TRAVERSE CITY - The St. Francis Gladiators battled their way out of an early deficit to record an impressive 3-1 win over visiting Leland on Thursday night.
Both teams entered the game ranked in the latest MIVCA state rankings, with St. Francis listed at #6 in Division Three, while the Comets came into the contest as the #4 team in Division Four.
Leland started off strong, racing to a 25-17 win in the first set. The Comets then built a sizable lead in the second set before St. Francis got their game on track, rallying to take the second set 26-24.
The Gladiators held off a late Leland rally to claim the third set 25-21, and they closed out the match with a 25-15 decision in the fourth set.
Traverse City St. Francis returns to Lake Michigan Conference play next week, when they travel to Grayling on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Leland gets back into Northwest Conference play with a road match at Suttons Bay on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
