JOLIET, Ill. --- NAIA  No. 17-ranked Viterbo University hit .192 and produced 40 kills as the V-Hawks earned a 3-0 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference sweep (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) over the University of St. Francis women's volleyball team Tuesday evening at the Pat Sullivan Center.

The loss dropped the Fighting Saints to 8-6 on the season and 1-1 in CCAC play.  Viterbo improved to 9-7 overall and 2-0 in league action. 

Taylor Connolly and Desiree Anderson led the Saints with seven kills each, while Connolly posted a .222 hitting percentage.  Riley Hungate finished with six kills and 11 digs. Olivia Cosgrove hit .500 with four kills on eight swings with zero attacking errors.  Kaylie Sippel (15) and Abby Lab (10) combined for 25 assists as USF hit .063 in the loss.  Lab anchored the St. Francis defense with a match-high 17 digs. 

The Saints scored the first five points of the first set and led 7-1 before Viterbo went on a 9-2 run to take the lead at 10-9.  USF would stay within two points as a Hungate kill would bring the score to 18-16, but the V-Hawks would pull away late on a 7-2 run to close out the set.

In Set 2, the Viterbo was the one to take the early lead after scoring the first four points of the stanza.  The Saints spread the offense throughout the first half with multiple kills from Anderson, Hungate, Cosgrove and Connolly to even the score at 14-14.  Mistakes followed from both sides resulting in the two teams trading points until a kill by Cadence Wodrich would get the Saints to within three points at 23-20.  The effort came up short, however, with Viterbo closing the set out with the 25-22 win.

Set 3 saw neither team establish any separation until the V-Hawks went on a 9-1 run to take a 24-16 advantage after the score was deadlocked at 15-15.  Connolly saved the first match point by authoring USF's last kill of the night, but Viterbo would return with a kill of its own on the next possession to earn the sweep with the 25-17 victory.

Next Match
The Saints will travel to Gary, Ind., on Thursday for a 7 pm CCAC contest at Indiana University Northwest. 

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