JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball season came to an end on Thursday night as the Fighting Saints dropped a 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9 decision to Saint Xavier University in the semifinal round of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

Saint Xavier (18-9) took game one after working its way back from a 13-7 deficit before tying the score at 16-16 midway through the frame.  St. Francis claimed the next point to retake the lead, but the Cougars retaliated back with a momentum shifting 7-0 run to draw a timeout with a 23-17 score. The Saints fired back with a 5-1 scoring burst of their own after the breather run, but it was too little, too late with the Cougars securing the final point and the 25-22 Set one win.

The Cougars took hold of set two early after a string of attacking errors from USF gave the guests an 8-4 advantage.  Emma Rodriguez swung the momentum back to the Saints with three straight kills before Riley Hungate added two more in aiding St. Francis to tie the score at 11-11, which later paved the pathway for USF to take a 15-14 lead at the midway point.  The Saints looked to be cruising towards the finish line after winning the race to 20 with five subsequent kills, but the Cougars responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead back and mark the score at 22-20.  St. Francis was able to end the set, however, with a 5-1 run highlighted by a solo block from Olivia Cosgrove to take set two 25-23.

Attacking errors plagued the Saints at the start of Set three, with the hosts gifting the Cougars seven of their first 13 points.  St. Francis captured 13 of the next 19 rallies, however,  to come with within two points at 19-17, but the Saint Xavier front line proved to be too much for the Saints' defenders throughout the set with the Cougars accounting for 11 of their final 12 points off kills in securing the 25-21 win.

St. Francis won Set four in a similar fashion to the second set after giving Saint Xavier an early 7-4 lead before a solo block from Elif Kirbaser kickstarted an 11-2 scoring run decorated with multiple kills from Hungate and Teske to lift USF to a 15-9 advantage.  The Cougars held the set close, even tying the scoring at 19-19, but came up short, ending the set with a win for the Saints 25-22.

The Cougars were full steam ahead in the fifth set taking the early 5-1 lead which later expanded to an 11-4 advantage.  After calling a timeout, St. Francis quickly followed up with a 5-2 run, but two Cougar kills would squelch the comeback as well as the match for the Saints with a final score of 15-9.

Teske finished the season with a solid outing in recording her sixth triple-double of the season with 19 kills, 21 assists and 14 digs.  Hungate recorded 14 kills, while Rodriguez chipped in eight.  Mya Broadway posted a career high with 30 digs on defense, while Delani Kirstein recorded one solo block to end her season with a total of 16.  Talia Messana finished her season on a high note, as the senior setter recorded the seventh double-double of her career with 25 assists and 15 digs.

The Saints concluded their season with a 19-14 overall record.

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