Friday, Sept. 21, 2007

   FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Cecelia Tieken, Amanda Wiley and Shellie Rumschlag led
the University of Saint Francis to a 3-2 win over 13th-ranked Georgetown College in the first match of the USF Best of the Best Challenge on Friday, but dropped a 3-2 decision to Mount Vernon Nazarene (OH) in the Lady Cougars' second match of first-day competition.

“The girls stuck to the game plan even when things weren’t going their way," USF Head Coach Hector Kiely said after the win over the Tigers, who had a 16-match winning streak snapped. GC hadn't lost since its first match of the season.

"We learned we could play with them even though we lost Game 1, so we were confident if we played our game, we had a good chance," Kiely continued. "Today was a big step forward for this team and the program. For the first time since 2003, our players showed the confidence that they had the talent to win and made it a total team effort.”

  After dropping the opening game 30-22, USF won 30-25 and 30-27 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. GC rallied to win Game 4, 30-25. The Lady Cougars took a 10-6 lead in the decisive Game 5 match and finished with a 15-8 win.

  Tieken led the USF attack with 16 kills while Wiley and Rumschlag added nine kills apiece to help USF win its fifth match in a row and improve to 10-3.

  After splitting the first two games in the Lady Cougars' second match, Mt. Vernon Nazarene won Game 3, 30-18. USF bounced back to force a Game 5 with a 30-23 win in Game 4. MVN jumped out to an early lead in Game 5 and cruised 15-4 to its 10th win without a loss this season.

  -- GO USF --