TEANECK, N.J. (Oct. 17, 2010) - The Saint Francis women's volleyball team snapped a three-match losing streak in the Northeast Conference, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9) in Teaneck.
The win was the first road Northeast Conference win for the Red Flash, who improve to 5-16 overall with a 3-5 record in the NEC. Fairleigh Dickinson falls to 9-14 overall, with a 4-4 record in the NEC.
The Flash faced a 2-1 deficit late in the match, but flew out to a big lead in the fourth set on the strength of a 60 percent sideout percentage. SFU led by as many as eight points in the fourth set, with Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) (York, Pa./Dallastown), Rachel Capizzi (Saint Louis, Mo./Mehlville) (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville), and Lizzy Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) each contributing three kills in the set. The Knights very nearly tied the score, though, going from a 24-15 deficit to a 24-22 deficit. However, Williams notched the final kill of the fourth set to take it 25-22.
The Red Flash trailed briefly in the fifth set, but after Lindsay Malloy (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) pulled SFU to within 8-7, the Flash scored seven of the final nine points to win 15-9 on a Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) kill.
The first set was also a lively affair, as the lead changed hands 10 times. The biggest lead of the set was a mere three points, with the Flash taking the win thanks to kills on consecutive plays from Leeanne Haus (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) and Lizzy Williams. The second and third sets, though, were all FDU, as the Knights never trailed in either set.
Amanda Zahumensky (Sarver, Pa./Freeport Area) (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) led the way with 14 kills, also posting 16 digs. The other Red Flash players with double-digit kills were Williams (12) and Wingard (10). Chrissy Breisch (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) set a new season- and career-high with 29 digs at the libero position. Kierstin Kiser (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) had 44 assists.
