ELGIN, Ill. -- Backed by a strong attack, the University of St. Francis women's volleyball team polished off its second straight Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory, ousting Judson University 3-0 on Thursday night. The 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 three set sweep ups USF's record to 3-6 on the year and 2-1 in league play.
St. Francis gained the first advantage in the opening set as the Saints soared in front 13-7 in the first 20 rallies of the match. Three kills from
Alyssa Teske and a fourth from
Aubrey Phillips sparked USF's lead into the set before Judson attacking errors added to the run to force an Eagle timeout. More kills from the Saints kept its offense running, as St. Francis maintained a 12-point cushion up to 20-8. A 5-0 Eagle run would pull the hosts to within seven points, but a strong kill from
Delani Kirstein followed by a JU attacking error would finish the set and give St. Francis the 25-16 win.
The Saints kept their momentum going at the start of the second set, and built an early 12-3 lead which was fueled by kills from Phillips, Teske and Kirstein. An 8-3 scoring burst from Judson, however, propelled the Eagles forward, eventually clawing back to a four-point differential at 15-11. The two teams would then trade punches, keeping the score at a four-point margin (20-16), before three errors from Judson and a pair of kills from
Olivia Cosgrove accounted for St. Francis' last five points in the frame, allowing the Saints to pull out a 25-19 second set win.
In the final set, the Saints won the race to 15 after producing a five-point advantage (15-10) midway through the stanza. USF would then benefit from a string of Eagle offensive errors and hold their lead at 22-17, but JU would not relent and came surging back with three straight points to mark the score at 22-20. Two kills from Teske and one from Kirstein ignited St. Francis' push to the sweep, before the final point of the 25-21 third set win came on a
Sarah Schmidt solo block.
Kirstein led all St. Francis attackers, posting 12 kills to pair with a .417 attacking percentage. Teske recorded 11 kills, while
Mya Broadway had 11 digs.
Landry Hall (23 assists) and
Kennedy Walker (12) split setting duties in the win, and Schmidt led all players in the match with three solo blocks.
Up Next
The Saints will take the court again on Tuesday, Sept. 15 when they face the Crimson Wave of Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.). The CCAC match is set to begin at 7 pm in the Pat Sullivan Center.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
