PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. -- Defending 2024 national champions and current NAIA  No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University hit .276 and produced 43 kills as the Wildcats earned a 3-0 non-conference sweep (25-12, 25-21, 25-10) over the University of St. Francis women's volleyball team Friday evening in Day 1 of the Trinity Christian College Trolls Invite at DeVos Gymnasium in Palos Heights, Ill.

The loss dropped the Fighting Saints to 9-10 on the season, while Indiana Wesleyan improved to 15-3 overall.

In the first set, Indiana Wesleyan overpowered the Saints on the offensive end, authoring a .220 attack percentage in the stanza.  The Wildcats would score 13 points off kills in the 25-12 Set 1 USF loss.

St. Francis found itself playing from behind in the second frame as it fell into a 9-3 deficit.  The Saints were able to rally back from their hole thanks to four kills from Alyssa Teske and three from Jenna Wasco to knot the score at 14-14 before overtaking the lead on the next two rallies via IWU mistakes.  USF won the race to 20 points and lead by as many as three at 21-18, but the Wildcats kept their composure as they closed out the set on a 6-0 scoring run to win 25-21.

Indiana Wesleyan wasted no time in taking a strong 12-6 lead to start Set 3.  Teske connected for a kill in helping to bring the Saints to within five points, but IWU exploded for a 13-3 run over the last 16 rallies to solidify the final score at 25-10 in the Wildcats' favor.

Teske collected nine kills in the match and led the team with a .222 attack percentage.  The sophomore also authored nine assists, while Ann Simon registered 12 digs.

Up Next
St. Francis will return to the court on Saturday for Day 2 of the tournament.  The Saints will face Stephens College (Mo.) at 10 am, followed by a match against Gosehn College (Ind.) at noon.

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