LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 2, 2010) - In their first home match in nearly a month, the Saint Francis women's volleyball team snapped a long losing streak and picked up their first NEC win of the 2010 season, defeating the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils 3-1 (27-25, 25-22, 13-25, 26-24) in DeGol Arena.
With the win, the Red Flash improve to 3-13 overall, with a 1-2 record in Northeast Conference play and a 2-1 record in Loretto. The Blue Devils fall to 3-12 overall, with a similar record of 1-2.
The Red Flash offensive attack might have posted its best performance of the year; certainly, the first two sets were the most efficient work they've made of teams in weeks. The Flash hit .240 in their 27-25 win in the first set, notching 18 of their 27 points through kills. In the second set they were even better, striking at a sterling .308 clip.
The Red Flash started the first on an 8-1 run, but the Blue Devils controlled the action for much of the set and pulled away to a 17-12 lead. However, the Red Flash would tie the score at 17-17 on a Leeanne Haus (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) kill and ultimately took the set 27-25 on a Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) (York, Pa./Dallastown) kill.
The Flash took a tight second set 25-22 with their hot-hitting and timely defense; the Flash recorded 4.0 team blocks in the second set, including three by Lizzy Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula). While the Blue Devils handily took the third set 25-13, the Flash surged at the end of the tight fourth set to take the win 26-24. Lindsay Malloy (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) and Wingard each shared the team lead with five kills in the decisive set, with Malloy delivering the killing strike for the win.
Wingard and Malloy each tied for the match-high with 17 kills apiece. Chrissy Breisch (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) had 19 digs, and Kierstin Kiser (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) had 42 assists in the victory. Wingard also posted a team- and career-high seven blocks.
