Strong conference start for women's volleyball

On Friday night, students were treated to free LaRosa's

Hawaiian-style pizza and leis around their necks as they cheered on the Musketeers to a sweep of Temple (25-23, 25-19, 25-21) in the Atlantic 10 opener in Cintas Center.

Xavier head coach Mike Johnson, who was born in Kahaluu, Hawaii, proudly showed off his Hawaiian heritage as he coached his team in a Hawaiian shirt. XU improved to 9-5 on the season overall and 1-0 in the conference.

Sophomore Sarah Brown led the Musketeers in kills with 12, while redshirt sophomore Alex Smith tied her season high with 10 kills. Junior Stephanie Vorherr led the match with 18 digs while striking in a service ace. On Saturday, the Musketeers returned to the court with new faces leading the way. Junior Kaleigh Rougraff led Xavier with 12 kills while freshman Kelly Westerkamp registered her first career start

and contributed one kill and five digs. Xavier's record improved to 10-5 and remained undefeated in conference play with the win over La Salle. The win also marked the

31st consecutive win for XU over the Explorers. "We have a lot of depth. A sum of a great team is greater than its individual parts," coach Mike Johnson said. But of the team's many individual parts, perhaps freshman Aubree Smith was the most effective this weekend. Smith captured

her third A-10 Rookie of the Week honor in just the fifth week of the season. The newcomer from St. Louis, Miss. hit an impressive .610 on the week with 15 kills, along

with her 102 assists (11.33 apg), 18 digs, and four blocks.

"The goal for this team is to continue to get better in practice," Johnson said. "Duquense and St. Louis are both projected to finish at the top of our league and we will have to play great [next weekend]." Duquesne enters Friday's contest in Cintas Center with a 12-4 record and is undefeated in A-10 play. St. Louis stands at 6-6, but also with a spotless 2-0 conference record. The Musketeers will take on Duquesne at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saint Louis on Saturday, at 4 p.m. For Xavier assistant coach Sammi McCloud, Saturday's match against the Billikens will be especially meaningful as she coaches against her alma matter.