PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. -- After stumbling with a first-match 3-0 defeat to Stephens College (Mo.), the University of St. Francis Fighting Saints women's volleyball team closed Day 2 of the Trinity Christian College Trolls Invite with a strong 3-0 victory over Goshen College (Ind.) on Saturday afternoon.

Stephens def. USF  (25-18, 25-13, 25-20)
St. Francis held momentum early in the first set as the Saints scored seven of the first 10 points of the game.  USF continued on in comfort benefiting from a stable lead at 17-13 before Stephens got back in sync and captured 12 of the last 13 rallies to surge ahead and beat out the Saints to win 25-18.

Hoping to build back some confidence after its first set loss, St. Francis looked to start Set 2 strong, but was unable to keep up with Stephens.  Fatigue set in with the Saints falling behind 15-5 midway through the frame before three kills from Alyssa Teske and three mistakes from SC's offensive line combined to bring USF back to within seven points (18-11).  Five Stephens' kills within the last nine rallies, however, would close the set at 25-13 and give the Stars a 2-0 lead heading into the third set.

St. Francis would lead the Stars 13-12 in Set 3 only to have Stephens put together two late rallies.  The first one was a 5-0 run to overtake the lead at 17-13.  The second was a 4-1 spurt to close out the match 25-20 to end the three-set sweep.

Riley Hungate turned in a solid performance for the Saints as she authored a team-high 10 kills while being one dig short of a double-double with nine.  Teske chipped in eight kills of her own to go along with her 11 assists, while Ann Simon tallied a team-high 12 digs.

USF def. Goshen  (25-13, 25-19, 25-17)
St. Francis controlled things early and often in its second match of the day, never relinquishing the lead throughout Set 1 after beginning the frame with a 13-0 advantage in the 25-13 win.  The second set began in Goshen's favor as it was able to hold a 17-13 advantage midway through the game.  The Saints fought their way back, however, in securing 10 of the next 11 points aided by five Hungate kills to gain control of the set at 23-18, before back-to-back kills from Delani Kirstein allowed USF to walk away with the 25-19 victory.  St. Francis' .515 attack percentage in the second set left no doubt as the Saints rang up 19 kills against only two errors in 33 chances.

Riding off the momentum attained with the second-set win, the Saints looked to continue its dominance but the third set proved to be a much tighter battle.  Neither team lead by more than two points throughout the frame until the Saints grabbed the 20th point off a Hungate kill to mark the score at 20-17.  That point kickstarted the beginning of a 6-0 run that rocketed the Saints across the finish line with a 25-17 final score. 

Hungate led the way offensively for the Saints with an imposing 17 kills, while Simon hit double-digits again in digs with 12.  Talia Messana (11) and Teske (17) shared the responsibility of captaining the offense as they combined to register 28 of USF's 36 assists in the match.  The Saints registered a season-high attack percentage, outhitting the Maple Leafs .442 mark to .126 in the match.  Committing just seven errors, USF also totaled 45 kills in 86 chances.

Up Next
The Saints will return home on Tuesday, Oct. 7, for a 7 pm CCAC contest against Indiana University Northwest in the Pat Sullivan Center.

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