PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Sept. 17, 2010) – The Saint Francis women's volleyball team nearly rallied from a 2-0 deficit, but were unable to complete the comeback in the fourth set as the Bowling Green State Falcons defeated the Red Flash 3-1 (12-25, 19-25, 29-27, 25-27) on the first day of the Blue & Gold Invitational hosted by the University of Pittsburgh.

The match was not one made of dominant offensive efforts, as only three players on the court totaled double-digit kills.  However, the Falcons used their stingy defense to their advantage, recording 58 digs and 13.5 total blocks to hold the Red Flash to a .076 hitting percentage.

The Red Flash began the first set with a brief 3-2 lead, but it was a pair of long runs that eventually gave the Falcons the first win of the night.  Trailing 3-2, Bowling Green went on to score the next seven points to give themselves a 9-3 cushion before Lindsay Malloy (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) recorded a kill to stop the bleeding.  Later, trailing 14-6, Colleen Black (Smithsburgh, Md/Smitsburgh) (Smithsburg, Md./Smithsburg) recorded a kill to get the Red Flash on a roll with Logan Meinert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny)'s (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) serve.  After another Malloy kill, the Red Flash would pull to within 14-10 on a pair of Meinert aces before the Falcons ultimately pulled away, scoring 11 of the last 13 points in the 25-12 win.

In the second set, the Red Flash again started out with a lead, going up 4-2 on a Colleen Black (Smithsburgh, Md/Smitsburgh) kill.  They gave up two straight before Amanda Zahumensky (Sarver, Pa./Freeport Area) (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) briefly gave them their lead back at 5-4.  When Bowling Green retook the lead, they would not allow the Red Flash to get closer than three points until a three point Red Flash run – a Zahumensky kill, followed by two straight Meinert aces – tied the score at 11-11.  The Falcons would respond by scoring the next five points and ultimately taking the set 25-19.

The Flash, though, would take a measure of revenge in the third set.  Despite trailing for the better part of the early portion of the set, the Flash eventually tied the score at 10-10 on a block by Malloy and Lizzy Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula), the culmination of a 3-0 run that forced a Bowling Green timeout.  The teams traded points back and forth before the Falcons forced a Red Flash timeout while trailing 20-19.  The Flash tied the score 21-21 on a Williams/Leeanne Haus (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) block and staved off a possible match point when trailing 24-22.  The teams continued to trade points when Zahumensky tied the score at 27-27 with a kill and subsequently gave her team the set with a pair of aces.

The Red Flash trailed 5-1 early in the fourth set, but were able to gain ground and tie the score several times before taking an 11-10 lead on a Zahumensky/Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) (York, Pa./Dallastown) block.  The Flash eventually built a sizable lead, going up 22-18 before a 6-2 Falcons run tied the score at 24-24, before the Falcons won with a 27-25 score.

Malloy led the Red Flash with eight kills, and was followed by nine kills from Haus and eight kills from Zahumensky.  Meinert started the match at setter and set a career high with 36 assists.  She also collected 12 digs.