JOLIET, Ill. --- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team pushed both Indiana Tech – among others receiving votes in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll – and No. 17 Bellevue University (Neb.) early, but came away with a pair of setbacks on Opening Day 2023.  Indiana Tech scored a 25-20, 24-26, 25-12, 25-15 win over the Fighting Saints before Bellevue took down USF in three games, 26-24, 25-18, 25-16, at the USF Big Dogs Classic on Friday.

Gabriella Oliveira paced the USF offense with a pair of double-figure kill contests, totaling 24 kills on the day.  Desiree Anderson was close behind with 19.  The latter was also second in digs (20) to Leah Talley's 28.

Kaylie Sippel provided 55 of the team's 70 assists.

Match 1: Indiana Tech def. USF 25-20, 24-26, 25-12, 25-15
Seven ties and five lead changes made up the first set.  The Saints led as late as 15-14 before a 6-0 run by Indiana Tech gave the Warriors the first-set win.

In the second set, the Saints battled from behind on multiple occasions before prevailing.  A pair of 4-0 runs wiped out 14-10 and 19-16 deficits in a set that saw eight ties and six lead changes.

Indiana Tech led 24-23 and had the game-point serve only to have Anderson, Cadence Wodrich and Oliveira respond with three straight kills to even the match at one set apiece.

Indiana Tech (5-1) took control from there.  The Warriors used an early 7-0 run to go up 9-3 in Set 3 and then put together a string of five more unanswered points to pull away.
In Set 4, a pair of Oliveira kills turned a 6-2 deficit into a 7-6 lead, but the Warriors closed out the match with the final seven points to win.  Indiana Tech also held a .284-.178 attacking advantage for the match.

Match 2: Bellevue def. USF 26-24, 25-18, 25-16
USF's best bet at securing a set victory over the ranked Bruins came in Set 1, where they rallied from a 15-8 deficit to tie the contest at 15-all.  Taylor Connolly's two kills and one each from Anderson and Oliveira, not to mention an ace from Talley sparked the comeback.

The Saints had Bellevue on the ropes at 23-22 before the Bruins responded with four of the final five points.

In Set 2, Bellevue trailed 5-3 before scoring nine of the next 11 points to go up 12-7.  The Saints would never get closer than three points the rest of the way.

A similar story was told in Set 3 when the Bruins put together an 8-2 run to build a 13-7 lead en route to staying unbeaten at 5-0 on the season.  For the match, Bellevue attacked at a .299 clip to USF's .124 percentage.

Notes: Madison Koelker, Abby Sippel and Diana Fields all made their St. Francis debuts on Friday … Anderson, Sippel and Oliveira all just missed out on notching double-doubles in the opener.  Anderson needed one more kill, while Sippel and Oliveira came up one dig short … Talley's 17 digs in the opener were a career high … USF was hurt by 15 service errors in the opener … The Saints are right back at it on Saturday morning when they host University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) at 11:30 am followed by Spring Arbor University (Mich.) at 2 pm.   

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