Loretto, Pa. – The highly touted Saint Francis men's volleyball dove into their first match of the 2008 campaign against the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers-Newark in flawless fashion emerging victoriously by a count of 3-0 (30-18, 30-24, 30-26).
The Red Flash's offensive production of .453 percent was almost twice as good as the Scarlet Raiders' clip of .278. Senior outside hitter Mark Steele (Martinsburg, Pa./Central Martinsburg) piloted the Flash with his 16 total kills on the evening, leading all players. Steele also anchored the defensive effort by earning a game high eight digs. 6'6 sophomore middle hitter Patrick McManamon (Huntington, Pa./Huntington) put forth the highest attacking percent; killing six of his total nine swings. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Varee (Meadville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) and junior setter Shane Conley (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) led the match by each netting three service aces.
The first game was a back and forth fight in the early moments of the game, but around the midpoint of the game, Steele's slew of successful serving inspired the rest of the troops. The Flash pulled away with a commanding 30-18 count for their first game of the season
In the second bout, the Flash started off with a few unforced errors, but solid team play from the entire squad of Varee, Conley, McManamon, Steele, Doug Dzurko (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) and Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) kept the Flash alive in the back-and-forth battle. Varee's inhumanly hard serves propelled the Flash to gain the upper hand, finally finishing off the Scarlet Raiders by a 30-24 count in game two.
The final bout witnessed two successful blocks towards the later part of the match on behalf of Steele which were complemented by Varee's overall dominating play in the third tilt. Steele's pivotal awareness around the net ousted the Flash from the seesaw battle. Varee's final kill fittingly finished off the Scarlet Raiders to start the season off on the right foot.
Saint Francis' (1-0) first victory should give the Flash all the energy they'll need to take on a feisty squad from Lewis College in their second match of the season. The Flash will commence play on Saturday, 7:00pm at DeGol Arena as the second half of their home opening weekend.
