AKRON, Ohio (Sept. 10, 2010) - The Saint Francis women's volleyball team began their weekend of competition at the Akron Invitational on Friday, dropping a pair of 3-1 decisions to Indiana State (14-25, 15-25, 25-19, 19-25) and Appalachian State (26-24, 21-25, 11-25, 11-25) on Friday in Akron.
Overall the Red Flash fall to 2-7 on the season, and are losers of five straight. Indiana State improved to 6-3 overall, while Appalachian State improves to a near-perfect 8-1 record in 2010.
Against Indiana State, the Red Flash and Sycamores traded the first 14 points of the match, with neither team able to gain any separation until midway through the set. At 7-7, after Lizzy Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) had tied the score with a kill, the Sycamores scored four of the next five to make the score 11-8 and did not look back the rest of the way. The lead would swell to as many as 11 points as the Sycamores finished the set on a 14-6 run to take the first set 25-14.
Much like the first set, the two teams would battle back and forth in the second set, with Lindsay Malloy (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) tied the score at 9-9. However, Indiana State would rattle off the next six points en route to completing a set-ending 16-6 run that gave them a set win at 25-15 and a commanding two sets to none lead.
However, the Red Flash were not ready to roll over. The third set started with close battling, but this time it was the Red Flash who would open up a lead and take control. They took a two-point lead at both 8-6 and 9-7 on Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) (York, Pa./Dallastown) kills, and eventually built the lead to 18-13 on a Williams block that forced a Sycamores timeout. SFU continued the assault after the break, eventually taking the win on a Kierstin Kiser (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) (Clarion, Pa./Clarion)/Wingard combo block to go 25-19.
In the fourth set, though, Indiana State would go coast-to-coast. Opening on a kill from Stacy Qualizza, they opened on a 7-0 run. The Red Flash were not to be deterred, however, and proceeded to rattle off an impressive run of their own, eventually pulling to within 16-13 on a Malloy kill. Even when the Sycamores reached set point at 24-16, the Flash managed to record three more points, taking what seemed a foregone conclusion and making it that much more difficult to achieve.
Wingard led the team in kills with nine, also recording three blocks and three digs. Chrissy Breisch (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) had the team-high in digs with 14, with Amanda Zahumensky (Sarver, Pa./Freeport Area) (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) not far behind at 13. Kiser got the start at setter, recording 22 assists.
--------------------------------------
Things seemed to be trending upward for the Red Flash after the late improvement against Indiana State, as they took the first set against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in impressive fashion. The Flash opened with a Williams kill, but fell behind 7-2 and 11-4 to the Mountaineers. However, an 8-1 run propelled the Red Flash into a tie with the Mountaineers, with a Malloy kill and a Wingard service ace prefacing a pair of Mountaineer attack errors that tied the score. From there it was a dog fight; Appalachian State would re-establish its grip, but the Red Flash tied the score again at 20-20 on a Williams solo block and again at 21-21 on a Williams kill. The Red Flash took the lead with a Malloy kill at 24-23, and eventually put together the two consecutive points necessary on a Malloy kill and a Leeanne Haus (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) kill.
The second set was another tightly battled affair, with the Red Flash again rebounding from a poor start. SFU feel behind 8-2 to begin the set, but tied the score at 9-9 with a 7-1 run that culminated on a Rachel Capizzi (Saint Louis, Mo./Mehlville) (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville) service ace and a Wingard kill. The teams went on to nearly exclusively trade points, with one team not gaining a two-point advantage until Appalachian State put up three straight to go up 21-19. They closed the set on a 7-2 run to take the set 25-21.
The third and fourth sets, though, would prove to be the undoing of the Red Flash. For the third straight set SFU fell behind significantly at the beginning, trailing 10-3. However, there would be no miraculous comeback this time, as the Mountaineers kept the pressure on until the very end to take the third set 25-11. The Flash actually opened the fourth set with a 3-0 lead and were as close as 10-8 midway through the set, but the Mountaineers rattled off 12 straight points to end the set by a 25-11 score.
The Red Flash conclude their stay in Akron with a match against the hosting Akron Zips tomorrow.
