St. Francis (IL) News
Sat, Oct 17, 2009 - [Volleyball]
Head coach Cara Currier is now 200-132 in 7-plus seasons at USF.
Head coach Cara Currier is now 200-132 in 7-plus seasons at USF.

JOLIET, Ill. - University of St. Francis completed play in its own Big Guns Classic Saturday at the Recreation Center with its second split in two days, and head coach Cara Currier earned her 200th career collegiate win in the process.  Currier now owns a 200-132 mark in her seven-plus seasons as the Saints' head coach.

The Saints dropped a four-game match to St. Ambrose (IA) and then came back to sweep Robert Morris in three straight sets.

The Saturday pattern matched Friday's opening round when USF fell in four to Cornerstone (MI) and took three in a row from Montreat (NC).


USF (23-11) followed Friday's play almost exactly as it dropped the first game of Saturday's opener to SAU, came back to win game two and then lost the next two games to lose in four. USF and St. Ambrose (22-6) were neck-and-neck late in the first game when the Saints lost freshmen defensive specialist Dana Wettergren (Oak Forest H.S./Oak Forest, IL) to a sprained knee. SAU went on to win game one, 25-20. 

The Saints regrouped, though, in game two and played their best game of the day and pulled away in the latter stages of the game to post a 25-19 win. SAU eked out a 25-23 win in game three and then polished off the Saints by a 25-18 score in game four. It marked the second time in as many meetings this year that the Saints have lost in four games to the Bees.
Freshman Jazzmyne Robbins (La Salle-Peru H.S./Peru, IL) led USF again with15 kills but she received double-digit support from junior Lauren Hoffman (Plainfield South H.S./Plainfield, IL) and sophomore Kristee Conrad (Stagg H.S./Hickory Hills, IL) who each had 13 and sophomore Sarah Ahline (Lemont H.S./Lemont, IL) who had 10. Senior Courtney Ambrosch (Joliet Township H.S./Joliet, IL) topped the defense with 17 digs and junior Kyrsten Becker (Rolling Meadows H.S./Arlington Heights, IL) paced the team with 25 serve receptions and 3 service aces.
 
The Saints took their second three-game sweep in as many meetings with Robert Morris this season. Ahline led the way with 14 kills and Robbins and Becker each contributed 10. Becker led the squad with 11 digs and 13 serve receptions.

USF takes its annual fall break trip to Florida this coming week. The Saints play NCAA Division II No. 22 Eckerd College (FL) and NAIA opponent Webber International (FL) on Tuesday at the Eckerd campus in St. Petersburg. USF will then play at NCAA Division II No. 14 Saint Leo University (FL) on Thursday.

Following the Florida trip, the Saints will not play again until entertaining Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Calumet College of St. Joseph (IN) on Oct. 29 at the Recreation Center.