Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
La Salle
Xavier Takes Second Home Match over La Salle
10.06.06 | Volleyball
Oct. 6, 2006
CINCINNATI - In the team's first home match in over a month, Xavier swept visiting La Salle to move to 2-0 on the season at Cintas Center. The Musketeers took the match with scores of 30-21, 30-12 and 30-19. The win moves XU to 10-8 on the season and 3-1 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Explorers drop to 7-16 overall and 0-5 in conference action.
In the opening game, La Salle stayed close and kept the score tied at 16-16 before Xavier mounted a key run to break open the game. XU would mount an 11-2 run to move the score to 27-17 and put the game out of reach. Senior Astyn Bjorklund led the Musketeers, posting four of her eight kills in the opening frame.
The second game found the Blue and White take charge early and not look back. After La Salle took the opening point, XU took the lead on the next two points and would not relinquish it. With the score 14-8, the Musketeers would score 16 of the last 20 points to take the second game in convincing fashion. Seniors Danielle Skrajewski and Bjorklund would each tally four kills on the game as XU committed no hitting errors and hit .515 on the game.
The third and final game found Xavier hold the Explorers to a .000 hitting percentage as XU totaled its highest kill total of the evening with 19. The final game saw freshman Hillary Otte step up and notch all six of her kills in the final game. Junior Jill Quayle also totaled six kills in the game and ended with a team-high 10 on the night.
Quayle paced XU on offense with her 10 kills and .438 hitting percentage to go along with one solo block and four block assists. Bjorklund was second with eight kills and added a solo block and a block assist. Junior Jenni Horvath led XU on defense with a match-best 13 digs, while sophomore Jenn Welsh added eight digs and 32 assists on Xavier's 48 kills.
As a team, the Musketeers held the Explorers to a mere .009 hitting percentage on the match and notched 10 team blocks. XU posted a .343 hitting percentage and forced 24 La Salle hitting errors.
In the all-time series, Xavier holds a 25-0 advantage over La Salle and the Explorers are now 0-5 when visiting Cintas Center.
The Musketeers will return to the court tomorrow evening as XU will welcome Temple to the Cintas Center. Official start time is slated for 7:00 pm. Temple holds a slim 15-14 advantage in the all-time series versus Xavier. The Blue and White dropped both matches last season against the Owls with the final one knocking XU out of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Musketeers hold a 4-1 advantage when playing TU at Cintas Center with the Owls losing their last trip to Cintas, 3-0, during the 2004 season.
