Saint Francis Women's Volleyball Is Back Home For Three Games Over A Five Day Span

Women's Volleyball | 10/2/2025 10:30:00 AM

OPENING SERVE VS STONEHILL
Saint Francis and Stonehill will have their 7th and 8th meeting of all time only dating back to 2022 this weekend. During this series, the Red Flash is currently 6-0 looking to add two more tallies to its column. Before the start of the game, Saint Francis will be recognizing Korrin Burns as she passed the 1,000-kill marker against Rutgers.

THE WORD ON THE SKY HAWKS
Stonehill is entering this tournament with a 2-14 record, after ending the 2024 season 7-19. Currently, the Sky Hawks have two main players who are leading in categories. Mia Berardino sits in first with 179 kills but added 105 digs and 11 aces so far on the season. Cat Detweiler, the freshman, leads her team in total blocks with 31. She has also added 66 kills.

OPENING SERVE VS MERCYHURST
Saint Francis and Mercyhurst will have their 8th meeting of all time, dating back to 1984. After 1990 the Red Flash and the Lakers took a break from facing each other until Mercyhurst changed to Division I last year. Since then, Saint Francis has won both the matches and is looking to get two more wins this weekend.

THE WORD ON THE LAKERS
Mercyhurst left off with a 5-19 season in 2024 but kicked off this year with a 3-12 record. They brought in a key opposite hitter, Julia Shepherd and setter, Alia Mastromatteo. Shepherd transferred in from the University of California-Santa Barbara and currently leads her team in kills (147) and second in blocks (31). Mastromatteo, the senior, is leading her team in assists (264) and digs (100).

PRESEASON POLL
Saint Francis women's volleyball was picked third in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Preseason Poll. LIU earned four first-place votes and earned the distinction of being the preseason favorite. FDU garnered the three other first-place nods to finish in second. After the Red Flash in third place, the defending NEC Champions, Chicago State, Mercyhurst, Stonehill, CCSU, New Haven, and Le Moyne round out the nine-team poll. New Haven is in its first year in the NEC, and along with Mercyhurst, is not eligible for postseason play.

NEXT TIME OUT
Saint Francis continues its conference play as it heads back to Connecticut to face New Haven on October 10 and 11.

RETURNERS TO TALK ABOUT
Korrin Burns returns for her final year as the team's top kills per set leader (4.07) after ranking second in the NEC with kills (342) and sixth in service aces (0.45). To start this season, she has been burning the competition, collecting 271 total kills and 124 digs. Burns also leads the NEC in kills per set (5.31) and points per set (5.64). She is currently second in kills per set, fourth in points per set, fourth in kills, and eight in points in the nation.

Kori McClure also registered 215 kills, coming in third in hitting percentage (.313) in 2024. Both of these outside hitters earned All-NEC first team looking to come back this season with a clear attack. McClure started the 2025 season off with 91 kills, 36 blocks, and 20 digs.

Alexandra Sappia returns to collect more aces as she paced service aces per set (0.54), and she ranked second in assists (812). She was also announced to the All-NEC second team in 2024. Sappia showed out over the last month, dishing out points as she gathered 519 assists, which leads the NEC charts, and second in service aces with 25. Sappia is now 31st overall in the nation with assists.

NEC HONORS
Korrin Burns (Clarion, Pa./Clarion Area), a member of the Saint Francis women's volleyball team, has been named the NEC/Molten Women's Volleyball Player of the Week for the fourth time in this season alone. It is the eighth time that she earned Player of the Week and the 11th time she received a weekly conference award in her career.

Burns capped off the weekend with an impressive 44 kills, leading Saint Francis to a strong start in conference play with a 2-0 record. In addition to her powerful offense, she contributed significantly on defense, recording 23 digs and four blocks to help secure the team's victories against CCSU. Burns collected two more double doubles to add to her career stats bringing her to a total of 20.

The senior was also named Player of the Week two times in 2023, once during August and again in November. Then two more times during 2024, in September and October. Burns now earns her seventh award for this category surpassing Megan Taliaferro as the program record holder since 1997.

This is the 32nd time that a Red Flash women's volleyball player has won Player of the Week, and Burns is the 11th different player to earn the distinction. She has also tied Skyler Eicher for the most Player of the Week awards in a season in program history with four.

Burns, Alexandra Sappia, and Kori McClure were all named Prime Performers. Sappia racked up a total of 87 assists over the weekend, including an impressive 52-assist effort in the Red Flash's victory over CCSU. She also contributed 18 digs, five service aces, and six assisted blocks across both matches. With these performances, Sappia has now recorded seven games this season with 40 or more assists.

McClure was instrumental in leading the Red Flash offense over the weekend, recording 18 total kills, with 10 coming in the first match against CCSU. She also achieved a career-high eight blocks in the second game against CCSU, showcasing her dominant presence at the net. McClure aided in both wins for the Red Flash.

BURNING PAST MILESTONES
Burns surpassed the 1,000-kill milestone as she adds 44 kills to her previous count, bringing her to a total of 1,091. She collected her 1,000th kill during the first game against Rutgers on her first kill of the night. Burns added her name in with seven other record holding women. Currently, Kristin Buter (2005-08) holds the most kill record of 1,427.

Alexandra Sappia is working her way towards the 2,000-assist milestone. She added 87 more assists to her total, which brings her to 1,969 total career assists. Sappia now passes Amelia Metzler (2015-19) who held fifth place with 1,883 assists. Sappia now sits in the number five spot and is looking to continue moving up in the top 10 in career assists.

WELCOME TO THE LO'
Two freshmen continued to help the Red Flash gain two more wins: Gwen Atkins (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) and Hailey Atkins (Morristown, N.J./Morristown). Gwen Atkins collected 16 digs, 10 kills, and seven blocks over the weekend. Hailey Atkins registered 50 digs so far this season.

Nevaeh Ingram (Rocky Mount, N.C./Northern Nash) had her collegiate debut against New Hampshire. She recorded four service aces and a career best of five digs to aid in the wins over CCSU.

In addition, sophomore Paloma Gonzalez Jaramillo (Coahuila, Mexico/Bishop Lynch) got her first Saint Francis start against UAlbany. During the 2024 season she played for Stonehill and collected 140 kills and 36 digs. This season she started for the Red Flash bringing in 85 kills and 45 digs, including her first double-double of her career in a Saint Francis win against Robert Morris.

Sophomore Elsa Richards (Wilmington, Mass./Essex North Shore Technical and Agricultural) came from Adelphi. Richards is looking for her starting debut for Saint Francis this weekend.

Graduate student Chandler Alter (Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern) transferred from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She finished the 2024 season with 244 digs and 19 aces. Alter collected 81 digs so far on the season, recording a red flash personal best of 11 digs vs New Hampshire.

Staying with the team but from a viewpoint, is graduate assistant Raegan Rosi.

ABOUT THE COACH
Sara Spielvogel begins her tenth season in Loretto. She earned her first overall winning season in 2023, going 15-11 with a 10-4 record in conference play. Saint Francis earned two players on the First-Team All-Conference Team and made the NEC tournament for the third consecutive year. In her first season in Loretto, Spielvogel guided the team to wins over Buffalo of the Mid-American Conference and Iona in non-conference play. She picked up her first NEC victory in a triumph over FDU. In her first season, the Red Flash finished third in the NEC in digs and digs per set and had a pair of attackers record over 200 kills. Prior to Saint Francis, Spielvogel sent a season on the staff at the College of Wooster. The Fighting Scots had a four-win improvement from the previous season and had their best start to a season since 1969.

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