Saint Francis Volleyball Honors Seniors Against Bethel on Saturday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bethel (Ind.) (16-14, 8-9) | 28 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) (4-25, 0-17) | 30 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 1 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) women's volleyball team hosted Bethel University during Senior Night in the Hutzell Athletic Center on Saturday, November 1. The Pilots won the match by a final score of 3-1, with set scores of 30-28, 25-12, 15-20 and 25-15.
Following Saturday night's contest, Saint Francis volleyball recognized its three seniors —Hannah Sweeney, Emily Hughes and Jo Delsing — with a special, on-court ceremony.
The Cougars started set one strong, quickly jumping out to a 12-4 lead. Saint Francis capitalized on back-to-back attacking errors by the Pilots to extend their advantage to 18-9. Bethel responded by rallying to tie the score at 21-21. The two teams fought back and forth, tying the game six more times before the Cougars secured the set with a kill and a Pilots' attacking error, winning set one 30-28.
The Pilots grabbed an early lead in set two, with the score at 10-3 in favor of Bethel. Saint Francis tried to cut the deficit, but BU held off the Cougars to win set two and tie the match at 1-1.
The third set began with both teams trading points until Bethel went on a 6-0 run, establishing a 15-9 lead. With the score at 23-14 in favor of the Pilots, the Cougars clawed their way back, cutting Bethel's lead to 23-19. But the Pilots scored back-to-back points to win set three 25-20.
Set four was a closely contested battle, with the score tied at 9-9. The Pilots then took control, extending their lead to 23-12. The Cougars were unable to close the gap, and Bethel won set four 25-15, securing the match and improving their record to 16-14 overall and 8-9 in Crossroads League play.
SF finished the match with 41 kills, six service aces and 14 block assists. Kendal Frey and Kayla Gumbel lead SF with 11 kills apiece. Teigen Fortkamp recorded 26 assists, 13 digs and six kills, while Annabelle Sweigert added five kills and a team-high five block assists. Sweeney led the team with 18 digs.
Up next, the Cougars (4-25, 0-17 CL) will conclude their season at home against Mount Vernon Nazarene on Wednesday, November 5. In their first meeting of the season, MVNU won the match 3-0 with set scores of 25-8, 25-17, 25-11.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 60 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts, Sciences, and Business. In addition to its traditional programs, Saint Francis designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point, Lafayette and online. Saint Francis Downtown houses the music technology program while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis, recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution, has 21 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships. More than 1,900 students from a broad geographic region attend Saint Francis.
