Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
La Salle
Bjorklund Stays Hot as Xavier Rebounds
10.22.05 | Volleyball
Oct. 22, 2005
PHILADELPHIA - Junior Astyn Bjorklund continued her outstanding play as Xavier swept La Salle, 3-0, in Atlantic 10 action on Saturday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena. XU took the match with scores of 31-29, 30-24 and 30-25. The Musketeers improve to 15-8 on the year and 7-2 in A-10 action, while the Explorers currently stand at 9-16 overall and 0-9 in conference play.
After going the distance against Temple the night before, the opening game found Xavier looking tired. The Explorers battled to the very end as the game involved 18 ties and four lead changes. La Salle took its first lead of the game with the score 19-18 and would hold the lead until a kill by Bjorklund put XU back on top, 24-23. La Salle would tie the score four more times before an ace by Jordan Brightwell sealed the XU victory.
The Explorers battled again in the second stanza to keep the score tight until the 15-14 mark when they took their first lead of the game. A kill by Bjorklund would restore parity at 17-17. Both teams would earn side outs and with the score tied at 18-18, Xavier would mount a 7-0 run and put the contest out of reach. Bjorklund again led XU with five kills and a .556 hitting percentage, while Kate Duchek and Danielle Skrajewski each posted seven digs in the frame.
The Musketeers could not pull out of reach in the final contest as each run was answered by the home team. La Salle tied the score at 10-10 before XU took a 7-1 run to gain the 17-11 advantage. The Explorers would power back and cut the Xavier lead to just two before a kill by Laci Hasenour ended the spurt at 28-25. XU would claim the next two points to take the game and match.
Xavier was once again lead by Bjorklund who tallied 14 kills and a .609 hitting percentage to go along with four digs and an ace. Sophomore Jenni Horvath established a new career-high in the match as the outside hitter ended with seven kills, besting her previous high of five against Rhode Island on October 1 of last season. Duchek notched her 12th consecutive match with 10 or more kills and finished with 12 on the night. Skrajewski had her fifth consecutive double-double as she finished with 10 kills and 18 digs. She now has 31 career double-doubles. Brightwell is currently in a 10-match streak with 10 or more digs and finished with 14.
The Musketeers will return to the court this coming Tuesday, October 25, as Ball State visits Cintas Center for a non-conference match. XU will then travel to A-10 rival Dayton for an important conference match on Thursday, October 27, before welcoming Rhode Island to Cintas Center for the last home contest of the season on Saturday, October 29. All three matches are scheduled to start at 7:00 pm.
