LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis got 16 kills from Kelsey Roush (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) but came up on the wrong end on a four-set decision to Morehead State to close out the Red Flash Classic.  
Roush's 16 digs highlighted the offense and Ceceilia Esposito's five total blocks paced the defense as SFU fell 25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18

McMullen's Reaction
 "Credit Morehead State, that is a great, resilient team," head coach Sara McMullen said. "We battled and we persevered after dropping the first two sets, so I like that, a lot of good things to take away from the weekend as a whole."

SET ONE RECAP

• A back-and-forth first set was broken open by Morehead State when they rattled off seven-straight points to break a 13-13 tie
• Kelsey Roush (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) paced the offense with eight kills in the first set but SFU could get no closer than 22-17 in the 25-17 first set setback

SET TWO RECAP

• SFU raced out to a 5-1 lead thanks to two Roush kills and a combo block from Ceceilia Esposito and Emily Marcinowski (Strongsville, Ohio/Padua Franciscan)
• The Eagles would erase the lead and build a 12-9 cushion before kills from Roush and Marcinowski trimmed the Eagles' lead to 13-12
• The turning point of the set came on a four-point run and eight-in-nine stretch for Morehead as they built a 21-14 lead
• A pair of Alexis Lambert (McKinney, Tx./McKinney-Boyd) kills tried to jumpstart the Flash but the deficit was too big to overcome as the Eagles took set two 25-17

 
SET THREE RECAP

• SFU built and maintained a slim lead in the beginning stages of the third set, consistently leading by one or two but never letting the Eagles build momentum
• A Roush ace and kill helped to build the SFU lead to four at 14-10
• The Red Flash withstood a five-point Eagle run that gave MSU the lead with one of their own
• Saint Francis reeled off four straight points to answer, fueled by a Sophia Esposito (Coraopolis, PA/Montour (Gardner-Webb)) block and kill as SFU retook the lead
• SFU never let Morehead State re-tie the set after taking the lead and a Ceceilia Esposito block finished off the set, 25-21 in SFU's favor

SET FOUR RECAP

• Morehead State built and early lead scoring four of the first five points and forcing a SFU timeout
• The timeout did not slow down the Eagle attack as they built a 12-6 lead midway through the set
• The Flash could not sustain a lengthy run until late in the set, a pair of Sophia Esposito (Coraopolis, PA/Montour (Gardner-Webb)) blocks paced a four-point surge that cut the Eagles' lead to 20-15 and forced a timeout
• SFU would cut the lead to four on a pair of occasions late but could get no closer as MSU closed out the set at 25-18

 
ALL TOURNAMENT
Morehead State's Jordan Jones was named tournament MVP but the Red Flash named Amelia Metzler (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield) and Emily Marcinowski (Strongsville, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) to the all-tournament team.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Flash Classic closes out non-conference play. Saint Francis welcomes in-state rival Robert Morris to DeGol Arena next Friday night in the NEC lid-lifter, first serve is set for 7 p.m.