DUBUQUE, Iowa -- After struggling through the opening set, the University of St. Francis women's volleyball team found a rhythm and rolled through its next three sets to earn a 3-1 non-conference win over Clarke University (Iowa) on Tuesday night.  With the victory, the Fighting Saints improve to 13-13 on the year.

The match started strong as St. Francis built an early 13-7 lead in the opening set.  Through a series of strong attacks from the Pride and miscues by the Saints, Clarke was able to claw back and tie the score at 20-20.  The two squads traded the next two points, but the Saints were unable to take the lead back, eventually going down 25-22. 

USF errors benefited the Pride early in the second set, allowing Clarke to build a lead which it would control until a 5-0 run surged the Saints to a 14-11 advantage.  Clarke won the race to 20 points in the game after consistent offensive execution enabled the Pride to gain eight of their next nine points via kills.  The set would teeter back and forth from there until the final two rallies when a kill from Taylor Connolly and a Clarke error sparked a finishing 2-0 USF run and a 27-25 victory.

St. Francis was able to ride the momentum from its second-set win early in the third set, jumping ahead 15-10. Connolly and Riley Hungate played a key role in the offensive production with the two players combining for five kills. An ensuing 6-0 run from the Saints put the set out of reach for Clarke, sealing the 25-12 win.

The fourth set would again be owned by the Saints as they never looked back after taking a 5-4 lead. A dominating 18-5 run proved to be too much for the Pride, enabling USF head coach Cara Currier's team to gain the four-set victory.

The Saints recorded 50 kills in the win, led by Hungate and Connolly with 11 and 10, respectively.  Desiree Anderson put up a team-high team 18 digs, while Kaylie Sippel dished out a match-high 23 assists.

Up Next
St. Francis will return home on Thursday (Oct. 10) to take on Indiana University South Bend at 7 pm at the Pat Sullivan Center.

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