PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. --- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team closed out a 4-1 week by earning a two-match sweep on Saturday afternoon at the Trinity Christian College Trolls Invite.  The Saints opened play on the day with a 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22 revenge win over Concordia University (Mich.) before rallying twice to defeat Spring Arbor University (Mich.) 15-25, 26-24, 13-25, 25-18, 15-12 in improving to 16-10 on the season.

Numerous players stepped up on the afternoon in the pair of victories.  Desiree Anderson boasted 27 kills and 38 digs, Gabriela Oliveira contributed 22 kills and Hannah Pacheco and Kaylie Sippel delivered 39 and 37 assists, respectively.  Sippel also totaled seven aces.

Defensively, Cadence Wodrich recorded 12 blocks with Peyton Baird delivering another eight.  Hannah Monfre, meanwhile, led the charge in digs with 46.

Match 1: USF def. Concordia (Mich.) 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22
After dropping a three-set decision to Concordia (9-13) earlier in the year, the Saints got it back with their four-set win on Saturday behind Anderson's 18 kills and 23 digs, both of which were team highs.  She attacked at a .333 clip, while Stephanie Woods led the team in that field with her .435 mark on 11 kills.

Pacheco and Sippel combined for 40 assists with Pacheco gaining the slight upper hand with her 21 sets.  Sippel also recorded three of the team's seven service aces.

On defense, the Saints totaled 15 blocks with nine from Wodrich, six from Anderson and four from Baird, while Monfre posted 20 digs.

Tied at nine-all in the first set, the Saints ran off seven of the next eight points and then the final nine points to win.  Anderson had two kills in the latter rally.

A 4-0 run midway through the second set supplied just enough impetus for the Saints to go up 2-0. 

Concordia put up seven unanswered points in Set 3 to go up 13-8 only to have the Saints rally for ties at 22 and 23.  That rally, however, proved to be for naught when Concordia scored the final two points to get back into the contest.

The exact opposite was true in Set 5.  This time it was the Saints that used a 6-0 run to go up big.  Concordia chipped away at the deficit to force a tie at 22-all before Oliveria delivered two kills among the closing three points to win the match.

Match 2: USF def. Spring Arbor (Mich.) 15-25, 26-24, 13-25, 25-18, 15-12   
The Saints dropped a pair of sets by ten-plus points, but showed their resiliency with the come-from-behind win to finish the tournament 3-1.

Three USF players contributed no less than nine kills each topped by Oliveira's 16.  Pacheco and Sippel each supplied 18 assists with Sippel also leading the way for the second straight match in aces with four.

Another big block effort was led by Woods' five stuffs and four more from Baird.  Monfre, Anderson and Pacheco supplied the rest of the defense with Monfre's 26 digs, 15 from Anderson and 13 by Pacheco.

Trailing 11-8 in Set 1, Spring Arbor unleashed 13 straight points to go up 1-0.

Back and forth, the two teams went in Set 2 resulting in ten ties and four lead changes before Sippel and Wodrich evened the match with back-to-back kills at the end.

Spring Arbor (11-15) regained control with 13 of the first 18 points in Set 3 before sealing the deal with a 6-0 run.  The Cougars then looked to take the match by building an initial 7-3 lead in Set 4 only to have the Saints rally with five straight points followed by a 7-2 surge to force a fifth set.

USF also trailed in the deciding set by a 7-5 count, but used two Sippel aces in a five-point run to finish off the sweep.

Notes: Five different Saints produced season-best efforts on Saturday.  Anderson did so in three categories with her 18 kills, 23 digs and six blocks in Saturday's first match.  Baird's four blocks in each match were season highs as were Wodrich's nine blocks in the opening match.  Sippel's four aces were a season high in the second match, while Monfre performed the same feat in the second match with her 26 digs … Monfre recorded 20-plus digs in back-to-back matches for the second time this season on Saturday … Anderson recorded her ninth double-double of the campaign in the first match with Pacheco doing the same for the second time in the latter match … The Saints are in Wisconsin all next week beginning with Tuesday's conference match against Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee at 7 pm.

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