FORT WAYNE, Ind. - On Saturday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Cougars (15-19; 8-10 Crossroads) traveled to Mount Vernon, Ohio to take on the Mount Vernon Nazarene University Cougars (27-6; 12-6 Crossroads) but couldn't carry over their momentum from Friday night's thriller as they fell in three straight sets by scores of 25-21, 25-18, and 25-10. 

In the opening set, both teams fought it out back-and-forth in the early going exchanging one lead and tie after another with neither team able to gain more than a three-point edge. Then with the score tied at 18, Mount Vernon went on a three-point service run to take a three-point lead and the Cougars were never able to catch back up as they dropped the opener by four.

Heading into the second set, the Cougars and Mount Vernon fought it out again in the early going eventually finding themselves tied at 11. Unfortunately for the Cougars though Mount Vernon then went on a four-point service run to take a 15-11 lead and built upon it from there maintaining their distance from Saint Francis as the Cougars dropped the second set by seven points.

Matters didn't get any better in the third set as Mount Vernon was poised to close it out.

After opening the frame up to a 4-4 tie, Mount Vernon took charge from there this time with a seven-point service run to maintain a lead too formidable for the Cougars to overcome as Saint Francis suffered the tough loss.

Throughout the match, defensive specialist Maile Steckelberg led the Cougars in digs with 14, while sophomore setter Alex Sparks led the way in assists with 17, and Paige Fortkamp and Haidyn Carrico each had seven kills to lead the team.

The Cougars will now get ready for the Crossroads League Tournament as the No. 7 seed beginning on Saturday, November 5 when they hit the road to face off against either the No. 19 Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats (23-6; 14-4 Crossroads) or the No. 18 Marian University Knights (21-5; 13-5 Crossroads) beginning at 5:00 pm. More details to come. 

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