BOX SCORE LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 27, 2012) – The Saint Francis U women's volleyball team outlasted Quinnipiac in five sets on Saturday afternoon, 25-18, 24-26, 25-16, 22-25, 15-8.

The Red Flash improved to 11-13 overall and earned their seventh Northeast Conference win of the season (7-3), while the Bobcats fell to 1-19 overall and remain winless in conference play (0-11).

SFU and Quinnipiac battled throughout the first set before the Flash caught fire. SFU went on a 7-0 run to take the score to 17-12. Elizabeth Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) closed out the frame with a kill.

Saint Francis played well early in the second set and took a 10-5 lead after an Amanda Zahumensky (Sarver, Pa./Freeport Area) service ace. The Bobcats rallied and evened the score at 14 apiece. Both teams traded points and Quinnipiac needed overtime to win the second set.

SFU jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead in the third set after an Elizabeth Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) kill and forced a Quinnipiac timeout. Kayla Jeckell (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood) fired off two aces in a row to give SFU a commanding 24-16 lead. SFU took the third set on an attack error by the Bobcats.

The fourth set proved to be a another fine example of a NEC battle, Quinnipiac held a 22-16 lead before two consecutive Kayla Jeckell (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood) kills forcing a Bobcats timeout. SFU narrowed the margin to two after a Williams kill, but Quinnipiac took the frame after a late service error by SFU.

Both teams battled in the fifth set, Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) notched two clutch kills to give SFU momentum and a 9-5 lead. Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) was subbed into the game for the final frame and she registered a late kill to give SFU a 13-7 lead. Williams registered the final kill to give SFU the win in five sets.

“It wasn't pretty today, but a win is a win and we'll take it,” head coach Chuck Mullen said.

“Inconsistencies in certain phases affected us again, but we were able to overcome them and get a win,” Mullen continued. “We have very big matches coming up that have implications in the standings so we need to sharpen up some things to get ready.”

Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) led the way with 15 kills and 14 digs to complete another double-double effort. Kayla Jeckell (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood) and Elizabeth Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) chipped in with 13 kills apiece. Williams also had 17 digs and six block assists in the match.

Kierstin Kiser (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) had a match-high 47 assists and eight digs. Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) finished with three important kills all in the fifth set.

Saint Francis returns to action Wednesday (Oct. 31) against Robert Morris as they continue their home stand. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start, the Colonials won the first meeting in five sets on Oct. 3.

MILESTONE TRACKER

-With the five sets played today, Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) now has played 438 sets in her illustrious SFU career making her first all-time in SFU history.

-Elizabeth Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) now has registered 990 kills in her Saint Francis career, she will look to become the fourth player in SFU history to reach the 1,000 kill club on Wednesday night at home versus RMU.