LORETTO, Pa.- Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) had a season-high 23 kills, leading three Red Flash in double figures, but Fordham spoiled the 2015 home opener with a five-set victory.
 
The match could not have been closer as the teams each had 95 points through four sets and the match saw 29 ties and 13 lead changes.   However, the Rams prevailed in the fifth and deciding set 15-11 to improve to 6-7 on the season while Saint Francis fell to 2-11.
 
Chelsea Easter (Burlington, Ontario, Canada/Notre Dame Roman Catholic) had 14 kills and Emily Marcinowski (Strongsville, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) 13 to join Kutny with double-digit kills. Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) led all players with 27 digs while Marcinowski and Kutny had 10 and 16 digs, respectfully to post double-doubles. Lauren Williams (Reno, Nev./Damonte Ranch) blew away her previous season high of 42 assists with 55 on Friday, and posted a double-double herself with 12 digs.
 
The Red Flash took the first set 27-25, as they battled back from a slow start that saw the Rams go up 7-2. SFU rallied to tie the set at 10 and the teams see-sawed from there. The first set alone had 13 ties and five lead changes. Each team had cracks at clinching the first set, with Fordham fighting off a set point to tie the match at 24 and the Red Flash battling back to tie at 25. Kutny and Sophie Murdock (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion ) each had kills as SFU took the first set.
 
Fordham jumped out early in the second set, grabbing a 9-1 lead.  The Red Flash played catch up all set long. Kutny and Veres each had service runs that closed the gap to as little as three at 13-10 but could not get closer midway through the set. Easter had a strong service run and a kill to close the Fordham lead to two at 19-17 and force a timeout. SFU would get to within one, but could not get over the hump as Fordham closed out the set at 25-23.
 
The two teams traded 25-20 set victories in the third and fourth to send the match to a decisive fifth. Fordham grabbed the early lead off an ace and a SFU ball-handling error to put them up 4-2. The Red Flash traded points until Emily Marcinowski (Strongsville, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) had two straight kills to knot the match at seven. However, four-straight points by the Rams were too much to overcome. They grabbed an 11-7 lead and the Flash would not get closer than three the rest of the way.
 
Day two of the Red Flash Classic starts on Saturday morning as Fordham takes on Coppin State at 11. Saint Francis is back in action in match two on Saturday, taking on High Point at 1 p.m. High Point swept Coppin State in the first match on Friday.