Saint Francis Women's Volleyball Travels To Erie On Wednesday And Back Home This Weekend For Dig Pink Game

Women's Volleyball | 10/28/2025 12:17:00 PM

OPENING SERVE VS MERCYHURST
Saint Francis and Mercyhurst will have their 9th 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 all three matches including a win earlier this month. The Red Flash swept the Lakers and are looking to do it again.

THE WORD ON THE LAKERS
Mercyhurst left off with a 5-19 season in 2024 but kicked off this year with a 7-15 record. The Sharks have won twice against Stonehill and New Haven, split with FDU, lost twice to LIU, and once to Saint Francis. 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 (213) and second in blocks (58). She had three kills, three blocks, and an ace during the last matchup against Saint Francis. Mastromatteo, the senior, is leading her team in assists (381) and digs (134). In the last game against the Red Flash, she had six digs, four assists, and an ace.

OPENING SERVE VS LIU
Saint Francis and LIU will have their 11th and 12th meeting of all time only dating back to 2019. For the last four years, the Red Flash and the Sharks have split the series. Last year, Saint Francis lost the first game 3-2 and then beat LIU during the second game 3-1. Saint Francis is looking to sweep for the first time in their all-time series, while adding two more tallies to their win column. This will be a battle between the top two ranked teams in the NEC.

THE WORD ON THE SHARKS
The Sharks are entering this weekend with a 12-7 record, after ending the 2024 season 15-17. So far in conference play, LIU is undefeated (9-0), beating Chicago State, Le Moyne, and CCSU twice, then beating New Haven once. Currently, the Sharks have two transfer juniors and a returning sophomore who are leading them to wins. Sara van Gisteren sits first for her team with 256 kills and 29 service aces but also is third in digs (166), blocks (38), and assists (18). Van Gisteren was named NJCAA First-Team All-American, AVCA First-Team All-American, and ICCAC Player of the Year during the 2024 season. Yasmeen Muhammad leads her team in blocks with 73 on the year and third with kills (130). Muhammad was named a First-Team NE10 selection last year. Miabella Musignac is leading LIU in digs (258), second in assists (71), and third in aces (22).

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 is traveling west to The Windy City for two games at Chicago State on November 7 and 8.

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). With the season halfway through, she has been burning the competition, collecting 406 total kills and 171 digs. Burns also leads the NEC in kills per set (5.27) and points per set (5.68). She is currently third in kills per set, kills, sixth in points per set, and eighth in points in the nation.

Kori McClure also registered 215 kills, coming in third in hitting percentage (.313) in 2024. Both of these players earned All-NEC first team looking to come back this season with a clear attack. McClure is continuing the 2025 season with 164 kills, 56 blocks, and 33 digs. She is second in the NEC in hitting percentage with .407. McClure is ranked 22nd in the nation due to her dominant swing.

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 two months, dishing out points as she gathered 810 assists and collected 41 service aces, both of which are number one in the NEC charts. Sappia is now 13th with aces, 15th with assists per set and 16th overall in the nation with total 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 sixth time this season. It is the 10th time that she has obtained Player of the Week and the 13th time she received a weekly conference award in her career.

Burns delivered a standout performance to close out the two-match series, racking up an incredible 43 kills and leading Saint Francis to a hard-fought split with FDU. She set the tone in the opener with 26 kills and 13 digs, pushing the match to a fifth set that the Red Flash won. Burns continued her dominance over the weekend, pairing her offensive power with a stellar defensive effort, adding 18 digs and three blocks. The series marked yet another milestone in her career, recording her 20th match with 20+ kills and her 21st career double-double.

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 10th award for this category surpassing Megan Taliaferro as the program record holder since 1997.

Burns now holds third place in NEC history with 10 Player of the Week awards. She sits ahead of Martina Wagner (10) and Cristina Pintilie (10), and behind Annika Foit (15) and Sarah Ciszek (15).

This is the 35th time that a Red Flash women's volleyball player has won Player of the Week, and Burns is the 12th different player to earn the distinction. She surpassed Skyler Eicher for the most Player of the Week awards in a season in program history with five.

Burns, Kori McClure, and Alexandra Sappia were all three named Prime Performers. McClure played a pivotal role in powering the Red Flash offense throughout the two-match series, delivering a well-rounded and impactful performance. She tallied 20 total kills, including 12 in the first matchup against FDU, and added 9 service aces, 7 digs, and 5 blocks to her stat line. McClure's all-around dominance was on full display as she posted 16.5 points in the opener and 16 more in the second match, proving to be a consistent and dynamic force for Saint Francis on both sides of the ball.

Sappia showcased her exceptional play making ability over the weekend, totaling an impressive 88 assists across the two-match series. She was the driving force behind the Red Flash's victory over FDU on Friday, dishing out a remarkable 52 assists to fuel the offense. Sappia also made her presence felt in every facet of the game, adding 15 digs and six service aces. Including three clutch aces in the decisive fifth set to seal the win. Her stellar performance marked a major career milestone, as she notched her 10th match with 50 or more assists.

ADDING TO PROGRAM MILESTONES
Burns surpassed the 1,000-kill milestone as she adds 43 kills to her previous count, bringing her to a total of 1,271. 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 kills in a career with 1,427. Burns is sitting in fifth place in the Saint Francis program record with the most kills in her career.

Sappia set her way past the 2,000-assist milestone. She added 88 more assists to her total, which brings her to 2,260 total career assists and is still climbing. Sappia passes Amelia Metzler (2015-19) who held fifth place with 1,883 assists, Alanna Blenkarn (2011-14) who held the fourth spot with 2,123 assists, and Kierstin Kiser (2009-12) who held the third spot with 2,137 assists. Sappia now sits in the third spot and is looking to continue moving up in the top 10 in career assists. She is 556 assists away from Kelly Snee (2001-03) who holds second place with the most assists at 2,816. Sappia is also tied with Lauren Wingard in most career service aces (132) at fifth place in program history.

McClure is currently sitting in first place in Saint Francis women's volleyball history for the best hitting percentage throughout her career. She surpassed Keshia Gibbs (2005-08) at .209 and now holds the record with a .296 percentage.

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 has collected 143 digs, 127 kills, and 32 blocks so far this season. Hailey Atkins has registered 64 digs and 26 assists.

Nevaeh Ingram (Rocky Mount, N.C./Northern Nash) had her collegiate debut against New Hampshire. She recorded 11 service aces and is still looking to gather more.

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 135 kills and 53 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 had her Saint Francis debut in the win against Mercyhurst.

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 143 digs so far in the season, recording a Red Flash personal best of 14 digs vs FDU.

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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