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University of St. Francis (III.)

University of St. Francis (III.)
Riley Hungate, Emma Rodriguez VB (11/11/25)
2
Indiana South Bend ( IUSB 13-20
3
Winner St. Francis (IL) USF 19-13
Indiana South Bend ( IUSB
13-20
2
Final
3
St. Francis (IL) USF
19-13
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Indiana South Bend ( IUSB 14 25 25 22 9 (2)
St. Francis (IL) USF 25 18 16 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

No.2 Saints Defeat No.7 Indiana South Bend, Advance To CCAC Tournament Semifinals

JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team kept its fans on the edge of their seats for the second straight match with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night inside the Pat Sullivan Center.  After coming off a nail-biting 3-2 win over Olivet Nazarene University to close out its regular season last Thursday, the No. 2-seeded Fighting Saints showcased a similar showing to open up Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament play with its 3-2 quarterfinal round triumph over No.7-seeded Indiana University South Bend.  Emma Rodriguez and Alyssa Teske combined for 18 kills against the Titans, helping send the Saints to scores of 25-14, 18-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-9.

The Saints took control of the first set quickly, jumping out to a 4-1 lead, before extending their advantage to 11-7.  Indiana South Bend worked its way back with five kills over its next six points to even the stakes at 13-13, but an ill-timed attacking error would halt the visitors' momentum before Teske connected for a kill to swing the energy back to St. Francis' side.  Teske would later go on to close out the first frame after authoring 10 straight successful serves with the Saints racking up three kills, two service aces and a block throughout the 10-0 run to secure the Set 1 win with a score of 25-14.

Indiana South Bend (13-20) responded to its first set loss in aggressive fashion, racing out to a 6-0 lead over the Saints.  USF would close the scoring margin to two points at 7-5, but the IUSB front line proved too much for the USF defenders to handle as the Titans rattled off four kills over the next six rallies to pull ahead 12-6.   After gifting the guests their next seven points off offensive miscues, the Saints tried to stop the bleeding by calling a timeout.  The strategy would not work, however, as the Titans eased their way to a comfortable 25-18 Set 2 win.

IUSB flexed more of its muscle on the Saints in the third game, stringing together eight kills at the start to win the race to 15 with a score of 15-5.  Of its remaining 10 points, eight more kills would be produced by IUSB attackers to aid the guests to a 2-1 lead with a 25-16 third frame victory.

The intensity turned up in the Set 4 after Indiana South Bend raced out to a 7-2 lead.  With the season on the line, the Saints regrouped to tie the score at 10-10 before connecting for four kills to take their first lead of the set at 14-13.  Three more tied scores would ensue before the Titans scored back-to-back points to teeter the game at 22-22.  The visitors looked to be in control at that point, but USF retaliated by discharging three straight points - highlighted by a strong kill from Elif Kirbaser - to finish the set off with a final tally of 25-22 and tie the match at 2-2.

Both teams started the final set strong by staying in an 8-8 deadlock midway through the stanza.  After an IUSB attacking error gave USF the 9-8 lead, the Saints took matters into their own hands by accounting for four straight kills to claim a 13-8 advantage before benefiting from back-to-back Titan errors for their final two points to prevail 15-9 in the fifth frame and win the match 3-2.

St. Francis finished the night with 42 kills and was led in attacking percentage by Olivia Cosgrove (.429), followed by Cadence Wodrich (.400).  Ann Simon topped the Saints with 27 digs, while Teske authored her eighth double-double of the season with 14 digs to go along with her 13 assists.  Talia Messana accounted for 19 assists of her own, and Wodrich led all blockers with two solo rejections.

Up Next
With Tuesday's victory, the Saints advance to the semifinal round of the CCAC Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 13, where they will face No.3 seed Saint Xavier University.  The match will take place in the Pat Sullivan Center and is slated for a 7 pm start.

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