University of St. Francis (III.)

JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team made proficient work of its fourth Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) match of the season, needing 89 minutes to register a 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 sweep over Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) on Tuesday night at the Sullivan Center.

Alyssa Teske, Aubrey Phillips and Emma Rodriguez took care of business at the net, registering eight kills apiece, while Annika Van Heemst chipped in with three kills and committed zero attacking errors leading to a team best .375 attack mark.

Alyssa Ignasak led the charge defensively at the net with the freshman authoring two block assists.  Kennedy Walker topped the team in digs with 13 and registered 10 assists in recording her first double-double in a Saints' uniform.  Landry Hall accounted for 13 more of the team's 37 total assists.

St. Francis (4-6, 3-1 CCAC) started the first set on a strong note with a kill from Rodriguez followed by a service ace from Hall, before Calumet (0-6, 0-4) began to find its footing and regrouped with three straight kills to go in front 4-3.  St. Francis would capture the next four rallies, forcing CCSJ to call a timeout.  The breather would be all the Saints would need as they finished the set with 10 more kills to seal the 25-19 victory.

After seeing the Crimson Wave jump out to a quick 7-1 lead in the second stanza, the Saints were able to retaliate with a 10-4 scoring spurt to tie the game at 11-11.  The frame stayed within two points the remainder of the way with the two teams knotting the score up on six different occasions before a CCSJ attacking error gave USF the final point of the 25-22 set and a 2-0 lead in the match. 

The final frame saw Calumet St. Joseph win the race to 10 with a 10-5 lead, but St. Francis answered with a seven-point burst as part of a 7-3 run to mark the score at 13-12.  The Crimson Wave were able to retain their lead until the 39th rally of the stanza when a bad set resulted in the Saints taking their first lead of the game with a 20-19 advantage.  After swapping points to produce a 22-22 tied score, the Saints would later finish the set with three straight points to seal the 25-22 victory.

Up Next
The Saints return to action on Thursday (Sept. 17) when they stay at home to take on Olivet Nazarene University in a CCAC matchup with the Tigers.  The match will begin at 7 pm in the Pat Sullivan Center.

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