FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Over the weekend, the University of Saint Francis Cougars (3-1) began the 2022 season hosting the inaugural Onset Invitational held at the Fort Wayne Coliseum consisting of 14 teams and went 3-1 to start the campaign.

The Cougars opened on Friday against Rochester College and started strong winning the opening set 25-18. Rochester though fought back to tie the match at one with a win in set two, but after that, the Cougars regained their composure and dominated the rest of the way.

A couple 25-13 victories in the third and fourth sets propelled the Cougars to victory as sophomore Paige Fortkamp picked up where she left off as a freshman, leading the team with 14 kills, while Maile Steckelberg and Alexis Gregory each had a team-leading 13 digs, and Alexa Sparks led the way with 44 assists.

In the second set against Mount Mercy, the Cougars faced their first challenge of the tournament. They dropped the opening two sets but rallied from behind in the third to claim it by two points and stay alive.

After a dominating fourth set to tie the match at two wins apiece, Mount Mercy had the last laugh as they were able to outlast the Cougars in a five-set thriller.

Heading into the finale on Saturday, the Cougars were poised end on a high note. They opened against the Oakland City Mighty Oaks but lost an early lead in the opening set as they suffered a tough 25-23 loss.

The Cougars then went on to dominate the second set winning by nine points but found themselves up against the wall after dropping set three 25-21. Down to their last chance, the Cougars ran the table. The fourth set saw Saint Francis jump out to a 10-3 lead and they never looked back winning by 13 and forcing a deciding fifth set.

In the finale, the Cougars wasted no time building a comfortable lead before claiming victory 15-8 for their second win of the tournament. This time Maile Steckelberg led the team with 30 digs, while junior Haidyn Carrico had a team-leading 11 kills with Fortkamp getting 10 kills of her own. Eliza Madden then led the team with 23 assists.

The final match saw the Cougars faceoff against Indiana South Bend but saw a similar script that started the previous match against the Mighty Oaks. An early lead in the opening set evaporated and IUSB claimed the opener 26-24, but the Cougars were not discouraged; they were determined.

Saint Francis bounced back to claim the second set 25-18, and then hung on to win the third 25-21. Heading into the fourth set, the Cougars fell behind 10-4, but having to come from behind was nothing new to them. Nine unanswered points propelled them in front, and they never looked back, winning 25-20 and claiming their third match of the tournament.

Maile Steckelberg had a team-leading 17 digs during the match, while Eliza Madden once again led the way in assists with 34, and Paige Fortkamp had a team-leading 16 kills while Haidyn Carrico followed with 13 kills of her own.

The Cougars resume play on Thursday when they travel to Great Falls, Missouri for another tournament beginning Thursday and lasting until Saturday where they will open against Providence beginning at 3:00 pm.