ELGIN, Ill. --
Delani Kirstein totaled 10 kills for the University of St. Francis women's volleyball team on Thursday evening in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference match vs. Judson University. The Fighting Saints, however, came up short in the contest, dropping a three-set match to the Titans with scores of 25-16, 25-15, 25-15 .
Indiana South Bend (10-13, 6-3 CCAC) led early in the first set, aided by four USF errors as the visitors built a 7-3 lead. St. Francis (7-11, 5-5) responded with a 5-2 run of their own, before the two teams traded points over the next 15 rallies. IUSB roared back in the end, however, surging ahead by capturing eight of the final nine points to mark the score at 25-16 and taking the first game.
The Titans took their momentum into the second set, opening on a 10-5 run with the lead gradually diminishing to a count of 11-10 midway through the frame. IUSB's front line would then take off on a 12-3 scoring outburst fueled by seven kills before finishing the stanza via the same fashion to eventually win with a score of 25-15.
An 8-1 scoring outburst killed the momentum on St. Francis' side of the net in the final set, after the Saints locked the game into a 7-7 stalemate fourteen rallies into the set. USF regrouped and slowly pushed their deficit closer at 16-12, sparked by a trio of kills from Kirstein,
Sara McGraw and
Annika Van Heemst, but the early Titan run proved too much for USF to overcome in the end with Indiana South Bend pulling away winners 25-15, and securing the 3-0 match victory.
Kirstein led St. Francis in kills with 10 and managed to hit .292 in the defeat.
Kennedy Walker paced the passing with 11 assists while adding five digs to the team's defensive effort, while
Mya Broadway finished the night logging a team-high eight digs.
Aubrey Phillips also recorded two assisted blocks in the match.
Up Next
The Saints will take the court again on Saturday (Oct. 10) in a CCAC face-off against Saint Xavier University. The match will begin at 11 am in Chicago.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
