JOLIET, Ill. -- The regular-season home finale did not go as planned for the University of St. Francis women's volleyball team as the Fighting Saints dropped a 25-12, 25-11, 25-16 decision to No. 17-ranked Viterbo University (Wis.) in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Thursday night at the Pat Sullivan Center. With the loss, the Saints concluded their regular season with an overall record of 9-17, and a 7-11 mark in league play.
Viterbo (29-5, 18-0 CCAC) opened Set 1 with 19 of the first 25 points before the Saints pushed back with a 5-0 scoring spurt. The V-Hawks then eased their way to the first-set victory with another 6-1 outburst to finalize the score a 25-12.
The Saints trailed by as many as 10 points midway through Set 2 (16-6), before trading points with the guests that resulted in the frame staying within a 10-point margin at 21-11. Viterbo, however, regrouped in time to score the final four points to end the set with a score of 25-11.
In Set 3, the V-Hawks continued leaning on their dominant front line and jumped out to an 18-11 advantage before the Saints went on a 5-1 run to come within three points at 19-16. Unfazed, Viterbo went back up 23-16 before ending the match with two straight kills resulting in the Set 3 win and 3-0 match sweep.
Viterbo attacked at a .324 clip and posted a total of 37 kills compared to the Saints' -.063 mark and 17 kills. For the Saints,
Delani Kirstein (five kills) and
Emma Rodriguez (three) led the offensive attack.
Abigail Ryan registered the most assists with her seven.
Defensively,
Aubrey Phillips posted one solo and one assisted block, while
Ann Simon was credited with four of USF's 14 digs.
Up Next
The Saints will match up against Olivet Nazarene University in a battle of the No. 2 and 7 seeds in the CCAC Tournament on Tuesday Nov. 10. As the lower seed, the Saints will travel to Bourbonnais, Ill. to take on the Tigers in McHie Arena. Gametime will be at 7 pm.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
