Red Flash Volleyball Heading To Connecticut For First Conference Matchup

Women's Volleyball | 9/25/2025 11:25:00 AM

OPENING SERVE VS CCSU
Saint Francis and CCSU will have their 47th meeting of all time dating back to 1991 on Friday. The Red Flash is currently on a seven-game winning streak in the all-time series. Saint Francis beat the Blue Devils 3-1 during the last match in 2024.

THE WORD ON THE BLUE DEVILS
CCSU is entering this conference play with a 1-11 record, after ending the 2024 season 4-22. Currently, the Blue Devils have two hitters who are leading in kills, Olivia Keckler and Weronika Poczynek. Keckler collected 150 kills, 67 digs, and 16 blocks. Poczynek registered 127 kills, 35 digs, and eight blocks during the season. Anja Milosevic leads CCSU in digs with 126 and assists with 379.

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
The Red Flash is back at the Lo' to play Stonehill. The first game starts at 6 p.m. on Friday (October 3) and is followed by a 1 p.m. game on Saturday (October 4).

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 227 total kills and 101 digs. Burns is ranked second in the NEC in kills per set (5.28) and points per set (5.59). She currently is ranked second in kills and kills per set, and third in points, and fourth in points per set 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 73 kills, 27 blocks, and 21 digs. She is third in the NEC in hitting percentage with .327%.

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 three tournaments, dishing out points as she gathered 432 assists, which leads the NEC charts, and second in service aces with 20. Sappia is now 21st overall in the nation with assists.

NEC HONORS
Gwen Atkins (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) has been named NEC/Molten Women's Volleyball Rookie of the Week. This is the third time that she has been awarded this and the 36th time that a Saint Francis player has received it.

Atkins emerged as a standout force for the Red Flash this weekend, delivering a breakout performance across all facets of the game. She helped the offense with 14 kills, showcased her defensive prowess by digging up 19 balls, and dominated at the net with five crucial blocks. Adding to her impact, Atkins also fired in four service aces, proving to be a relentless presence from the service line. Her all-around excellence was a key factor in the team's success.

Korrin Burns and Alexandra Sappia were also named Prime Performers. Burns registered a total of 45 kills throughout the weekend, highlighted by an impressive 29-kill performance that propelled the Red Flash to a 3-1 victory over Duquesne. She contributed 11 digs in the match against Robert Morris, extending her career total to 18 double doubles. Additionally, Burns recorded two service aces.

Sappia totaled 89 assists over the weekend, highlighted by a 49-assist performance in the Red Flash's win over Duquesne. She also added 11 digs, seven service aces, and three assisted blocks across the two matches. With these outings, Sappia now has six matches this season with 40 or more assists.

BURNING PAST MILESTONES
Korrin Burns surpassed the 1,000-kill milestone as she adds 48 kills to her previous count, bringing her to a total of 1,092. 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 95 more assists to her total, which brings her to 1,882 total career assists. Sappia now passes Kimmy Sweeney (2018-21) who held the number six place with 1,555 assists. Sappia sits in the number six spot and is looking to continue moving up in the top-10 career assists. She is now one assist behind Amelia Metzler who is in fifth place.

WELCOME TO THE LO'
Two freshmen continue to help the Red Flash gain another win: Gwen Atkins (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) and Hailey Atkins (Morristown, N.J./Morristown). Gwen Atkins collected 69 kills, 90 digs, 18 aces, and 14 total blocks in the start of her rookie year. Her sister, Hailey Atkins recorded 41 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 this season, including a personal best of two aces in the win against Rider.

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 73 kills and 40 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 64 digs so far on the season, recording a red flash personal best of 14 digs vs Duquesne.

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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