BOX SCORE LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis women's volleyball team fell 3-0 against Sacred Heart on Sunday at the Stokes Center.  The Red Flash dropped sets of 25-17, 25-12 and 25-20.  SFU is now 3-17 overall and 1-4 in Northeast Conference play.
 
Breanna Opera (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster ) led the Red Flash with six kills, while Maria Cup (Chesterland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) added five and Chelsea Easter (Burlington, Ontario, Canada/Notre Dame Roman Catholic) had three.  Amelia Metzler (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield) led the squad with 19 assists and Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) contributed 13 digs.  Opera had five block assists and Cup had four.
 
In the opening set, it was a back-and-forth frame the Pioneers were leading 14-12 until going on a 4-0 run to extend the lead to six and break it open.  Seven of the next 11 points went to Sacred Heart for a 25-17 set.  The Red Flash's Opera had three kills in the set and Cup added two, Sacred Heart earned 14 kills in the set.
 
In the next set, the Pioneers went on a 7-1 run, including five straight points on serves by Katie Direnzo, to give Sacred Heart a 12-6 lead in the set. A 5-0 run gave the Pioneers a 19-9 advantage.  Sacred Heart earned six of the next eight points to clinch the set, 25-12.  Easter had three kills and Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) had two kills.  Metzler contributed seven assists, while Easter, Kutny and Veres each had three digs.
 
The final set saw the Pioneers take leads of 17-9 and 21-13, but the Red Flash responded with a 5-0 run, while Kelsey Roush (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) was serving, to get within three points, 21-18.  However, the Pioneers got four of the next six points to win the set, 25-20.  Cup, Kutny and Opera had two kills apiece, while Metzler had five assists. 
 
Next weekend, Saint Francis travels to Central Connecticut State for a 5 p.m. match on Saturday and a 1 p.m. match on Sunday at Bryant.