FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) volleyball team hosted the third annual Onset Invitational on August 22-25. 

The Cougars competed on their home court on Friday against Xavier University of Louisiana and Fisk University before taking on Indiana University Southeast and Defiance College on Saturday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. 

XAVIER 3, SAINT FRANCIS 0 (25, 19, 25-22, 25-17)

The Cougars dropped their opening match of the 2024 Onset Invitational against the Gold Nuggets of Xavier (La.) 3-0. After Xavier claimed the first set, the Cougars and the Gold Nuggets went back-and-forth in a close second set. Xavier was able to hang onto the lead and take the second and third sets en route to the 3-0 victory.

As a team, the Cougars collected 25 kills, with freshman Teigen Fortkamp leading the way with seven kills. Paige Fortkamp followed with six kills of her own, while Alexa Sparks led with 14 assists and Hannah Sweeney had a team-high nine digs. 

SAINT FRANCIS 3, FISK 1 (24-26, 25-15, 25-18, 25-18)

After Fisk took set one of Saint Francis' second match of the day on Friday, the Cougars rallied to claim a 25-15 victory in the second set to tie the match up at one set apiece. USF used three straight points to snag a 20-12 lead in the third set. Fisk responded, cutting the Saint Francis lead to five, but the Cougars hung on to take the third set 25-18. The Bulldogs scored the first four points of the fourth set, but the Cougars answered with five straight points of their own for a 5-4 lead. The two squads battled through the fourth set, but it was Saint Francis that came out on top 25-18 to win the match.  

The Cougars had 42 kills, 17 aces and 16 block assists against the Bulldogs. Senior Paige Fortkamp led the way with 19 kills and a .378 attacking percentage. Alexa Sparks had 17 assists, while Teigen Fortkamp collected 15 assists. USF libero Hannah Sweeney tallied 15 digs, and Emily Hughes had four block assists.

SAINT FRANCIS 3, INDIANA SOUTHEAST 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-20)

USF completed a sweep of the Grenadiers in their opening match on Saturday afternoon at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Cougars opened the first set with a 7-1 run to force an early timeout by IU Southeast. The Grenadiers rallied to take a 15-14 lead, but Saint Francis responded with six straight scores to take a five-point lead. After taking the first set 25-20, the Cougars were able to put a couple of runs together to take a 16-14 lead in set two. After the score was tied 22-22, USF put together three straight points to win set two. The momentum continued in favor of the Cougars in set three, with Saint Francis taking a 17-8 lead. The Cougars were able to clinch the sweep of Indiana Southeast after winning set three 25-20. 

Senior Addison Shafer had 10 of USF's 31 kills against the Grenadiers. Teigen Fortkamp had a team-high 16 assists, while Paige Fortkamp led with 13 digs, six aces and three block assists.

SAINT FRANCIS 3, DEFIANCE 2 (21-25, 25-19, 26-28, 25-18, 15-9)

The Cougars and Yellow Jackets closed out the Onset Invitational with a tough, back-and-forth five-set match Saturday evening. After Defiance took the opening set, Saint Francis was able to score six straight points in the second set to take a 21-17 lead. The Cougars would hang on to take set two and tie the match up 1-1. The third set saw the Cougars and Yellow Jackets tied 25-25 as the two teams continued to battle, but Defiance would take the third set 26-28. USF put together a .407 hitting percentage in the fourth set to lead the Cougars to a seven-point victory to force a fifth set. The final followed suit, with both teams trading points until Defiance took a 9-8 lead. USF responded with seven straight points to win set five and clinch the match.

USF had 63 kills as a team against Defiance, with Paige Fortkamp racking up a season-high 26 kills and a .388 hitting percentage. Addison Shafer followed with 17 kills, while Teigen Fortkamp collected 13 kills and 22 assists. Senior Alexa Sparks had 37 assists and 11 digs. Hannah Sweeney led in digs with 14. Both Sparks and Shafer served up four aces apiece in the Cougars' final match of the weekend.

Up next, Saint Francis volleyball (5-3) will travel to Omaha, Nebraska for the CSM Tournament hosted by the College of Saint Mary on August 30-31. The Cougars will play in four matches while in Nebraska before returning to Fort Wayne to host Huntington to open Crossroads League play on September 4.

Cougar fans can stay updated on all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.