Senior Kelsey Roush set a career-high with 24 kills
Women’s Volleyball Falls In Tough Five-Set Match Against Duquesne
Paul Marboe
Flash Points:
- SFU Women's Volleyball fell 3-2 in a tough match against Duquesne on Tuesday.
- SFU won the first set and tied the match back up at 2-2, but the Dukes held off an SFU rally in the fifth set.
- Senior Kelsey Roush (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) led the Red Flash with a career-best 24 kills.
- The Red Flash is set to compete at the Youngstown State Invitational this weekend.
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis Women's Volleyball suffered a tough five-set loss in its home opener on Tuesday night against Duquesne. The Red Flash fell 25-19, 15-25, 23-25, 26-24, 12-15 against the Dukes. SFU is now 3-4 on the year, with Duquesne improving to 4-4.
Coach Sara McMullen's Reaction
"It was our first match going to five sets this so I am glad we got that opportunity. The team battled hard. We had a few setbacks and we have to learn how to bounce back from them a little quicker, but overall the team battled hard and it was a fun match to coach in."
HIGHLIGHTS
- Senior Kelsey Roush (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) led the Red Flash with a career-high 24 kills, including 10 kills in the fourth set.
- Senior Emily Marcinowski (Strongsville, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) had 13 kills, while freshman Alexis Lambert (McKinney, Tx./McKinney-Boyd) had nine.
- SFU had four aces, with one each by Roush, Lambert, junior Amelia Metzler (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield) and senior Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan).
- Marcinowski led the SFU defense by assisting on three blocks.
KEY FIRST SET MOMENTS
- Roush led SFU with a team-high five kills in the set, with Lambert and Marcinowski adding three each.
- An early 7-1 run gave SFU an 8-4 lead to start the set. Lambert had two kills during that run.
- Duquesne then got the next three points, but SFU responded with an 8-2 run to take a 17-9 advantage. Five different Red Flash registered a kill during that run. A kill by Roush ended the set, 25-19.
KEY SECOND SET MOMENTS
- A kill by Marcinowski gave SFU an early 5-4 advantage.
- A short 4-1 run by Duquesne gave the Dukes an 8-6 lead, which they quickly turned into a 19-10 lead.
- A block by Metzler capped a 3-0 run by SFU to cut the deficit to eight, 21-13, but the Dukes took the set.
KEY THIRD SET MOMENTS
- Roush landed a kill just inside the back line to give SFU a 6-4 lead in a back-and-forth set.
- SFU outlasted Duquesne in a long rally, which ended in a kill by Metzler to put SFU up 11-7.
- Duquesne took its first lead of the set at 16-15, but an ace by Lambert tied it up at 19-19, before the Dukes closed out a 25-23 set win.
KEY FOURTH SET MOMENTS
- Another back-and-forth set saw SFU take a 7-6 lead on a block by Marcinowski and freshman Daysha Shamlin (Bear, Del./Tower Hill).
- SFU started to create separation, with a Metzler kill giving SFU a 12-8 advantage, an error gave SFU its largest lead of the set, 15-9.
- Duquesne used a 7-2 run to tie the set at 24-24, but a kill by Roush and an ace by Metzler ended the set, 26-24 SFU.
KEY FIFTH SET MOMENTS
- Duquesne jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the fifth set.
- However, a 9-3 run by SFU, ending with a Roush kill pulled SFU within one, 11-10.
- A kill by Roush tied the set at 12-12, but a kill by Abbie Trzeciak and two by Maria Mosbacher closed out a 15-12 win for Duquesne.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Flash travels to the Youngstown State Invitational this weekend. SFU begins the invitational on Friday with a 4 p.m. match against the host Penguins. Saint Francis follows with matches against Fort Wayne (1:30 p.m.) and Akron (4:30 p.m.) on Saturday.
