WHITING, Ind -- Backed by a strong attack, the University of St. Francis volleyball team polished off its second consecutive sweep on Thursday night, ousting Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) 3-0 in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference action.  With the win, St. Francis improves to 6-10 on the season and 3-2 in conference play.

St. Francis wasted no time pouncing on the Crimson Wave (1-11, 0-5 CCAC), as a kill from Alyssa Teske helped ignite an early 6-2 surge.  Delani Kirstein paced the offense with multiple shots, and a strong kill from Riley Hungate forced a CCSJ timeout midway through the set with the Saints on top 15-11. The Crimson Wave would roar back and claw within one point at 17-16, however, Hungate stopped the hosts' momentum by landing three kills in helping USF expand its lead to 22-19.  After St. Francis tacked on one more point, the senior fired off two straight service aces to secure the opening game for USF with a final score of 25-20.

After giving away the first four points to CCSJ in the second set via offensive miscues, a 7-0 retaliatory run again gave St. Francis an early game lead at 7-4.  Kirstein scored the team's 15th point of the set on a service ace, while Hungate later connected for a kill with a 20-13 lead at hand. St. Francis' advantage never dropped below six for the remainder of the frame, as late blocks from Hungate, Elif Kirbaser and Jenna Wasco pushed the Saints to a 25-18 victory and a 2-0 lead.

The final stanza saw St. Francis never relinquish the lead after producing a 12-3 start.  Benefiting from a late 10-4 scoring spurt, CCSJ would come as close as five points (23-18), but Kirbaser and Malaya Morris connected for kills to finish the frame and seal off a third set 25-19 win.

The sweep is the third of the season for the Saints, closing the doors on the team's third conference win of the year.  Teske led all USF hitters with 13 kills and a .367 hitting percentage on 30 swings, while Hungate hit for a .370 mark, going 11-27 on the attack.  Landry Hall recorded a team-best 12 assists as the Saints used three different setters in the win, and Mya Broadway had a match-high 24 digs as the libero.  Kirbaser and Teske each collected two block assists, while Ann Simon authored five of St. Francis' nine service aces.

Up Next
St. Francis will aim to keep their winning ways next Tuesday (Sept. 23) when they take the court again in a home battle against Governors State University at 7:00pm in the Sullivan Center.

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