LOUDONVILLE, N.Y.— Saint Francis claimed its first road victory over Siena, 3-2 and lost to Central Connecticut, 3-2 in the opening day of the Siena Women's Volleyball Invitational on Friday.
 
Nicole Adams (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa East) led the day with 45 kills, while Madi Tyus (Plano, Texas/Bishop Lynch) added 40 kills in the two matches. Sophie Rice (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) absolutely dominated in her middle hitter position today with 10 blocks. Kimmy Sweeney (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Beaumont School) collected a staggering 96 assists on the day while libero Maggie Means (Connellsville, Pa./ Connellsville Area), the current Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, led the Red Flash with 41 digs in the two matches.
 
The Red Flash dominated in the five-set thriller against Siena to claim the victory, 3-2. The team maintained the lead for the entire first set to claim it, 25-14.
 
The Saints hustled back in the match to claim the next two sets, 25-17 and 25-23.
 
It was the fourth and fifth sets that changed the pace of play and ultimately went in favor of the Red Flash.
 
There was no slowing down the Red Flash in the fourth set. The team took a big lead early making the score, 7-1 and even leading by as much as 11 during the set. Adams clinched the fourth set, 25-17 for the team with a kill.  
 
The Red Flash continued dominating in the fifth set, claiming the advantage early. The combined kills from Adams and Jeanie Edgington (Olmsted Falls, Ohio/Olmsted Falls) gave the Red Flash the three-point advantage, 7-4. It was yet another kill from Adams, assisted by Tyus that allowed the team to clinch the fifth set, 15-7 and claim the victory.  
 
The squad fell to the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State, 3-2 in the second match of the day. Despite the loss, the Red Flash were able to claim two sets in the back and forth five-set action against its NEC foe in a non-conference affair thanks to some power kills from Tyus and Adams.
 
The Red Flash will continue in the Siena Invitational Saturday as they look to defeat the Hornets of Delaware State for the second time this season. Saint Francis defeated Delaware State 3-1 last weekend in the 21st Red Flash Classic. Match time is 11 a.m.