MILWAUKEE. Wis -- The University of St. Francis volleyball team picked up its fourth win in a row and ninth in the last eleven matches on Saturday, taking down first-year Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference member Mount Mary University (Wis.) in four sets with scores of 25-12, 23-25, 25-16, 25-10.  With the win, the Fighting Saints improve to 13-11 overall on the season, and 9-2 in league play.

The Saints got off to a quick start in the first set, building an early 12-7 lead after getting service aces from two different players and two kills apiece from Riley Hungate and Delani Kirstein.  St. Francis used an 8-2 run to put the game out of reach, building its 20-9 lead off Blue Angel offensive miscues. Hungate put the polishing touches on the first set after closing out the game with five straight kills for USF, winning the opener 25-12.

In the second set St. Francis started off strong, winning the race to 15 points with a 15-10 advantage, but the Blue Angels (4-22, 1-11 CCAC) quickly regrouped to gain momentum back with a powerful 11-2 run fueled by five kills and three service aces to capture a 21-17 lead.  A total of seven errors between the two teams would account for seven of the match's next nine points allowing the Saints to claw back within one point by driving the score to 24-23, and forcing MMU to call a timeout.  The breather would benefit the Blue Angels, as a kill from MMU's Andriana Whiteand on the next rally would secure the 25-23 win for Mount Mary.

The Saints wasted no time in sets three and four with both frames showcasing dominating leads (15-10 and 15-7, respectively) midway through each game.  Jenna Wasco and Ann Simon helped scored eight of the final 10 points for the Saints in set three, getting four kills from Wasco and four service aces from Simon to take the game 25-16.  In the final stanza, five different players would claim credit with a kill in the final 13 rallies to help USF cruise to a 25-10 set four one-sided win.

As a team St. Francis hit .299, with match-high efficiencies from Kirsten (.556) and Hungate (.538), who combined to score 13 kills on 22 attacks.  Kirstein also had seven block assists on the day, while Alyssa Teske registered 12 kills and 13 assists to complete her eighth double-double of the season.  Landry Hall also posted double-digits in assists with 13, and Mya Broadway had a match-high 16 digs in the win.

Up Next
The Saints will take the court again on Tuesday, Oct. 14 when they host the Trolls of Trinity Christian College in the Pat Sullivan Center.  Game time is slated to begin at 7:00 pm.

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