PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Sept. 18, 2010) - The Saint Francis women's volleyball team fell in its final two non-conference matches of the 2010 season, losing 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 20-25) to the Eastern Illinois Panthers and 3-1 (14-25, 18-25, 25-23, 17-25) to the hosting Pittsburgh Panthers in Oakland on Saturday night.

In the first match against Eastern Illinois, the Red Flash jumped out to an early lead in the first set.  After starting the set on a 5-2 run that began with an Amanda Zahumensky (Sarver, Pa./Freeport Area) (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) and ended with a Lizzy Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) kill, the Panthers battled back and eventually tied the score at 5-5.  The two teams kept it fairly tight, with the Red Flash occasionally taking the lead but unable to put the Panthers away.  After Lindsay Malloy (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) and Zahumensky put the Flash up 14-12 on back-to-back kills, EIU scored four of the next five points to take a 16-15 lead and never looked back.  The Flash would eventually tied the score at 18-18 after a Malloy/Williams block, but the Panthers ended the set on a 7-2 run to take the first set 25-20.

Much like the way they began the first set, the Red Flash set out in the second set with a Zahumensky kill for the quick 1-0 lead.  However, EIU would take advantage of an early hot streak to build at 9-5 lead.  SFU would respond with a 5-0 run that began on a Williams kill and would briefly take a 10-9 lead on a Leeanne Haus (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) (Mars, Pa./North Allegheny) service ace.  The score went back and forth until, tied at 18-18, the Flash recorded three straight points, forcing a timeout at 20-18 on a Williams kill.  After Williams notched a block on the next point to give SFU at 21-18 lead, EIU finished the set on a 7-1 to win 25-22.

In the final set, the Red Flash again began with a lead, opening up with a 10-5 run and holding the lead until EIU tied the set at 16-16.  The Flash briefly lost the lead on a Jorie Dieter/Kelsey Orr block, but tied it at 17-17 on a Danielle Reese (Port Matilda, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) (Port Matilda, Pa./Bald Eagle) kill.  Like the first two sets, however, the Panthers closed on a big 8-3 run to seal the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.

Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) (York, Pa./Dallastown) had the team-high with 11 kills, shaking off her recent slump of four consecutive matches without double-digit kills.  To boot, Wingard put away balls with more efficiency than she had been in the previous weeks, hitting at a .476 clip.  Lizzy Williams recorded six kills, but also hit at a high .308 percentage.  Zahumensky, who recently has earned more starts at outside hitter, had seven kills and a team-high eight digs.  Haus recorded three service aces.  Kierstin Kiser (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) got the start at setter and had 32 assists.

Against Pittsburgh, the Red Flash quickly found themselves in a dogfight with the hosting Panthers.  The Red Flash notched the first point of the contest on a Lindsay Malloy (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) kill, and then proceeded to trade points with Pittsburgh took a 6-5 lead on an Alex Phillips kill.  The Flash would stay in the set for a while longer, with Zahumensky getting them close with a kill to make it 9-8 in favor of Pitt.  However, a long 16-6 run for Pitt quashed any chances of the Red Flash taking the first set, with Pittsburgh winning 25-14.

None of the other three sets, though, would play out as well for the Panthers, as the Red Flash were not content to go quietly into the night.  The Panthers never trailed in the second set, and in fact were only tied with the Red Flash for three points; however, SFU was determined to make a battle of it.  After falling behind 10-6, the Red Flash pushed their way back with hot-hitting (they hit .258 in the set) and with timely defense, getting to within 10-9 on a Williams/Haus block.  They'd again get within one on a Williams kill, but Pittsburgh would expand their lead to 18-13 before ultimately taking the set 24-18.

The Flash broke through in the third set, and did it by overcoming a deficit and holding off a late Pitt rally.  The set was back and forth early, with the Flash taking a 9-7 lead on a Haus kill.  However, Pitt would close the gap with a 7-1 run to give themselves a 14-10 lead.  Rather than folding, the Red Flash rebounded, scoring five of the next six points to tie the score 15-15 on a Williams/Logan Meinert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) block. The Panthers would go back up 17-16, but the Flash would eventually take the lead at 18-17 on a Williams kill.  While the Panthers would tie it several times down the stretch, SFU got a kill from Zahumensky to go to set point, eventually winning 25-23 on a Pittsburgh attack error.

The Panthers, however, would thoroughly control the fourth set, and while the final deficit was not overly large, they went mostly without a serious threat.  The Red Flash were only able to tie the set on three occasions, often just missing that strike that would pull them even with the Panthers.  The last, best chance for the Red Flash came after Zahumensky launched a kill to make the score 15-13; however, Pittsburgh closed on a 10-4 run to earn the 25-17 win.

Wingard again had the team-high with 11 kills, hitting .217 in the process.  Lindsay Malloy (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) had the second-highest total with nine kills and hit a sterling .292, also contributing 10 digs.  Christine Breisch (Edwardsburgh, Mich./Edwardsburgh) (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) got the start at libero and had a team-high 13 digs.