JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team gained its first conference win of the season Thursday night when the Fighting Saints opened Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22 victory over Judson University at the Pat Sullivan Center.

While each of the four sets were tight for most of the night, the Saints (2-5, 1-0 CCAC) held a slight advantage for majority of the contest.  In the first set, neither team extended the lead beyond a two-point advantage until an Emma Rodriguez kill gave USF its largest lead of the frame at 21-17.  Judson, however, looked to gain the momentum back after back-to-back kills allowed the Eagles to pull back to within two points (21-19), but Rodriguez (two) and Sarah Schmidt (one) would spoil the Eagles' hopes by accounting for three of USF's remaining four points with kills to solidify the 25-22 Set 1 win.

St. Francis wasted no time in flexing some muscle over the competition in Set 2, racing out to a 10-6 lead. The Saints eventually extended the advantage by as many as eight points (22-14) before settling in for the nine-point victory at 25-16.  USF totaled 11 kills in the stanza, led by Rodriguez's four, while Alyssa Teske and Cadence Wodrich each authored three.

Judson (2-2, 0-1) put up its biggest fight at the start of the third set, grabbing an early 12-3 lead.  The Saints narrowed the gap to 13-11 and, after trailing 16-13, rattled off an impressive 6-2 run to surge ahead 19-18.  The Eagles fought back to earn the win, however, quickly tying the game at 19-19, before three straight kills gave JU the 25-21 victory.

St. Francis had a season-best 17 kills in the final set, adding to its final total of 54 for the match.  Along with the 54 kills on offense, the Saints finished with a resounding 76 digs on defense.  Rodriguez accounted for four combined blocks, while Wodrich finished the match with three, and Teske chipping in one. 

Offensively, Riley Hungate collected a team-high 15 kills, while Rodriguez (14 kills) posted a match-best .357 attack percentage.  Talia Messana (22 assists), Landry Hall (12) and Teske (11) split the setting duties, and Ann Simon manned the USF backcourt with a team-best 24 total digs.

With the win, St. Francis extended its all-time series lead against Judson to a 14-7 margin.  The teams will play again in Elgin, Ill. on October 9.

Up Next
The Saints will take the court again on Tuesday, Sept. 9 when they travel to Gary, Ind. to face the RedHawks of Indiana University Northwest.  The match is set to begin at 7 pm in the Savannah Center.

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