BOX SCORE LORETTO, Pa. – (Oct. 25, 2013) The Saint Francis U women's volleyball team defeated the Bryant Bulldogs 3-2 Friday afternoon in an intense five-match battle. Saint Francis improves to (3-18; 3-5) as the Bulldog's slip to (8-19; 3-5).

Bryant jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the first set forcing SFU to burn an early timeout, but the Frankies battled back tying the set 25-25. Both teams traded points for three positions until Bryant ended the first set 28-26 on an attacking error by Saint Francis.

Saint Francis stood strong after the first set loss; making a 25-22 comeback in another close set that featured 12 ties and seven leads changes. The third set mirrored the second set as the Red Flash edged out the Bulldogs by a four-point margin 25-21. SFU had an impressive .275 hitting percentage in the third set as a team holding their opposition to .237 hitting percentage.

The fourth set posed a problem for the Frankies as they controlled the set early by margins as high as six, until the Bulldogs drew even with Saint Francis at 20. Bryant closed out the match 25-22, forcing a fifth set.

Despite holding an early lead over SFU, the Bulldogs could not oust the Red Flash. Saint Francis ended the match off an Alanna Blenkarn (Pickering, Ontario, Canada/Pickering) smash, giving the Red and White their third Northeast Conference win of the season.

Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) recorded a game-high and season-high with 24 kills, while Blenkarn dished out 51 assists, just three shy of matching a season-high. Four Frankies posted double digits in kills on the afternoon, while three Saint Francis defenders collected double digit performances in digs, Breanna Kochinsky (Nicktown, Pa./Northern Cambria) led the way with 19. Sophie Murdock (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion ) had an impressive offensive afternoon hitting .346 from the floor with 11 kills.

The Red Flash return to DeGol Arena tomorrow at 1 p.m. to host NEC opponent Central Connecticut.