MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (Nov. 22, 2008) – Senior Kristin Buter (Bowie, MD/Bowie) (Bowie, Md. / Bowie) had 24 kills in two matches to become Saint Francis University's all-time kills leader while helping the Red Flash women's volleyball team to a pair of wins at the Northeast Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

The fourth-seeded Red Flash beat fifth-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson, 3-0, in the day's first match. Robert Morris swept its way through the NEC schedule in the regular season to earn the No. 1 seed, but Saint Francis upset the tournament-host in five sets 15-25, 25-23, 13-25, 25-23, 15-13 to earn its first trip to the conference finals since 1997. The Red Flash will look for their first-ever NEC Tournament title, and NCAA Tournament appearance, when they face No. 2 Long Island at 1 p.m. on Sunday, in Moon Township.

#4 Saint Francis 3, #1 Robert Morris 2

Leading all players with a .412 hitting percentage (11 kills) was SFU senior Keshia Gibbs (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park), while Lindsay Malloy (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) (Gallitzin, PA/Penn Cambria) put down 11 of her own and Kristin Buter (Bowie, MD/Bowie) (Bowie, MD/Bowie) slammed 14 for the Red Flash. Rikki Myers (Noblesville, IN/Westfield) (Noblesville, IN/Westfield) dished out 39 assists, while a quartet of SFU players notched double-digit digs, including Shirley Miller (Fairless Hills, PA/Pennsbury) (Fairless Hills, PA/Pennsbury) with a team-best 20, Buter with 16, Myers coming away with 13 and libero Christine Breisch (Edwardsburgh, Mich./Edwardsburgh) (Edwardsburg, MI/Edwardsburg) finishing with 12. For the Colonials, Emily Wolthius (Byron Center, MI/South Christian) and Hannah Veith (Columbus, OH/Worthington) paced the offense with 18 and 10 kills, respectively, while Alyssa Bennett (Ramona, CA/Ramona) had a match-high 50 assists.

The Colonials handled the first set seemingly easily, constructing a 6-1 lead and not letting the Red Flash get closer than within three points, while the second frame was more intense. SFU took its first lead of the match early in the second set and held the margin until midway through until RMU knotted the score at 13. A kill from Buter regained the Red Flash lead, but the Colonials refused to be left behind as a putdown from Veith tied the score again, this time at 15. Miller and Gibbs tacked on two points with a kill and a block, respectively, as the Red Flash used that momentum to stay ahead the rest of the set, earning the 25-23 victory.

Set three resembled the opening game as RMU came out of the gate fired up, taking a 3-2 lead and never looking back. The Colonials extended their lead to as much as 21-10, making it difficult for the Red Flash to come within reach. A kill from Wolthius ended the set at 25-13. Entering the fourth frame, RMU appeared to be following suit from their previous performance, however, a relentless SFU squad battled back to even the score at 10 thanks to a kill from Miller, while a block from Greenwalt put the Flash up by one. SFU rode the transition momentum through to the end by keeping the Colonials at bay and stretching its lead to 21-15. Consecutive kills from RMU's Wolthius and Veith brought the top seed back within one, but the Red Flash held for the 25-23 victory and a fifth set, which featured multiple lead changes and a dramatic ending for SFU. Initially, RMU went on a four-point run thanks to points from Wolthius and Veith, but the Red Flash put together a comeback at the right time, knotting the score at 13 with a block. A kill from Gibbs gave SFU a 14-13 lead as they ended the exciting match with an ace.

#4 Saint Francis 3, #5 Fairleigh Dickinson 0

In the first match of the 2008 NEC Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament, Saint Francis defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-20).

Leading the way for the Red Flash were Buter and Keshia with 10 kills apiece, as Gibbs hit a match-best .533. Aiding the offense was junior Rikki Myers (Noblesville, IN/Westfield), who led all players with 31 assists and added two service aces. Classmate Shirley Miller (Fairless Hills, PA/Pennsbury) also posted a match-high, coming away with 14 digs. For the Knights, the 2008 NEC Player of the Year Lauren Boothby paced the offense with 10 kills, while Karolina Kowalski led the setting unit with 21 helpers. Boothby and freshman Kelsey Semler finished with eight and nine digs, respectively.

The first set bounced back and forth between points, as neither team could find a rhythm to build a comfortable lead. The Knights held a slim margin for a majority of the game, but the Red Flash refused to let them run away with the set as Gibbs, an all-conference second teamer, slammed a kill to knot the score at 19. The Knights responded by regaining a two-point lead, but SFU was relentless and evened the score at 22. From there, the Red Flash claimed the set on a kill by Buter.
 
The second stanza started similarly as it featured multiple lead changes early on, but after a Gibbs kill tied the score at 6, the Red Flash stole the lead and never looked back. SFU went on a 9-point rally to stretch their lead to 22-11. After a block from senior middle hitter Greenwalt brought the score to 24-13, a kill from Miller gave the Red Flash the set.
 
Another tightly contested set, the third frame was slightly reminiscent of the first with the teams seesawing back and forth in the beginning. The Knights took an early 3-2 lead, but SFU took advantage of a few FDU errors to steal the lead and proceeded to ward off any pressure from their opponent. After a block from Gibbs and Malloy to increase the SFU lead to 21-18, FDU took a timeout, but the Red Flash came out of the gate swinging and rattled off three consecutive points to bring the score to 24-19. A block from Gibbs ended the match.