PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team wrapped up Day 2 of the Trinity Christian College Trolls Invite on Saturday afternoon, finishing the tournament with two tough losses against Madonna University (Mich.) and Stephens College (Mo.).  With the setbacks, the Fighting Saints fall to 12-13 on the year.

Desiree Anderson led all Saints in kills (24) and digs (31) between the two matches, while Kaylie Sippel led the team in assists (28).  Taylor Connolly chipped in 19 kills on the day, while Cadence Wodrich authored 13 kills and nine block assists.  Maura Babuskow had a match-high 25 digs versus Stephens.

St. Francis vs. Madonna University
The Saints fought back from an early deficit in the first set and saw the momentum swing in their favor when a Connolly kill kept St. Francis alive to tie the game at 24-24.  But two straight Madonna (7-11)  kills put the set point away with the Crusaders taking Game 1 26-24.

St, Francis held a 15-13 lead midway through the second set, but an MU rally put the Crusaders up 19-15.  USF nearly tied the score, getting to within 24-23 after an Anderson kill and two service aces from Riley Hungate, but a service error ended the Saints' comeback with the 25-23 loss.

In the third set, things stayed tight until an 8-2 run widened the scoring margin and put the Crusaders up 17-10.  Madonna would lead by as many as nine points until a USF rally fueled by two kills from Montana Groskreutz brought the Saints to within five points at 23-18.  USF struggled to climb back from that deficit, however, losing the set 25-20 and allowing Madonna to claim the 3-0 match victory.

St. Francis vs. Stephens College
Down 15-13 in the opening set, the Saints went on an 8-2 run thanks to kills from five separate players to jump ahead 21-16.  Connolly would author two more USF kills before the Saints captured the 25-19 Set 1 win. 

The second set saw Stephens (7-13) take an 11-10 lead, but a 6-0 USF run would swing the momentum back to St. Francis to pave the way for the 25-19 win and a 2-0 lead in the match

The third set produced 10 ties and 11 lead changes between the two teams.  After being down by as many as five points, the Saints surged forward and were able to get the score locked at 22-all, but a late service error gave the Stars the opening they needed to claim the tight 25-23 victory.  The tides turned again against St. Francis in Set 4 as it saw an early four-point lead quickly disappear as a result of the Stars' offensive efficiency.  Following a 23-23 tie, however, the Saints were one point away from claiming the match after a huge shared block from Hungate and Wodrich gave the Saints a 24-23 advantage.  USF was unable to close the door on the Stars, however, as attacking errors gave Stephens two of its remaining three points in the 26-24 Set 4 contest.

In the fifth set, the Saints grabbed an early 6-3 lead, but couldn't put the nail in the coffin as attacking errors allowed Stephens to stay in the mix.  After a kill gave Stephens its first lead of the set at 10-9, the Stars never looked back and took the 15-11 set victory and the 3-2 match win.

Up Next
The Saints will be back in action on Tuesday (Oct. 8) when they travel to Dubuque, Iowa to take on the Clarke University Pride. The match is set to begin at 6 pm.

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.