FORT WAYNE, Ind. - On Saturday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Cougars (6-6) completed their final two matches in the United Sports Academy Labor Day Classic with a match against the Dordt University Defenders (5-2) and then the Morningside Mustangs (3-8) but dropped both matches. 

In the opening match against the Dordt Defenders, the Cougars saw right from the start that it was going to be an uphill battle to earn the win. In the opening set, Dordt jumped out to a 10-3 lead and just continued building upon it throughout the frame, eventually extending their lead to double digits before the Cougars scored double-digit points as Saint Francis dropped the opener 25-13.

The Cougars battled the Defenders hard in the early going of the second set as they found themselves tied at six. But Dordt scored four unanswered points and the Cougars were never able to catch back up as they dropped the second set 25-14 to fall behind by two games in the match. 

Then in the third set, the Defenders wasted no time as they built a lead over the Cougars and maintained it throughout the frame as Saint Francis lost 25-18 for their third straight three-set loss.

In the tournament's finale against the Morningside Mustangs, it looked as though the script would remain the same for the Cougars as they dropped the opener 25-16. 

But in the second set, Saint Francis started to show life as they jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the frame and later on found themselves leading 21-17. But then the Mustangs found some momentum and went on to score seven of the next eight points to take a 24-22 lead, eventually winning 25-23 as Saint Francis once again found themselves trailing by two games. 

Needing to win three in a row, the Cougars remained determined and opened up a 10-5 lead early in the third set in an effort to comeback. The Mustangs closed the gap to within one point on a couple occasions, but the Cougars stayed resilient and nailed down a 25-18 win to get on the board against the Mustangs. 

Heading into the fourth set the script stayed the same as the Cougars again opened up a 10-5 lead early on and maintained their lead throughout the frame over Morningside. But then the Mustangs like they did in the third set rallied to close the deficit to one point as Saint Francis was clinging to a 20-19 lead. 

But the Cougars enjoyed the last laugh as they scored on five of the last six rallies to win 25-20 and even the match at two wins apiece. 

In the fifth set each team battled their way to a 5-5 tie, but then the Cougars ran out of gas as the Mustangs scored seven unanswered points to claim the fifth set 15-9 and deal the Cougars their fourth loss on the weekend. 

The Cougars resume play on Wednesday evening when they come home to Hutzell Athletic Center for their 2022 home opener and to begin Crossroads League play against the Huntington University Foresters (4-6) beginning at 7:00 pm. 

Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.