ST. AUGUSTINE – No. 25 (AVCA Division II Top 25) Flagler College split its first two matches of the season, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-17) over Erskine College and then losing 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-20) to No. 3 University of Minnesota Duluth, in the first day of the Flagler Saints Invitational Friday at Flagler Gymnasium.

Flagler, the University of Findlay and Saint Leo University all went 1-1 on the day. Minnesota Duluth went a perfect 2-0 while Erskine College lost both matches.

In the opener against Erskine, Karlie Redfern recorded a match-high 12 kills, hit .292 on 24 swings, and collected five digs. Raquel Kulak added seven kills and hit .286 on 14 swings to go along with three total blocks. Tara Savisky tallied 26 assists and Kayla Norelli scooped up digs. Rachel Porada and Norelli each served three aces. The Saints recorded 12 as a team.

"It was great to finally get out and see another team across the net, and we did some good things both offensively and defensively," said Flagler head volleyball coach Matt Affolder. "I thought Cadie O'Hern had a good start to the season and showed us things that we had seen in preseason. We served the ball very effectively and located well. It was nice to see our freshman players get their first opportunities, and I thought Logan Garcia showed some of her physicality offensively."

Jauhna Smith and Kayla Duncan each recorded six kills for the Flying Fleet. Reilly Bartlett tallied 11 assists and Rachel Meyer collected six digs.

The Saints gave the Bulldogs all they could handle in a loss in the last match of the evening. Despite the match lasting three sets, it featured 24 ties and 14 lead changes.

Flagler had a balanced scoring attack as Kulak, Redfern and Cadie O'Hern each recorded seven kills. O'Hern hit an efficient .312 on 16 swings. Savisky tallied 19 assists and six digs while Norelli paced the defense with eight digs. Kulak recorded five total blocks.

"I'm sure both teams would walk away from that match knowing it wasn't the cleanest volleyball, but with two talented teams and it being opening weekend we had our opportunities to pull out set wins," said Affolder. "I thought we lost way too many hesitation or late reaction points, and our communication could have been better to get swings and keep the pressure on UMD. They have a tremendous team and their pin hitters caused us some trouble, yet we were always there plus-20 and needed to find a way to fight through and finish. We will definitely learn a lot from this match from an organization and communication standpoint, and I know our team will be hungry to get back on the court tomorrow to face two more very talented teams."

Makenzie Morgen led the Bulldogs with 15 kills and she hit a sizzling .444 on just 27 swings. Sarah Kelly recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs. Emily Torve registered 41 assists and collected seven digs. Keena Seiffert gathered a match-high 13 digs. Abby Thor recorded four total blocks.

The tournament concludes tomorrow with five matches: Erskine vs. Minnesota Duluth, 10 a.m.; Findlay at Flagler, noon; Minnesota Duluth vs. Saint Leo, 2 p.m.; Findlay vs. Erskine, 4:30 p.m.; and, Saint Leo at Flagler, 7 p.m.

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