AKRON, OHIO- Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) led three players in double-digit kills as the Saint Francis volleyball outlasted the Canisius Golden Griffins in five sets in the opening match of the Akron Invitational.

The Red Flash won 14-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11 to improve to 2-4 on the season. Kutny also led the way with 18 digs and five service aces while Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) added 16 digs and four aces. Chlesea Easter also had four aces, as the Flash ripped 15 winners off the serve on Friday. The offense was set up by Lauren Williams (Reno, Nev./Damonte Ranch), who led all players with 42 assists.

Saint Francis got off to a quick start in set one, winning six of the first seven points and grabbing an 8-3 lead. Veres had two of her five aces in an early service run. However, the lead would be short lived as the Griffins ran off seven straight points to take a 10-8 lead. The momentum stayed with Canisius as they won 12 out of the next 13 points that followed, winning set one 25-14.

The teams traded runs to start set two, with the Flash winning four points in a row to grab an early lead, only to see the Griffins come back and tie the set at eight. Saint Francis got momentum on a kill and ace from Breanna Opera (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster ) and then kills and a block from Kutny as the Flash won 10 of 12 points to blow the set open. The Griffins would try to come back, winning six straight points, but never getting to within four points. The match was tied at one set each after the 25-19 win.
Set three started the same as set two, with the two teams splitting the first 14 points. Canisius looked to grab momentum after winning the next four points, grabbing a 11-7 lead but the Flash fought right back. A Kutny service run led to five straight Flash points to give them a 15-14 lead, the SFU defense forced two attack errors and Lindsey Wilde posted a kill in the run. The Flash kept the momentum going, stretching the lead out to 20-15, paced by an ace and kill from Easter.  Saint Francis fended off a late Griffin charge to take set three 25-22.

The Flash looked to finish off the match in four sets, but the Griffins had other ideas. The teams continued to trade runs and three kills from Kutny in a five-point span tied the set at 20.  However, a service error by SFU and an ace from the Griffins turned the set in Canisius' favor, forcing a fifth set after a 25-22 finish.
The fifth and deciding set saw a mid-set run by the Flash prove to be the difference. SFU found themselves down 6-4 in the deciding set but kills from Opera and Kutny and a block from Maria Cup (Chesterland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) put the Flash up 9-7. The teams traded points until a Flash timeout led to SFU winning the match's final three points. Sophie Murdock (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion ) had a kill and two kills from Opera closed out the marathon match.

The win moves SFU to 2-4 on the year, they will take on the host Akron Zips and the Navy Midshipmen tomorrow afternoon to close out the Akron Invitational.