IUSB Pushes St. Francis to the Brink, Season Wraps in Quarterfinals
JOLIET, Ill. — IU South Bend volleyball left everything on the court in its postseason bout, going toe-to-toe with third-seeded St. Francis (Ill.) in a gripping five-set Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Quarterfinal before falling 3-2 (14-25, 25-18, 25-16, 22-25, 9-15).
The loss ends the Titans’ 2025 season with a 13-20 record, capping off a year of growth, resilience, and milestone moments.
Alyssa Carson delivered the best match of her young career, hammering 23 kills on .265 hitting. It was her first match hitting the 20-kill threshold in her freshman campaign.
Sydney Hanna, meanwhile, finished her IU South Bend career in fitting fashion, recording 36 digs to close the season with 631 digs, and her career with 1,848 — both program records.
The Titans started slow as St. Francis found rhythm from the service line, opening the match on a 10-2 run. IU South Bend fought to steady its passing, as Carson, Emalee Maesch, and Grott added kills to pull within one at 15-14. The Fighting Saints did not drop another point, closing out the frame on a 10-0 run for a 25-14 set one score.
IU South Bend flipped the script in the second. A 6-0 burst — sparked by Bruckner and Ryleigh Maesch at the net — gave the Titans their first real cushion. Carson caught fire mid-set, putting down seven of her match-high 23 kills as IUSB pulled away, 25-18.
Momentum stayed with the Titans in the third. Brynn Lake ran a fast-paced offense, feeding Maesch and Carson in transition. A 5-1 run from IUSB stretched the lead to double digits at 15-5, and the Titans cruised to a 25-16 win to take a 2-1 edge in the match. The third set was a dandy from the IUSB attack with 16 kills and a .262 hitting percentage.
Set four was the night’s most hotly contested. The teams traded leads nine times, with both sides refusing to give an inch. The scoreboard showed a tie score at 10-10, as the two teams went back and forth. Once again, the match was knotted at 22-22, as USF took a timeout. The Fighting Saints took advantage of their timeout and stole the final three points to even the match at 2-2 and force a fifth set.
The decisive frame saw IU South Bend race out to a 3-0 start behind kills from Kendall Gerdes and Maesch. The Saints, however, answered with a 7-2 run of their own to flip the script at 7-5. A Carson kill and a Lake and Grott block evened the game at 8-8 but St. Francis had another run in its pocket. A 5-0 run put the host squad in firm control, before three IUSB errors finished the match, as St. Francis took the final set 15-9.
Carson led all players with 23 kills, while Maesch added 10 and Bruckner tallied nine. Lake distributed 43 assists and chipped in 13 digs, while Grott and Bruckner combined for eight blocks at the net. The Titans out-dug the Saints 90–81 and posted 10 team blocks in a strong defensive effort.
Errors plagued the Titans on the night, as they gave up 36 attack errors and 13 service errors. On the flip side, IU South Bend had the more formidable attack, outdoing the Fighting Saints 56-42 in kills.
While the loss ends IU South Bend’s postseason run, it also punctuates a year of progress. The Titans secured their first CCAC Tournament berth since 2022, while adding 10 wins to their record from last season.