SOUTH BEND, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team got back in the win column following a pair of defeats over the weekend with a 25-19, 25-22, 29-31, 25-19 victory over Indiana University South Bend in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Tuesday night.  The win improved the Fighting Saints to 5-9 on the season and 2-2 in CCAC play.  Indiana South Bend dropped to 5-12 overall and 1-2 in league action.

As a team, St. Francis hit .158, while limiting IUSB to a .141 hitting percentage.  Alyssa Teske led the team in kills with 15, while Cadence Wodrich chipped in eight.  Mya Broadway (20), Talia Messana (16), Teske (13) and Riley Hungate (11) all recorded double-digit digs on the night with Teske headlining the Saints' defense at the net by authoring two solo blocks.

The first set showcased itself to be a back-and-forth battle throughout the first half with neither team having no more than a two-point advantage.  With the score at 18-16 in USF's favor, the momentum teetered even more to St. Francis' side after back-to-back kills from Wodrich and Teske widened USF's scoring margin to four points.  IUSB was quick to respond, claiming three of the next four rallies to bring the Titans back to within two (21-19), but along with a service ace from Teske, the Saints benefited from three IUSB errors to take the final four points and secure the 25-19 Set 1 win.

The Saints started off hot in Set 2, pulling ahead of Indiana South Bend early in the game with a 5-1 run to take an 11-5 lead.  The Titans quickly got back into the mix, however, with eight kills over the next 24 rallies to close the gap at 21-18.  After a strong kill from Emma Rodriguez gave USF the serve, the Saints closed the door, registering three kills - from Rodriguez, Wodrich and Teske - for their final three points in the 25-22 victory.

Set 3 proved to be a reflection of the first frame, with the two teams trading punches all the way throughout the entirety of the 60-rally stanza.  After USF won the race to 22 points with a two-point advantage (22-20), the game would see eight straight ties from points 22 through 29.  Consecutive kills from Wodrich and Teske allowed the Saints to come within one point of winning the set and sweeping the match at 29-28, but the Titans would be the victors in the end, collecting two kills in the frame's last three rallies to take the 31-29 win.

The final game saw St. Francis never relinquish the lead after producing a 6-2 start.  IUSB would come as close as two points at 13-12 and then at 14-13, but it was then that USF took off on an 11-6 scoring run fueled by four kills to finish the frame and seal the 25-19 victory.

Up Next
The Saints return to action on Thursday (Sept. 18) when they travel to Whiting, Ind. to take on Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) in a CCAC matchup with the Crimson Wave.  The match will begin at 7 pm.

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