Loretto, Pa. - Sophomore
Nicole Adams (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa East) recorded a season-high 16 kills and classmate
Madi Tyus (Plano, TX/Bishop Lynch) added 15 as the Saint Francis women's volleyball team (1-12, 1-0 NEC) defeated Merrimack (1-7, 0-1 NEC) in four sets (25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 25-13) in its conference and home opener.
"It was great to be home," said head coach
Sara McMullen. "We played with really good energy tonight. I am really proud of the way our team executed the game plan. It was a complete team effort and I hope we can build off it as we continue into conference play."
The Red Flash closed out the first set 22-19 thanks to a late flourish from Adams. Leading 22-19, Adams upped the Saint Francis lead to 24-19 with consecutive kills. Saint Francis would close out the set on a Merrimack attack error.
Set two went to Saint Francis thanks to the aggressive play of Tyus. Like the first set, the Warriors hung tough and trailed 18-16 before Tyus gave SFU a bit of cushion with back-to-back kills. An Adams kill closed out the set and gave Saint Francis a 2-0 lead.
After losing set three, 21-25, Saint Francis put the match away quickly in set four. Tied 3-3, the Red Flash reeled off 11 consecutive points, capped by a kill from sophomore
Sophie Rice (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley). Merrimack wouldn't get withing single digits the rest of the way as SFU secured its first win of the season.
Redshirt freshman
Alexa Mamone (Beaver, PA/Beaver Area) added six kills while Rice finished with four. Sophomore
Kimmy Sweeney (Broadview Heights, OH/Beaumont School) dished out a season-best 39 assists in the win while senior
Cecilia Esposito (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) had four blocks.
Tyus and Sweeney finished with double-doubles as Tyus recorded 13 digs and Sweeney had 12. Junior
Logan Belford (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) led SFU with six aces as the Red Flash racked up a season-high 21 for the match.
The Red Flash hit a season-high .284% while holding Merrimack to just .061%.
Saint Francis returns to the court next Friday, Oct. 4, at Sacred Heart at 6 p.m.
