Flash Points:

• Breanna Opera (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster ) led the team in kills
• Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) chipped in 13 digs
• Sophia Esposito (Coraopolis, PA/Montour (Gardner-Webb)) added five block assists

LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis battled against NEC leader Sacred Heart but fell in three hard-fought sets on Saturday at DeGol Arena. 

The Pioneers got off to a quick start in the first set, winning the first eight points and 11 of the first 12. The Flash rebounded out of a time out and won five-straight points to close to within 14-9. Breanna Opera (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster ) had a block and a kill during the run that forced a Sacred Heart time out. SHU responded with another run of their own, winning four straight to build the lead back out to eight points. SFU would get no closer than seven the rest of the set, dropping set one 25-13. 

In set two, teh Flash and Pioneers trraded points with SFU responding to an early Sacred Heart run behind a pair of Kelsey Roush (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) kills and a pair of SFU blocks to close the Sacred Heart lead to two at 9-7. An ace by Elise Dumouchelle (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run) allowed SFU to keep pace with Sacred Heart before the Pioneers went on a set deciding run. A pair of SFU errors and a pair of Sacred Heart kills opened up a 21-15 lead. The Flash would try to mount a furious rally, closing to within two at 21-19 on Opera's service but could get no closer. Sacred Heart scored the final four points of the set out of a timeout to take set two 25-19. 

Set three mirrored the first set as Sacred Heart opened by winning the first seven points and 12 of the first 13. The Flash defense racked up eight total blocks in the match including two more in the third set and a Lauren Williams (Reno, Nev./Damonte Ranch) ace helped try to jump start the offense. The Pioneers proved too much as the Flash could not mount the comeback, falling in the third set 25-13. 

Sacred Heart moved to 9-1 in the NEC with the victory, while SFU fell to 0-10. The Red Flash are back in action on Sunday at 2 p.m. when they welcome in Fairleigh Dickinson to DeGol Arena.