Box Score

AKRON, Ohio (Sept. 3, 2011) – The Saint Francis University women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 contest against Bradley Saturday afternoon, as they end its run at the Akron Tournament.

The Red Flash (1-6) captured a 25-21 opening set win over the Braves (4-2), but struggled to close out the remaining sets of the match. After being up one set to none, Saint Francis dropped three sets in a row by marks of 21-25, 14-25 and 24-26 in the final frame of action.

"We showed a lot of heart and character in this match today,” head coach Chuck Mullen said. “We just missed a few plays here and there at key moments of the match. There was a positive response factor from yesterday and that's something we can build on."

Neither team surrendered a sizeable lead in the opening set, as scoring flip flopped between sides. SFU did not grab more than a two-point advantage in the set, until late in the match when the scores climbed into the 20 range. Junior Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) took a pass from setter Logan Meinert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and put down her third kill of the set, to give the Red Flash the opening set victory.

Saint Francis looked poised for a repeat performance in the second set, when they gained its largest lead of the set at 17-12. Bradley called a strategic timeout at that point in the match and from then on the second set belonged to the Braves. Bradley tied the set at 20 and pulled ahead to earn the 25-21 second set win, and tie the match at one game apiece.

The third set saw the Red Flash take a small step backwards as they could not seem to develop the style of rhythm or control they had previously displayed. SFU converted just eight kills in the third set, and found themselves trailing in the match two games to one.

Set number four demonstrated the kind of back and forth style of play that the opening set had shown, until the Braves began to pull away with a 12-6 lead halfway through. Meinert went on a consecutive serving run of five in a row to pull the Flash to within one of Bradley. As the set neared its end, the Braves had built up another substantial cushion, but Meinert repeated her serving performance from earlier in the set and Saint Francis gained a 22-21 advantage. It would not prove to be enough for the Red Flash though as Bradley's Courtney Keefe put down the final kill to give the set and the match to the Braves.

Leading the offense for the Flash in the match was junior Elizabeth Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) who registered a double-digit mark of 10 kills on the day. Freshman Kayla Jeckell (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood) and sophomore Breanna Kochinsky (Nicktown, Pa./Northern Cambria) followed closely behind Williams, each picking up nine kills. Kochinsky came one kill shy from recording her second double-double of the season as she also recorded 12 digs. Junior co-captain Amanda Zahumensky (Sarver, Pa./Freeport Area) led the defensive effort, besting Kochinsky by one dig and finishing with 13. Meinert lauded 32 assists in the match, her second performance of over 30 assists this year.

For her efforts this weekend, Wingard was selected to the All-Tournament team. This is Wingard's second selection to an all-tournament team this season as she was placed on Duquesne's All-Tournament team as well last weekend. In all, Wingard registered 23 kills, 13 digs and three blocking assists.

Saint Francis opens up the home portion of its 2011 schedule Tuesday night at DeGol Arena, when they host Delaware State at 7 p.m.