FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Thursday evening the University of Saint Francis Cougars (4-1) traveled to Great Falls, Missouri to compete in the Electric City Invitational to face the Providence University Argonauts (0-5) in the first match and won in three straight sets by scores of 25-23, 25-16, and 27-25.

In the opening match the Cougars fell behind 9-4 but didn't get discouraged. They clawed their way back and took the lead 14-13 on a kill by junior right-side Haidyn Carrico and didn't look back. Now with a 24-23 lead, a bad set by the Argonauts gave the first set to Saint Francis by the slimmest of margin.

In the second round, a five-point service run gave the Cougars enough of a lead and allowed them to play their game, play aggressively, and Saint Francis prevailed by nine points to take a two-game lead in the match.

Heading into the third set a back-and-forth battle ensued early on and then the Argonauts took a lead 10-6 over the Cougars. But Saint Francis battled back to tie the score at 10, but then fell back behind 17-13 later in the frame.

Now trailing 24-22, the Cougars pulled out all the stops and a couple more kills by Carrico brought them ahead 26-25 and they finished it off with a clean sweep.

Throughout the match sophomore outside hitter Paige Fortkamp led the squad in kills with eight, while Carrico followed with seven of her own while sophomore setter Alexa Sparks had a team-leading 30 assists and Maile Steckelberg and Kylie Topp each led the way in digs with 13.

The Cougars resume play Friday afternoon against the Master's University Mustangs (1-0) in the second day of the tournament beginning at 11:00 am.

Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.