JOLIET, Ill. -- After stumbling with a first-match 3-1 defeat to Mount Mercy University (Iowa), the University of St. Francis Fighting Saints women's volleyball team closed Day 1 of its own Big Dogs Classic with a strong 3-0 victory over Georgetown College (Ky.) on Friday night.

Mount Mercy def. USF  (25-21, 18-25, 25-13, 25-20)
Mount Mercy (3-2) held momentum early in the first set as the Mustangs scored 10 of the first 13 points of the game.  Their run would slowly come to a halt, however, as St. Francis got back in sync and captured 12 of the next 21 rallies to help cut its deficit to four points (19-15).  That forced a stoppage from MMU in an attempt to squelch the bleeding.  Despite a number of long, late rally efforts by USF, the breather proved to work in Mount Mercy's favor with the Mustangs edging out the Saints 6-5 to win 25-20.

St. Francis responded in the second set, winning the battle by a 25-18 score.  The Saints controlled things from the start after jumping out to a quick 5-2 lead.  USF's momentum picked up even more energy as the set progressed with a spread-out offensive attack of kills fueling the hosts to a 20-12 advantage.  The Mustangs would rebound with a 3-0 run to get closer, but the Saints finished strong with kills from Riley Hungate and Emma Rodriguez late to secure the St. Francis win.

Hoping to build more momentum off its second-set victory, St. Francis looked to start Set 3 strong, but was unable to keep up with MMU.  Fatigue set in with the Saints falling behind 23-12 on the scoreboard after a 9-8 early mark.  Two straight Mustang kills would close the set at 25-13 and give Mount Mercy a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set.

St. Francis would go up by as many as nine points (17-8) in Set 4 only to have Mount Mercy put together two late rallies.  The first one was a 7-0 run to get within 17-15.  The second was a 7-2 surge to close out the match in convincing fashion to end the four-set contest.

Hungate turned in a solid performance for the Saints as she authored a team-high 15 kills.  Cadence Wodrich chipped in 10 kills of her own to go along with an impressive .769 attack percentage, while Maura Babuskow tallied nine digs.

USF def. Georgetown  (25-16, 25-23, 25-11)
St. Francis controlled things early and often in its second match of the night, never relinquishing the lead throughout Set 1 in the 25-16 win.  The second set began in Georgetown's favor as it was able to hold a 12-5 advantage midway through the game.  The Saints fought their way back, however, to tie the set at 23-all before back-to-back Tiger errors allowed USF to walk away with the 25-23 victory.

Riding off the momentum attained with the close second-set win, the third set belonged to the Saints from the beginning.  Six kills from five different players and one service ace apiece from Celeste Zavala and Ann Simon enabled USF to jump out to a 12-5 lead.  Nine additional USF kills would account for all but four of St. Francis' final 13 points to produce the commanding 25-11 win.  St. Francis' .357 attack percentage in the final set left no doubt as the Saints rang up 13 kills against only three errors in 28 chances.
 
Hungate and Rodriguez led the way offensively for the Saints with nine kills apiece, while Simon hit double-digits in digs with 10.  Alyssa Teske captained the offense as she registered 16 assists and chipped in eight kills.  The Saints outhit the Tigers .202 to .076 on the night.

Up Next
St. Francis has a week of rest rest before it returns to action on Friday, August 29.  USF will be on the road in Upland, Ind. to take on Huntington University at 12:30 pm followed by a matchup against Missouri Baptist University at 3 pm in Day 1 of the Taylor University (Ind.) Classic.

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