LORETTO, Pa. - The Delaware State University volleyball team came back from 0-2 to force a game five, but was unable to close out Saint Francis University Tuesday evening at DeGol Arena as they lost 3-2 (8-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23, 3-15).

"We have a lot of positive things to build on from tonight's match," said DSU head coach Renee Arnold.  "But once again, we just need to learn how to finish.  That's a theme this season that needs to be reversed."

The Red Flash started the match hot, winning set one, 25-8.  SFU recorded a 54.5 attack percentage (14 kills, two errors, 22 total attacks) to DSU's -.217 (four kills, nine errors, 23 total attacks.

In game two, the Hornets put up more of a battle and kept things close throughout the entire set.   Saint Francis started the game with an early 4-0 lead.  With sophomore Jessica Croucher (Brisbane, Australia) serving, DSU tied the game before taking a 7-6 advantage.  Things started to fall back in favor of the Red Flash, before Del State took a 14-13 lead.

SFU then went on a 4-0 run to force a DSU timeout.  The Red Flash took charge of the set and eventually took the win, 25-20.

The two teams fought things out in the third set, trading points throughout the entire game.  The Hornets took an early 9-6 advantage before going back and forth from that point on.  DSU broke away at 22-19 with a kill from Croucher.  The Red Flash came back and forced a Hornet timeout at 24-23, but a kill from sophomore Brooke Redmon (Warrenton, Va.) sealed DSU's first set win of the season at 25-23.

The Hornets carried their momentum from set three into set four and started the game with a 9-2 lead.  Two consecutive kills from Croucher pushed DSU to a 20-9 advantage before SFU made a 10-0 run.  The Red Flash then tied the game at 23-23 before a kill from freshman Edarkis Branch (Los Angeles, Calif.) and an attack error from Alanna Blenkarn gave the Hornets a 25-23 victory in set four and tied the match at 2-2.

DSU was unable to complete their comeback in set five as Saint Francis made a 12-0 run to finish the Hornets, 15-3, and win the match, 3-2.

Redmon led DSU with 11 kills while Croucher chipped in 10 of her own.  Junior Bel Fakaosi (Salt Lake City, Utah) tallied a team-high 12 digs in addition to 10 from Croucher and senior Elisa Herrmann (Andernach, Germany).

SFU's Elizabeth Williams collected a match-high 14 kills and Amanda Zahumensky posted a match-high 13 digs.

The win is Saint Francis' second of the season (2-6) while the Hornets fall to 0-4.

DSU competes in their second tournament of the season this coming weekend.  In addition to playing co-hosts Quinnipiac and Hartford, the Hornets will face La Salle and Navy.