Loretto, Pa. – The Tait Division's second-place Saint Francis men's volleyball team swept the East Stroudsburg University Warriors, 3-0 (30-25, 31-29, 32-30) in the Red Flash's third consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tait Division clash.
Sophomore outside hitter Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) put on a show with 22 kills on 39 swings for an impressive attacking percentage of .410. Rivett led all scorers with 23 total points thanks to his two blocking assists. Sophomore outside hitter Dave Reilly (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) etched out a fine night, as well, attacking 10 times on 18 attempts for an offensive clip of .444. Reilly directed the Flash's defensive efforts with eight total digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Varee (Meadville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) notched eight kills, one of three SFU's aces and two digs. Sophomore middle hitter Pete Freyer's (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) unparalleled average of .750 (seven kills – one error – eight attempts) certainly played a role in Saint Francis' victory. The birthday boy, Patrick McManamon (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon), celebrated six kills and three blocking helpers in Monday's brawl. Sophomore Alex Fortney (York, Pa./Central York) saw some action and netted three kills on five swings, as well as three digs and two blocking assists.
Junior setter Shane Conley (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and senior Mark Steele (Martinsburg, Pa./Central Martinsburg) teamed up for 51 total sets; Conley with 36 and Steele putting up 15. Conley also chalked up SFU's two other service aces while adding on four digs and a blocking assist. Steele tallied three digs, as well. Sophomore libero Markus Schulze (Berlin, Germany/Anne-Frank) had one set and seven digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Chad Martson (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) helped out with one kill, two digs and an assisted block while rookie middle hitter Eric Syty (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence) earned his first point of the season on a go-ahead kill late in the third game.
“East Stroudsburg played us tough tonight,” Saint Francis head coach Mike Rumbaugh had to offer after Monday's matinee. “Overall, I would like to have seen a bit more focus all around, but I can't complain about a conference victory. Friday's match against NJIT will be the last of our eleven game home stand. We must prepare for the road, now, especially with Penn State lurking in the shadows on Saturday night.”
Reilly catapulted to the top of the mesh for the first point of Monday's match-up, springing the Flash for two more points before the Warriors tallied their first mark of game one. Rivett's tomahawk swing went a tad long, but he quickly atoned for his error on the next play. McManamon belted the leather into his own side of the net, but Rivett rattled off his second consecutive point before Varee heaved his serve reciprocal of McManamon. Varee erred from the mid sector of the court to knot the game at 5-5, but ESU could not counter on the serve. Reilly moved SFU out by two with his third kill of the game. Each squad tallied on their respective turn before Varee got on pace with his first kill of the evening. Reilly swatted the ball short, but Rivett continued with his strong early moments with a hard kill. The Warriors answered with a Don Hanna kill, but Varee abruptly erased it with a point of his own. ESU received points from two SFU errors prior to Varee lasering one at the Warriors defense. Rivett knocked down his fifth kill following as both teams swapped two rounds of points after his tally. The Red Flash moved out by four thanks to a pounce by Reilly, but the Warriors blew it back to three with a Hanna kill. McManamon rose up for a thick kill, but ESU kept it at three with another accurate attack. Varee nearly lacerated Kyle Duffy's phalanges with a powerful rip, extending the score to 21-17. East Stroudsburg head coach, Dustin Wood, signaled for the match's first break ensuing SFU's four-point lead. Six attacking and blocking errors in a row came about after the timeout before Don Hanna turned back Varee's attempt at game one's first point in seven volleys. Reilly turned the score into a 26-20 episode, as three service errors and a blocking error exchanged hands from each team. The Warriors siphoned three counts to crawl back to within three, 28-25, but Rivett hurled a change-up ESU's way, throwing off the opponent's equilibrium. Wood called for his team's second timeout, facing the brink of going down 1-0 in the match. SFU claimed game one after ESU flushed one wide. Rivett stood out in the first stanza with 10 total kills on 16 swings and just one error for a .562 attacking clip. Varee pulled down five kills on 10 attempts. The offensive percentages were close, as SFU prevailed .381 to .321, despite churning out 23 kills to the Warriors' 12.
The second period was privy to witnessing SFU tally the first three points on Warrior errors. Conley scored on the match's first ace, but performed the opposite on his next swing as the score read 4-1 in favor of the Flash. ESU's Chris Holden registered their first point on a block. East Stroudsburg came away with a 3-1 advantage over the next four plays, with SFU's point coming on a vicious McManamon blast. Rivett bumped up his kill column on the subsequent play, leading to two more SFU points. East Stroudsburg scored on a kill from Holden, but Rivett showed the fans his stuff with another flare. The Warriors evened up game two with a duo of points, but Varee played pinball with the East Stroudsburg defenders on the next play. ESU's John Post tipped one through the SFU fence, but Varee continued with the back-and-forth play by swatting another spike. The Red Flash cranked out the next two counts, giving way to a service error from each end. Varee belted his first ace of the match, putting an end to the errant serves. The Warriors attacked with the next four points, attaining their first lead of the match. Holden ended the four-point streak with a service error, but Holden's mistake was relinquished with a Post's pipe. A net violation allowed Saint Francis to redraw the score at 17-17. East Stroudsburg beset SFU in three of the next four rallies, but Saint Francis' cognizant play kept them right in at 20-20. Rivett and McManamon registered a combined block, but ESU's Jesse Landis countered. The score remained dead bolted at 28-28 fourteen plays later in a see-saw game two battle, but Don Hanna arched his serve longer than anticipated and Wood called for a timeout to ice SFU at game point, 29-28. McManamon returned the favor to ESU, keeping the game tied at 29-29. A Rivett kill and an ESU double hit, despite a valiant effort from the Warriors in the final play, handed the Flash a 2-0 advantage in the match. Rivett maintained his hardnosed play with seven kills on 12 attempts and two errors for an offensive rate of .417. SFU outblocked the Warriors 3.5 to 2.0 in game two.
The Warriors tallied the first point of game three, but Reilly eradicated the initial lead with his fifth kill in the match. McManamon and Fortney teamed up for a stuff after an ESU point. Fortney showed up for a kill, giving way to a lucky strike by McManamon. East Stroudsburg accepted two Red Flash errors before Fortney tallied his second kill of game three. A Fortney service miss and an ESU kill put the Warriors up one, but Rivett closed the gap with a stern swat. Rivett doubled up on the following play for his 19th kill on the evening. Reilly busted up an 8-8 tie with a swerving ringer. A flurry of errors with a couple pinpoint kills whipped in continued game three into a 13-13 stalemate, but Freyer undid the tie with a kill of his own. Reilly lobbed one up for the two-point advantage, but Rivett went astray on his serve, but Reilly picked his teammate up with another point. The Warriors tied game three back up with a Landis attack, but McManamon splat one off of one of the Warriors' backs. Fortney pushed the Flash to the 20 point mark, and then tallied another one alongside Freyer on a team block. Freshman Seth Katich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) turned it over on a service error, but Rivett kept up his pace with a huge hit. Saint Francis attached two more notches to their score, forcing Wood to call a timeout with his team on the brink of elimination, 24-20. Following Wood's breather, the Warriors crept back to within two, but Freyer closed the door on ESU's momentum. ESU amassed two of the three next scores, however McManamon painted the line to go up 27-24. Reilly skulled one into the net on his serve, but Rivett ripped one right on the corner, compelling Wood to call the team's final timeout of game three. ESU pushed a serve wide prior to an SFU blocking error. Fortney punched one past the line on his serve, as well, leading to a wide swat from Syty. The Warriors pilfered the lead from SFU, 30-29, but Syty and Reilly tore the advantage back, 31-30, with back-to-back kills. Four hits on East Stroudsburg's side ended Monday's match, 32-30, as the Flash swept the Warriors, 3-0. Reilly's return to game three led all attackers with six kills on 10 attempts. Rivett sprinkled in five more. The Flash accurately outhit the Warriors .378 to .243. Syty's first point of the season came in the final period of the match.
On Friday, the Red Flash (8-6, 4-1) continue on their inundation of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tait Division when they host conference opponent, the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders, in SFU's eleventh and final game of their month-long home stand. Following the battle with NJIT, Saint Francis heads up to Happy Valley to take on the undefeated Penn State Nittany Lions. First serve for Friday's match versus NJIT is slated for February 22 in DeGol Arena at 7:00pm. Saturday's tilt with the Lions is on February 23 at 7:00pm.
