>> Women's volleyball defeated Indiana State in four sets (22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-21). Against Purdue Fort Wayne, the Red Flash fell to the Mastodons in four sets (22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25).
"I'm very happy with how we battled after dropping set one. We took this match one point at a time, and we saw a lot of growth as a group." – head coach
Sara Spielvogel on the win over Indiana State
TURNING POINTS
Only up two in the fourth set, Saint Francis capitalized on errors by Indiana State. Off the hands of the Sycamore blockers,
Alyssa Irwin earned a kill for a 19-16 score. Errors book-ended a timeout by Indiana State, with
Raegan Rosi scoring an ace off the hands of the Indiana State libero. The Sycamores attempted a comeback, but
Kori McClure landed the ball just inside to win the match.
Down 23-19 in the fourth set,
Elena Arnold notched two solid kills, drawing a timeout from the Mastodons. Out of the timeout, Purdue Fort Wayne earned a kill to set up match point, with a Saint Francis error giving the home team the win.
FLASH MOMENTS
After dropping the first set, Saint Francis took a commanding lead to win the second. Up 11-8, a hard kill from the middle from
Laney Wilson began to widen the lead. Hogan tallied an ace between the back row of the Sycamores. Irwin notched another kill to the back of Indiana State's side, widening the lead to 14-8. Indiana State got the side out, but back-to-back kills by Burns increased the lead to 16-9.
The third set was close until a four-point run locked up the advantage for the Red Flash. An error by the Sycamores started the scoring for Saint Francis. An ace by Burns at the feet of an Indiana State player before another ace set up the set point.
Drew Wallech tipped the ball onto the Sycamore side, winning the third set.
Saint Francis picked up a win in the third set to stay in the match. Tied at 22 apiece, a kill by Hogan earned the side out. Wilson tallied a kill of her own to earn set point. Hogan then scored on an ace to win the set.
FLASH NUGGETS
Alexandra Sappia led the team in assists in both matches with 24 and 28, respectively.
The team recorded 15 aces against Indiana State, with Burns, Sappia and Wallech each tallying four. Hogan led Saint Francis with three against Purdue Fort Wayne.
McClure, Wallech and Wilson tallied three assisted blocks each in the afternoon's win and recorded two assisted blocks each in the evening's match.
Hogan led Saint Francis with 11 digs against Indiana State. Sappia earned 13 digs to lead the Red Flash versus the Mastodons.
UP NEXT
Saint Francis will play Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., concluding the team's non-conference play.
