ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team wrapped up Day 2 of the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy Eutectics Classic on Saturday afternoon, finishing the tournament with two tough losses against York University (Neb.) and Evangel University (Mo.).  With the setbacks, the Fighting Saints fall to 4-9 on the year.

Alyssa Teske led all Saints in kills (13) between the two matches, while Talia Messana led the team in assists (29).  Emma Rodriguez chipped in 11 kills on the day, while Delani Kirstein authored 10 kills and three block assists.  Mya Broadway had a team-high 19 total digs.

York defeats St. Francis  (22-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-20, 15-6)
York fought back from an early deficit in the first set and saw the momentum swing in their favor after an 11-6 run gave the Panthers their first lead of the game (12-11).  The frame stayed tight the rest of the way with the two teams trading blows in producing a 21-21 score.  Three kills from Teske and one from Riley Hungate would account for St. Francis' final four points in the set and allow the Saints to take Game 1 25-22.

In the second set, things stayed close until a 10-2 run widened the scoring margin and put the Panthers up 12-5.  York would lead by as many as seven points until a USF rally fueled by a string of Panther miscues brought the Saints to within five points at 20-15.  USF struggled to climb back from that deficit, however, losing the set 25-16 and allowing York to claim the Set 2 victory.

Set 3 saw the Saints produce their best offensive numbers of the match with 13 kills, a .250 attack percentage and four service aces.  After jumping out to a quick 3-0 start, USF never relinquished control of the score and breezed itself to a comfortable 25-17 win aided by four kills from Rodriguez.

The fourth set saw St. Francis take a 12-10 lead, but an 11-3 scoring run from the Panthers would swing the momentum back to York to pave the way for the 25-20 win and even the match at 2-2.

In the fifth set, the Saints grabbed an early 3-2 lead, but couldn't put the nail in the coffin as attacking errors and YU service aces allowed York to stay in the mix.  After a kill gave York the lead at 5-4, the Panthers never looked back and took the 15-6 set five victory and the 3-2 match win.

Evangel defeats USF  (25-13, 25-11, 25-18)
Courtesy of its team .355 attack percentage and four of eight players hitting at least .273, Evangel (14-2) controlled the majority of the second match.  USF never led in Set 1 seeing the Valors run off to a 6-0 start and never look back, cruising to a 25-13 victory.  In Set 2, the Saints stayed within one point at 4-3 before a 10-2 run widened the scoring margin to 14-5.  The Valors led by as many as 14 points in the game, settling for a 25-11 final score.  The Saints, who hit -.013 for the contest, fought back from a 12-point deficit in Set 3 (20-8) in securing 10 of the next 14 rallies.  A Saint service error, however, would end the momentum as well as the game at 25-18 and allow the Valors to pull off the 3-0 sweep.

Up Next
USF will take the court again on Tuesday, September 16 at 7:00pm when they travel east to face off against Indiana University South Bend as part of Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference action.

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