LAURINBURG, NC - Francis Marion University won all three of its
matches at this weekend's Fairfield Inn Invitational Tournament,
hosted by UNC Pembroke and St. Andrews Presbyterian College on
Friday and Saturday (Oct. 3-4).
All matches were slated for UNCP's campus, but a power outage on
Saturday forced the final few matches to be played at St. Andrews.
On Friday, FMU swept past Queens University of Charlotte in
three games (25-22, 25-19, 25-22) and then rallied to beat St.
Andrews in five sets (25-13, 22-25, 15-25, 25-18, 15-11). In
its lone match on Saturday, Francis Marion easily dispatched
Fayetteville State University in three games (25-17, 25-19, 25-16).
The Patriots improve to 16-4 and push their winning streak to 10
games. It is the second 16-4 start for the Patriots in three
seasons. FMU will return to Peach Belt Conference play on Friday at
7 p.m. against Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga.
Against Queens, freshman Ashlee Crook led FMU with 11 kills,
while senior Jessica Lombardi and freshman Ashlyn Underhill both
added nine kills and nine digs. Junior setter Jess O'Leary,
subbing for an ailing Jenna Kaiser, handed out 32 assists and dug
up nine balls.
In the come-from-behind win over the Knights, Lombardi
registered a double-double with 18 kills and 11 digs, while
Underhill had 11 kills and 10 digs. O'Leary also posted a
double-double with 42 assists and 11 digs, while sophomore libero
Kelsie Deaton had a season-high 25 digs.
In Saturday's win over FSU (12-14), Lombardi again led the way
with 11 kills and eight digs. O'Leary registered 34 assists
and nine digs, while Deaton dug up 10 balls.
