YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO- Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) had a double-double with 17 kills and 20 digs but the Flash rally fell short in a tough, four set loss at the Youngstown State Penguins on Tuesday.

Kutny led both teams with those 17 kills and Chelsea Easter (Burlington, Ontario, Canada/Notre Dame Roman Catholic) joined her in double digits offensively with 12 kills. Defensively, Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) matched Kutny with 20 digs while Amelia Metzler (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield) paced the offense with 26 assists across the four sets.

In the opening set, the Penguins broke open a tight set, winning seven of eight points midway through. The Red Flash could get no closer than eight points after the run as the Penguins clinched the set at 25-15.

Saint Francis bounced back in the second set. The Red Flash spread the wealth offensively as they strung together a run, winning six of eight points to open a 14-9 lead. The Flash defense prevented an answering run from the Penguins and one of Metzler's two kills of the night proved key as SFU led 19-13. The Penguins lone run of the set shrunk the lead to 19-17 before a key kill from Maria Cup (Chesterland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) and a block from Kutny and Sophie Murdock (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion ) gave Saint Francis some breathing room. The teams would trade out points as the Red Flash took set two 25-23.

In set three, the Penguins jumped out to leads of 6-1 and 11-4.  The Flash got back into the match on the heels of a four-point run highlighted by a kill and block by Cup on back-to-back points to make it 13-12. YSU would answer with a four-point run of their own to open a 17-12 lead. Saint Francis couldn't recover, falling 25-18 in set three.

It was a back-and-forth set four to start, with neither team able to build more than a three-point lead. Youngstown looked to put the set out of reach after a run of four out of five points to lead 16-11. The Flash would not go quietly, answering with three consecutive points to shave the lead to two. The Penguins stretched the lead back to four at 20-16 only to see Easter and Kutny combine for three straight kills to cut the lead to one. The Flash drew even at 22 and again at 24 on kills from Murdock and Metzler's second kill, forcing the set past the traditional 25. However, the Penguins answered with two straight kills to close out the set, and the match.

The loss drops the Flash to a tough luck 1-4 on the season. They will head back to the Buckeye State this weekend when they compete in the Akron Invitational. Saint Francis opens with the Canisius Golden Griffins on Friday at 4 p.m.