PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. - The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team fell short in a five-set thriller against William Woods University (Mo.), losing 22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 15-10, on Day 1 of the Trinity Christian College Trolls Invite on Friday evening.  Despite a dominant third set where the Saints hit .359, they could not maintain their momentum in the decisive fifth set.  William Woods (14-10) rallied twice in the last stanza, stringing together two five-point runs to edge out the Saints and claim the match.

USF (12-11) was led by Riley Hungate, who tallied 18 kills, while Desiree Anderson added 15 kills and a team-high 24 digs.  With the totals, Anderson has now eclipsed the 1,500 career milestone marks in both kills (1,502) and digs (1,554), the latter of which she accomplished against University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy earlier this year (Sept. 14).

The match was tightly contested from the start with St. Francis taking the opening set 25-22. The Saints built an early lead, capitalizing on Owl errors and kills by Hungate and Sophie Knazur.  William Woods, however, responded in the second set, pulling away early with the help of a seven-point run for a 25-23 victory.  St. Francis was aided by 15 kills throughout the set, led by Hungate's six, but were edged out with mistakes at the end, allowing the Owls to claim the win.

USF put on an offensive show in the third set, winning 25-22, thanks to efficient attacking numbers from Anderson and Hungate. The Saints hit .359 in the set with 19 kills in total.  The Owls fought back in the fourth set, using a 6-0 run to pull ahead 16-8. St. Francis closed the gap late and came within three points, but William Woods held on for a 25-19 win, forcing a decisive fifth set.

In the final set, WWU jumped out to an 11-4 lead fueled by eight kills from the Owl attackers.  However, St. Francis rallied back, cutting the deficit to 12-9 after a clutch solo block from Alyssa Teske. The momentum was quickly calmed after two William Woods' kills in the remaining three points, ultimately sealing the set 15-10 in the WWU's favor.

Up Next
The Saints will look to bounce back Saturday as they continue the two-day tournament with two matches against Madonna University (Mich.) at 9 am and Stephens College (Mo.) at 1 pm.

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