AKRON, OHIO- The Red Flash dropped a pair of matches on Saturday to close out the Akron Invitational, falling to Akron in three sets and the Naval Academy in four.
 
Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) led the Flash in both matches in kills with 10 and 8, respectfully. She added 14 digs against Navy while Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) had 31 digs over the two matches. Chelsea Easter (Burlington, Ontario, Canada/Notre Dame Roman Catholic) was named to the All-Tournament team and added nine kills on Saturday.
 
Against Akron, the Zips turned a tight first set into a runaway after winning the set's final eight points to win 25-14.  Saint Francis spread the wealth offensively in the set, Lauren Williams (Reno, Nev./Damonte Ranch) paced the offense as the setter and added a service ace.
 
In the second set, the Flash held an early 3-0 lead and would lead 9-7 on the back of kills from Chelsea Easter (Burlington, Ontario, Canada/Notre Dame Roman Catholic) and Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central). A surge from Akron put them ahead 14-11 and they would continue to build their lead. Sophie Murdock (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion ) had a kill to stop the run, the Akron's momentum carried them to a 25-15 set two win.
 
Kutny and Easter would continue to lead the offense in set three, each posting kills as SFU took a 8-5 lead. Again Akron responded, winning eight of nine points to grab a 15-12 lead midway through the set. Kills from Murdock and Breanna Opera (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster ) got them within three at 20-17 but the Flash could get no closer as Akron closed out the match at 25-18.
 
Against the Midshipmen, Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) had an ace and Maria Cup (Chesterland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) had one of her eight kills to stake SFU to an 11-9 lead. The teams traded points until Navy ripped off four straight points to lead 16-12. Cup would have two aces in a four-point service run that erased a Navy lead and give SFU a 23-22 advantage. However, Navy won four of the final five points of the set to win 26-24.
 
In set two, Navy grabbed the first four points and led 12-3 to continue the first set momentum. The Flash were never in the set, and got no closer than 10 from the midway point, as Navy won going away at 25-12.
 
The Red Flash flipped the script in set three, scoring six of the first eight points to set the tone. Kutny and Emily Marcinowski (Strongsville, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) each had two kills as SFU built the lead to 11-6. Saint Francis kept pouring it on, winning five straight points and nine of 10, as they won set three by an identical 25-12.
 
In set four, a 7-2 by Navy broke open a tight set, the teams traded the first 16 points before the Midshipmen grabbed a 15-9 lead. Amelia Metzler (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield) had an ace as part of a five-point run by the Flash that got SFU within three at 22-19. But the comeback fell short as Navy fended off the comeback to win set four 25-21 and the match.
 
The losses dropped the Flash to 2-6 on the season. They will travel to Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday before heading to Dayton next weekend for a tournament at Wright State. Tuesday's match is set for 7 p.m.