BOX SCORE RADFORD, Va. (September 1, 2012) - The Saint Francis women's volleyball team beat The Citadel in five-set fashion to stay perfect on the final day of the Highlander Invitational.

The Red Flash moved to 3-3 on the season, while the Bulldogs fell to 0-6. SFU won the five-set contest 19-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13.

The first set was back and forth, SFU contended to stay alive towards the end. Senior middle blocker Elizabeth Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) had six kills in the first set, and sophomore opposite Alanna Blenkarn (Pickering, Ontario, Canada/Pickering) had 13 assists in the first frame.

Both teams traded points in the second set. SFU was leading 16-12, then went on a run, scoring nine of the next 13 points to win.

Saint Francis was leading the entire third set. Then, with the score at 20-14, the Bulldogs rallied to take the set, scoring 11 of the next 13 points.

In the fourth set, the Red Flash led the entire time, Williams ended the frame on a service ace, she finished with six on the night.  

Set five is where SFU has played its best volleyball this year, they are now 3-0 when the match goes into a fifth frame. Again, the Red Flash led the entire set and freshman middle hitter Maria Cup (Chesterland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) closed out the match by slamming down a kill.

Freshman outside hitter Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) paced the SFU offensive attack as she recorded a career-high 20 kills. Williams and Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) had 14 and 13 kills, respectively.

Blenkarn finished the match with a career-high 58 assists, the most for any Red Flash player this season. Freshman outside hitter Chelsea Easter (Burlington, Ontario, Canada/Notre Dame Roman Catholic) also got into double-digits in the kills column with 10.

Saint Francis will return to Degol Arena for its home opener on Tuesday night (Sept. 4) versus the Duquesne Dukes. Tune in to the live video stream on the brand new NEC Front Row at 7 p.m.