USF volleyball team wins twice at Saint Xavier tourney

CHICAGO -- University of St. Francis made quick work of both St. Catharine College (Ky.) and Mount Mercy College (Iowa) in the second day of play at the Saint Xavier University/Illinois Institute of Technology Crossover Tournament on Saturday ay Saint Xavier. The Lady Saints required less than one hour to dispose of both teams in straight sets, defeating St. Catharine, 25-9, 25-13, 25-17 in the first match and taking care of Mount Mercy, 25-12, 25-10, 25-19. USF (7-3) completed the tournament with a 3-1 record.

All 14 rostered Saint players saw action in the opener with sophomore outside hitter Kyrsten Becker leading the charge offensively with 9 kills and 3 service aces.

Sophomore middle hitter Lauren Hoffman of Plainfield South added 7 kills, while junior libero Courtney Ambrosch of JT provided a team-high 5 aces.

Defensively, junior Karen Gruber (Bradley-Bourbonnais H.S./Bourbonnais, IL) bested all others with 10 digs and nine passes.

In the second match, Becker was all over the court authoring 10 kills, 5 aces, 17 digs, 6 receptions and a .368 attack percentage. Combining the latter figure with her nine kills and only two errors in 14 chances in the first match, Becker produced a .424 attack reading on the day.

Meanwhile, less than 16 hours after establishing a new club-high with her 14 kills in Friday's second match, senior outside hitter Elaina Ambler was back at it on Saturday erasing that mark with her 15 kills in one less game (three). She tacked on another 10 passes without error for good measure.

Ambrosch provided another solid defensive match with her 15 digs and 10 passes, while junior setter Kelsey Polte rang up 29 assists in that contest following a 38-kill first match.

On Saturday, the Saints were able to gain a split. USF beat St. Ambrose 25-21, 27-25, 17-25, 25-19 before falling 25-16, 25-23, 25-23 to Walsh (Ohio).

Ambler and Lemont's Sarah Ahline set pesonal season-high marks with their 14 and 12 kills, respectively, against St. Ambrose. Ahline added a .435 attack percentage.

Ambler's 14 kills tied a team-high for the season. In the opening match, she tied Becker with 8 kills each. Becker produced 9 kills in the second match and converted all but 4 of her 53 passes in the two matches.

Plainfield South's Lauren Hoffman had 4 assist blocks in both matches and had 9 blocks total. Kelsey Polte finished with 62 assists, 38 which came against St. Ambrose.

USF 7, Calumet (Ind.) 0 -- At the Marian (Ind.) Invitational, Erin Voss and Toni Giovenco scored 2 goals for the Saints (1-3). The Saints opened tourney play with a 2-1, double-overtime loss to Franciscan University (Ohio). Gaby Esparza scored USF's lone goal in Friday's defeat.

Lewis 2, Ferris State 1 -- At Romeoville, freshman Jordyn McMahon's first collegiate goal helped lift the Flyers (2-1).

Junior Courtney Kettel got the Flyers on the board first. After a scoreless first half, Kettel scored just seven minutes into the second.

The lead didn't last long. Six minutes later Maegan Smith scored for Ferris State to tie it. But her goal only set up McMahon's eventual game winning score.

USF 9th-- At Owensboro, Ky., University of St. Francis finished ninth in a 12-team field at the 36-hole Kentucky Wesleyan Fall Classic.

Sophomore Vicky McGowan of Lincoln-Way East led USF with rounds of 88 and 84 for a two-day total of 172. Sophomore Ariel Jagmin of Lincoln-Way East) was next with scores of 90 and 94 for a 184 and sophomore Michala Mika added rounds of 95 and 92 for a 187.

Providence Catholic seeks coach -- Providence is looking for a lower level assistant girls basketball coach for the 2008-2009 season. If anyone is interested, contact Eileen Copenhaver at (815) 717-3151 or e-mail ecopenhaver@providencecatholic.org.

Hole-in-one -- At Nettle Creek, Channahon's Scott Parzych aced the par-3, 155-yard 18th hole by using an 8-iron. Witnesses were Tom Ross, Audie Damaska and Jon Butler.