VOLLEYBALL

Up against one of the hottest teams in the NAIA, the HU volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss, 25-17, 25-16, 25-23, to #19 Saint Francis Friday night at Hutzell Athletic Center.

For the Cougars, their No. 19 ranking this week is its first Top 25 ranking in their program’s 44-year history. Tonight’s win is USF’s tenth straight as they improve to 13-2 on the year, 3-0 in league play.

USF looked polished on both sides of the net, logging a .353 hitting percentage and posting nine blocks as a team.

“We knew coming in that Saint Francis was really strong all around, and they showed that tonight,” said Coach Shondell.

Botched plays got the best of HU.

“Forty-two errors in three sets of volleyball won’t win you a lot of volleyball matches,” said Shondell. “Giving your opponent 14 points per set is a hard stat line to come back from.”

HU finished with 32 kills behind Paige Eakright’s eight. Lauren Cresse added six kills as did Brandy Michie.

“I was thrilled with Paige’s energy and effort tonight,” said Shondell. “Lauren was steady and potent offensively, we just weren’t in-system enough to get our middles going.”

The Foresters (4-7, 1-2) have a quick turnaround as they hit the road again tomorrow to face Spring Arbor at 3:00 p.m.