79-66).

UP NEXT

• The Blue & Gold finishes its regular season on the road with games at George Mason on Wednesday, March 24th and Rhode Island on Saturday, March 27th.