FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Saturday evening the University of Saint Francis Cougars (15-20; 8-10 Crossroads) traveled to Marion, Indiana for the Crossroads League Tournament opening round against the No. 19 Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats (24-6; 14-4 Crossroads) but didn't have enough to pull off an upset as they fell in three sets by scores of 25-18, 25-22, and 25-19.

In the opening round, the Cougars hung tough and fought their way to an 8-6 lead after trailing 4-1 to open the frame, and both teams were in a back-and-forth battle.

Although the Cougars came out relentless, the Wildcats went on to a four-point service run to take a 19-14 lead and never looked back as Saint Francis dropped the first set by seven.

Matters in the second set only got worse when the Wildcats carried their momentum over to a 12-5 lead to open. But the Cougars didn't go quietly chipping away piece by piece and eventually tying the Wildcats late in the frame at 18 and surged ahead 20-18.

But once the Cougars made it 22-21, the Wildcats wasted no more time scoring on the final four rallies to claim the set by three and put the Cougars in dire straits down by two games.

Opening the third set the Cougars found themselves trailing 12-6 to open but stayed focused and kept fighting closing it to within three points on a couple of occasions. But once Saint Francis pulled to within 16-13, Wesleyan went on a four-point service run to extend their lead and the Cougars were never able to catch back up as they dropped the third set by six and their 2022 season concludes.

Throughout the match, sophomore defensive specialist Kelby Goldschmeding led the Cougars in digs with 11 while sophomore outside hitter Paige Fortkamp had a team-leading 11 kills and freshman outside hitter Hannah Sweeney and sophomore setter Eliza Madden each had 13 assists.

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