Loretto, Pa. – After a five weeks hiatus from DeGol Arena, the Red Flash welcomed Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association affiliate Ohio State, pushing the Buckeyes to the limit in a four-game setback, 3-1 (29-31, 31-29, 28-30, 30-32). Saint Francis held a lead in all four frames, and kept each dropped decision within two points.
Sophomore outside swatter Jordan Varee (Meadville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) set the benchmark for the Flash, recording 19 kills on 47 attempts. Varee's team-leading 21 points also had eight digs and four blocking assists figured into his collective output. Sophomore outside hitter Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) took 52 whacks, converting on 17 of them. Rivett also dug up 11 Ohio State rifles. Sophomore outside hitter Dave Reilly (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) attacked successfully 15 times on 32 swings, additionally putting away eight digs and three blocking helpers. Sophomore Patrick McManamon (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) cataloged four kills on 13 attempts. The 6'6 swinger also pulled down five digs and seven blocking assists.
Sophomore libero Markus Schulze (Berlin, Germany/Anne-Frank) stood tall on the defensive side, scooping 12 total digs along with four assists. Junior setter Shane Conley (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) picked up some time in the final session, going 1-for-1 in kills as well as setting up 10 assists. Conley helped out on a block and tallied one dig. Freshman Eric Syty (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence) played in every single game in Saturday's match for the first time all season. Syty logged one kill, two digs, and one solo block with two helpers. Syty was the only member of Saint Francis to put down an ace in the match. Syty ended up with two after it was all said and done.
On senior day, the lone four-year player, setter Mark Steele (Martinsburg, Pa./Central Martinsburg) chipped in for three kills on five attempts, five digs and one blocking assist. Steele led all members of the match with 39 sets.
Ohio State's Brett Versen and Robbie Klein led all participants with 21 kills each.
“Even though we didn't claim victory against the 10th ranked Buckeyes, the exertion put forth in each and every one of our guys is certainly reassuring,” Saint Francis head coach Mike Rumbaugh was quoted after Saturday's battle. “This is a game we need to look back at and learn lesson from. No matter how strong out opponent may be, there's always a chance with our six out on the hardwood.”
Freyer's first service attempt of the match flew wide left, setting up OSU with the early 1-0 advantage. Versen smashed one off of Schulze fist, churning out another OSU tally. Robbie Klein lofted one long, allowing SFU their first point of the game. A couple of swapped errors moved the opening frame to 3-2, Ohio State. Syty fluttered a crafty ace right at Ohio State, the first of the match, chased by a double block registered by McManamon and Reilly, allowing SFU to claim their first lead of the contest, 6-4. Each squad scored two points in a row on the next four following plays, but OSU's Ted Schoenfeldt smoked the leather up the middle to keep the Buckeyes within one, 8-7. Reilly kept his group up two with his third kill of the match, 11-9. OSU and SFU bartered errant serves three times in a row, extending SFU's lead to 13-10. Schoenfeldt busted the error train with another kill, but Reilly countered with a successful swing of his own. OSU's Robbie Klein put yet another service error into the net, but Brett Versen erased the miss with a kill of his own. The initial session jumped out to a 17-15 lead in favor of the Flash after a riveting Rivett bash. Ohio State's head coach Pete Hanson hailed the game's first timeout after Varee jammed the corner, thrusting the Flash out to a 19-16 lead. Following the break, two attacking errors were exchanged, but three Buckeyes welded together for a triple thwart. Varee's next attempt veered long, with four more swapped errors coming from each club. The Buckeyes drew the game even at 23s on a dual block, with a Varee kill and an SFU net violation keeping the game knotted. Rumbaugh burned his first timeout after the Buckeyes recaptured the lead, 26-25, from their early stranglehold on the Flash. Rumbaugh's rest led to a Rivett rip, closing the game back to 26 all. The scoreboard flashed 28-28 thanks to points traded points on the last four rallies. OSU scored, but a Buckeye violation led to a 29-29 affair. Steele misjudged his according serve, and Versen closed the door on an exciting game one, 31-29. Reilly mustered a team-leading five kills en route to an SFU attacking clip of .139. The Buckeyes killed for a .297 percentage in their game one victory.
McManamon commenced the second stanza by serving one into the mesh, but Varee put a vicious lick on the ball to keep it 1-1. Schoenfeldt reciprocated Varee's style, but Varee did not appreciate Schoenfeldt's flattery as he flushed two in a row right at the OSU artillery. Reilly lengthened the lead to 4-2 on the Red Flash's third successive kill. Steele utilized trickeration with a successful soft tap, catching the Buckeyes off their toes. Another Ohio State mistake elongated the Flash's lead by three, 7-4, but a Spurlock slap slapped another point on the board for the foe. Coach Hanson halted game two subsequent to his team falling behind 9-5. Spurlock lipped the leather off of Steele's outstretched hand, but Rivett plastered the pill through SFU's fence. OSU's Daniel Mathews pushed his serve too far, nudging the second game to 12-9. A double blockade by McManamon and Reilly led to a 14-11 advantage for the Red Flash. The Buckeyes rattled off the next couple rallies, but tossed forth an inaccurate serve directly after. Syty and Varee teamed up for another defensive block, but the Bucks kept it within two on an SFU blocking error. Syty's big point was nullified by Klein's kill with the game sitting at 18-16, Saint Francis. Reilly's pinpoint pop put the Flash ahead by three, 20-17, but Syty's service attempt fell short after the brief SFU rally. Varee drew the battle out to 21-18, but Ohio State rattled off three consecutive points, coercing Rumbaugh into rallying his troops during Saint Francis' first time out with the count at a flush 22-22. Varee boosted the Flash back up top with another big kill, but Ohio State took their turn at showing off their stuff following SFU's point. Reilly's attacking error allowed OSU back into the drivers' seat, 24-23. Both teams negotiated a point, with Varee breaking the norm, crippling the Buckeyes with a looming kill, smoothing out the score to 25 all. Eight plays later, the count remained even at 29-29 with great all-around play on both sides of offense and defense. Following the back-and-forth play, Saint Francis capitalized on a crowd-pleasing volley, as the Flash churned out three absurd digs in a row, with Reilly finally sealing the momentum-gaining point, 30-29. Ohio State tried to drown out the energy, but a net violation on the Buckeyes supplied Saint Francis with a game two victory, 31-29.
Brett Versen squeezed OSU's first point of game three through SFU's front line, which catapulted the Buckeyes to a young 3-0 lead. Varee sacrificed his hands in a big block on the next volley as OSU knocked one wide. Rivett rattled off Saint Francis' third point in a row. Reilly disallowed the Buckeyes' tally with three sneaky blasts, rendering the score in favor of the Flash, 6-4, for the first time of the third tilt. The Flash committed two errors, returning the game to a tie, 6-6. Rumbaugh spent the first timeout of game three after the Bucks went on a mini-scoring spree, as the count was distended to a 9-6 event. After the break, Ohio State couldn't handle Varee's hot kill, leading to two more Saint Francis points, the later of the two on Syty's second ace of the match. After SFU's binge, the Buckeyes recaptured the lead, 14-12. Jason Tobkin fired his serve into the separator, but Varee returned the favor. Varee made up for his miss with another daunting dart, leading to a huge Rivett block that tied the game at 15-15. A flurry of errors gave way to a Buckeye ace from Klein, but Reilly bullied the ball through the keep his team only three back, 20-17. Varee's intimidating point, forced the Bucks to perpetrate an error, closing in 21-20, in favor of OSU. The Buckeyes tacked up two more points, leading to SFU's second timeout with the score set at 23-20. Saint Francis dug deep and charged back into the match to a 26-26 tie, but their valiant efforts were dashed by bullish play from the hands of Ohio State, as the Buckeyes brought down game three 30-28. Varee and Reilly both tabulated five kills apiece. Rivett got low for five digs in the third affair. The Flash actually outhit the Buckeyes .191 to .146 despite the loss.
McManamon once again went astray on his first serve of the game, but Schoenfeldt's attack repeated McManamon's attempt. After the two swapped errors, the Buckeyes crawled out to a 4-2 advantage, with OSU's fourth marker coming on a Klein ace. Reilly could not find the parameters on his two attempts, thrusting OSU to a strong 7-3 lead. A missed set off of Steven Kehoe was preceded by a long Syty serve, coercing the score to 9-4. Two missed balls on each team's part pushed game four to 10-5. A long attack from Ohio State was tipped by SFU, handing the Bucks another point. Rumbaugh decided a 12-6 lead on OSU's part was a good time for the first break of game four. Schoenfeldt and Klein grouped together for a sturdy stuff, but Spurlock knocked his serve passed the end line. Tobkin crafted a nice kill, maintaining the Buckeyes' momentum, 15-9. Two net violations were sandwiched with a McManamon-Varee block, keeping the Flash within five, 17-12. Rivett tossed an authoritative blast at an unsuspecting Versen, but Klein countered with a point, as the score read 19-13 in the fourth frame. Saint Francis collected two points in a row, but another laser from Klein kept the 10th-ranked Buckeyes up five, 20-15. A few plays later, Syty scaled the net for a giant block, closing in on Ohio State, 22-20. OSU staged a couple errors, allowing the Flash to sneak within one, 24-22. Varee blistered a valiant attempt at Ohio State, but was offset but a Spurlock spank. The Buckeyes aired two attempts long, bonding game four at a 25-25 tally. Syty and Varee challenged a Buckeye blast at the front of the net, but it fell wide. Varee closed it back up at 27s with a fancy kill. Following an Ohio State marker, Varee recorded his third kill in a row with the count set at 28-28. Conley and McManamon annexed SFU's first lead late in the game with a successful block, closing in within one point of forcing the tie breaker. Regardless of a bold effort on SFU's behalf, Ben Spurlock locked up the match with two bullets, 32-30, retrieving the match in four games. Rivett led all Red Flash spikers with six kills on 16 attempts while Varee put forth a versatile five kills along with four digs. Each team attacked at a .250 clip.
Saint Francis (9-12) will play their final home game against non-conference opponent Ball State on Sunday, March 30, at 4pm in DeGol Arena. The Cardinals are 14-6 overall and 9-1 in MIVA competition.
