Loretto, Pa.  – The Le Moyne College volleyball team traveled to Saint Francis University for their first of two matchups against the Red Flash at DeGol Arena on Friday night. Saint Francis came out on top in three sets, 25-23, 25-15, 25-18 to send the Dolphins overall record to 4-23 and 3-12 in NEC action this season.

In set one, SFU came out to a quick 6-1 lead before the Dolphins stormed back to tie the match, 7-7, after four straight points on consecutive attack errors. A kill by junior opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School) re-tied it at 11-all before Le Moyne registered five of the next eight points and extended their lead to 17-14 on a kill from sophomore outside hitter Denali Louden (Murrieta, C.A. / Murrieta Mesa). 

Towards the end of the set, the 'Phins led 22-19 before the Red Flash stormed back to take a 23-22 lead after a run of four consecutive points. They were able to hold off Le Moyne even with a late kill from sophomore outside hitter Jazmin Rodriguez (Madera, C.A./Madera) and scored the final two points to take the set, 25-23.

Kills from Lupton and Rodriguez contributed to an early Dolphins' lead in set two before Saint Francis tallied five straight points to take an 8-5 lead. They went on to extend that to 16-9 midway through and went on another four-point streak late. Kills from Lupton and sophomore outside hitter Payton Horan (Miller Place, N.Y. / Miller Place) weren't enough to erase Le Moyne's deficit down the stretch as they dropped the set, 15-25.

The third and final set opened with a 4-1 SFU lead that Le Moyne erased after capitalizing on three straight errors before the Red Flash 9-4 run to reclaim a 13-8 advantage. A kill from Louden and blocks by Lupton and freshman middle hitter Eiley Schneider (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) played parts in a five-point run from Le Moyne to bring them within two points, 15-17, but separate streaks of three and four points by Saint Francis late proved to be the deciding factor as they took the set and match with a 25-1 victory.

Lupton led Le Moyne with six kills as Rodriguez and Louden added another three and two, respectively, against the Red Flash. Senior setter/DS Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) put up a team-high nine assists for the 'Phins.

On the defensive end, sophomore outside hitter Nina Salas (Austin, T.X. / McNeil) added team-bests with six digs and four receptions while Lupton and senior middle hitter Nil Ezgi Tasdelen (Izmir, Turkey/Ugur Okullari) tied to lead the squad with three block assists apiece.

For Saint Francis, Korrin Burns put up a match-high 21 kills while Alexandria Sappia led with 38 assists and Alexa Chapla rounded out the offense with three service aces. Defensively, Burns, Chapla, and Gwen Atkins each tallied five digs while Sappia and Alyssa Irwin both put up a team-high three block assists in the win.

What's Next:
The Dolphins will close out the 2025 season against Saint Francis at DeGol Arena at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 15.