ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The York University volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday, falling 3-0 to Freed-Hardeman before posting a 3-2 victory over Saint Francis.

The Panthers are now 7-11 on the season.

Against Freed-Hardeman, head coach Irick Gardner's team was led by Brianna Lemke's seven kills. Kaylee Weigel chipped in four while Ronan Merriex and Isidora Pa Diaz added three apiece. Kensey Clifton and Meadow Nusbaum dished out seven assists apiece. Olivia Romero led the defense with 11 digs.

York dropped the first two sets but pushed the opposition to the brink in the third frame. Down 8-6, three straight errors propelled the Panthers to a 9-8 lead. A miscue by the Lions and a block by Jassania Joseph extended the margin to four, 15-11. Tied at 20-20, Merriex registered a kill. AA bad set by the visitors made it 22-20. Trailing 24-23, Baker knotted the score at 24-24 with a point. However, the Lions scored the next two points for the two-point victory.

Against University of Saint Francis, York was paced by Lemke's 14-kill effort. Jai Dotson totaled eight kills while Ronan Merriex chipped in seven.

Clifton dished out 18 assists while Nusbaum accounted for 14. Olivia Romero led the way with four aces while Elena Brown, Nusbaum and Kory Anschutz had three aces apiece. Defensively, Romero had 16 digs while Brown had eight.

After dropping the first set, the Panthers raced past the opposition. A late 3-0 run, sparked by a kill from Lemke and two aces from Nusbaum, extended the advantage to 19-12. Up 20-16, a pair of errors and a kill from Baker, along with an ace from Anschutz, put the frame out of reach.

Trailing 2-1 entering the fourth set, York knotted the match with an impressive 25-20 win. Tied at 15-15, four errors by the home team, along with a kill from Merriex, gave the squad a 20-15 lead. Moments later, Lemke blocked a shot and hammered home a kill, forcing the fifth set.

Tied at 4-4, Lemke got things rolling for the Panthers with a kill. Two errors by USF, two aces from Romero, another kill from Lemke and another ace pushed the margin to 11-4. Leading 13-6, Dotson had a kill and an error sealed the match for York.   

The Panthers return to action Tuesday when they play at Nebraska Kearney at 6 p.m. for an exhibition game.