JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team returned home after a five-match road swing, earning its fifth Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference win of the season as the Fighting Saints beat Indiana University South Bend 25-23, 25-17, 25-27, 25-23. USF's four-set win over the Titans gives it a three-match CCAC winning streak, moving the team to 14-13 overall and 5-2 in league play.
The Saints came out swinging in the first set on Thursday night, running their offense through
Riley Hungate and
Desiree Anderson early and often. A powerful kill from Anderson highlighted a four-point run that gave USF a 19-16 lead. It also set the pace for the set as the Saints held their lead between four and six points through the next eight rallies. With St. Francis one point away from a Set 1 victory at 24-19, the Titans would fight back via a four-point run and come as close as one point at 24-23, An IUSB service error, however, allowed USF to close out the first game with the 25-23 victory.
After the battle in the first set, St. Francis controlled the second, using a 10-3 run to gain an impressive 21-15 lead. USF's burst was sparked by two authoritative blocks, putting the Saints in full command. St. Francis' offense soon took over as the Saints ended the set with all four remaining points coming via kills, marking the final score at 25-17.
The Titans (2-22, 2-6 CCAC) responded strongly in Set 3, leading for much of the early stages of the frame. St. Francis upended the Titans' 13-11 lead when Anderson and Hungate pushed their team in front 15-13, but the 4-0 run was unable to be extended as IUSB regained its footing by winning six of the next eight points. The set went back and forth from there with the teams exchanging one- and two-point swings before the visitors pushed ahead 24-20. St. Francis regrouped and slowly started to claw back with a
Sophie Knazur kill helping to tie the game at 24-24. Down to its last rally, IUSB fought and extended play as it scored three of the next four points to take the 27-25 victory.
The fourth set was a nail-biter for both teams as neither squad was able to extend a lead past two points throughout the first half of the game. With the score knotted at 15-15, the Saints were the first to put together a scoring surge of five points to take their largest lead of the set at 20-16. The Titans retaliated with a 6-1 rally of their own - aided by five USF offensive miscues - to retake the lead 22-21. After a powerful kill from
Sarah Schmidt gave the Saints their 24th point, the Titans tried to squelch USF's momentum by taking a timeout. The strategy would be unsuccessful as Hungate ended the set with a kill to give St. Francis the 25-23 set win and the 3-1 match victory.
As a team, St. Francis hit .120, while limiting IUSB to a .082 hitting percentage. Anderson and Hungate led the team in kills with 12, while Schmidt chipped in 11. Anderson (12 kills, 20 digs), Hungate (12 kills, 16 digs) and
Abby Lab (23 assists, 11 digs) all recorded double-doubles on the night with
Cadence Wodrich headlining the Saints' defense at the net by authoring nine block assists.
Up Next
St. Francis will stay at home for their next match on Saturday (Oct. 12) as they face-off against Governors State University. The CCAC match will begin at 7 pm in the Pat Sullivan Center.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
