LORETTO, Pa. -- The Red Wolves could not overcome the Wolverines in a 1-3 match up. Saint Francis had two players reach double digits in digs.Â
Grove City took 5-2 lead early in the first set, however, Saint Francis went on a little 4-0 run of its own. Lorah Thomas started with the first two kills and then Yasmin Berres followed with a service ace. Alexandra Sappia set up Ava Holden for a kill down the middle. Several kills by Rylan Crowell, Kylie Rauch, Emme Larson, and Holden kept the gap within four. The Wolverines took the set 25-19.Â
Thomas fueled the Red Wolves early, racking up the first point of the game off a dominate swing. After some back and forth with Grove City, Saint Francis went on a 10-0 run powered by Sappia. Sappia accumulated six aces during that period and forcing three Wolverine errors. Crowell capped off the run with a solo kill on the left side. Crowell aided in the second set with a kill to win 27-25.
In the third set, Saint Francis went on a 5-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. Thomas once again started this run, but this time it was from a solo block. Emmi Adrian nabbed an ace right before Sappia set up Madison Roman for a kill. Sappia then grabbed a kill for herself to force a Grove City timeout. The Wolverines grabbed the last four points in a row to claim set three 25-20.Â
The Wolverines did not let down, taking the fourth set 25-15.Â
Offensively, Sappia registered 21 assists, six aces, five digs, and five kills. Holden tied Crowell in leading kills with seven. Holden also had one dig and one solo block. Roman had six kills, two digs, and two assisted blocks. Thomas recorded six kills, two digs, and a solo block.Â
Defensively, Berres led the match with 17 digs, four assists, and two aces. Crowell followed her with 10 digs, seven kills, and an ace. Emmi Adrian was close behind them with nine digs, four assists, and one ace.Â
Saint Francis will face its third PAC opponent this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The Red Wolves will take on Washington & Jefferson in DeGol Arena.Â
