Aug. 29, 2008
Final Stats
PITTSBURGH, PA. - In its second match at the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational, the Marist volleyball team dropped to 0-2 on the season Friday afternoon with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-27, 24-26) loss to the St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash at the Palumbo Center on the campus of Duquesne University. Outside hitters Alexandra Schultze (Austin, Texas) each had 14 kills to lead the Red Foxes' offense. Foss also led the Marist defense with 16 digs.
Sophomore Lindsey Schmid (Austin, Texas) had 11 kills and six service aces for the Red Foxes. For the second straight match, libero Emily Brosky (Whitehall, Pa.) had 15 digs, with Kelsey Schaefer (Maria Stein, Ohio) adding 14. Setter Dawn Jan had 42 assists and seven digs.
The first set saw the Red Foxes and Red Flash trade the lead four times in tie eight times in the first 30 points, playing to a 15-15 tie. St. Francis would grab the momentum and go on a 5-0 run to take a 20-15 lead. Marist closed to within three at 23-20 on a kill from Schultz, but the Red Flash took two of the next three points to take the set 25-21.
Foss and Schmid each had a pair of kills to lead Marist to an early 9-3 lead over the Red Flash in the second set. The Red Foxes hit .346 in the second set to keep the lead throughout. St. Francis got within three at 18-15, but Marist pulled away from there. Four kills from Schultze and a pair of service aces from Schmid powered a 7-1 run to give the Red Foxes the second set, 25-16.
St. Francis started the third set with an 8-3 run powered by three kills from Shirley Miller. The Red Flash stayed in front for much of the set, getting the lead as large as seven as 21-14 on back to back blocks. Marist responded with five straight points, starting with a Schmid kill and Foss service ace to make the score 21-19. After a Schultze hitting error made the score 22-19, the Red Foxes tied the set at 22-22 with a Schmid kill, followed up by a Schultze kill and Schmid service ace. With Marist facing a set point at 24-22, St. Francis's Kristin Buter committed a service error to keep the Red Foxes in the set. Schaefer followed that with a kill to tie the set at 24-24, and a Miller error gave Marist a chance to win the third set. The Red Flash returned the favor with a solo block from Alexa Ebert to tie the set at 25-25. Keshia Gibbs put the set away for St. Francis with two straight kills, giving the Red Flash a 27-25 win and a two sets to one advantage.
The Red Flash outhit Marist .262-.022 in the fourth set, but the Red Foxes kept it close getting within one point at 11-10. St. Francis grew the lead to five at 17-12 when Kayla Greenwalt and Lindsay Malloy combined to block a Foss attack. Marist came back with an 11-4 run highlighted by two kills from Foss, an Allie Burke (Alpharetta, Ga.) service ace, and kills from Schultze and Schaefer. The lead would not last long, as Buter and Gibbs combined for four kills over the last six points to give St. Francis a 26-24 win in the fourth set.
St. Francis (1-0) outhit Marist .252-.136 and held a considerable 11.5-2 advantage in total blocks. The Red Foxes did, however, hold a 66-61 advantage in digs and had 12 service aces to the Red Flash's four. Gibbs led St. Francis with 14 kills and a .448 hitting percentage. Buter added 13 kills, a match-high 19 digs, and five blocks, while Miller had 12 kills and 10 digs. Setter Alexa Ebert had 41 assists and five blocks for the Red Flash.
Marist continues play in the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational on Saturday with a pair of matches. The Red Foxes will take on co-hosts Robert Morris tomorrow at 11 a.m. and will play Lehigh at 3 p.m.
