NEW YORK – Saint Francis U's resurgent season under first-year head coach Jason Kozak came to an end Saturday evening as the Red Flash were ousted from the Northeast Conference Tournament, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20), by Robert Morris.
 
While the #3 seeded Flash obviously would have preferred to see their season extended to Sunday's title game, there was no denying the strides the program made over the past four months.
 
SFU – which managed only five wins a year ago – saw its win total jump to 12, including its first winning mark at home (6-5) since 2010.  Most importantly, its 8-6 mark in NEC play guaranteed the program's return to the postseason after a two-year absence.
 
On Saturday, the Flash stood toe-to-toe with the #2 seeded Colonials for much of the evening, but that effort was undone by miscues at critical junctures.
 
"We competed with a lot of fight and energy tonight," said Kozak. "We made too many errors to get the result we wanted, but I'm proud of the way we stuck together as a team. I'm happy with the improvement and progress we've made, as a team, this year."
 
All-NEC second-teamer Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) paced the Red Flash with a match-high 15 kills and 13 digs.  Making her final appearance in a Saint Francis uniform, senior Kayla Jeckell (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood) wound up with eight kills, to go along with 11 digs and a pair of block assists.
 
Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) came up with an even 10 digs in the final match of a promising rookie campaign.
 
Becky Jay led the Colonials with 11 kills and six block assists.
 
In addition to Jeckell, Alanna Blenkarn (Pickering, Ontario, Canada/Pickering) and Lindsey Knetzer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) saw their collegiate careers come to a close with RMU's match point.
 
"I'd like to thank our three seniors for their contributions this season," said Kozak. "We will definitely miss them next year."