LORETTO, Pa. (Mar. 14, 2009) – Four players had at least eight kills
including juniors Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) and Jordan
Varee (Conneautville, Oh. / Conneaut Valley) for the Saint Francis
men's volleyball team, which boasted a .331 hitting percentage in a
3-1 non-conference victory over Mount Olive College Saturday at DeGol
Arena. Match scores were 30-22, 30-22, 31-33, 30-22.
Rivett registered 16 kills in 27 attempts and added nine digs and three
block assists, while Varee also spiked 16 balls to go along with two
service aces. Teammates Alex Fortney (York, PA/Central York) (York, Pa. / Central York) and
Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) (Orchard Park, Ny. / Orchard Park) had nine and eight kills,
respectively, as Saint Francis improved to 10-8 overall.
Mount Olive finished the afternoon with a .150 attack percentage and 17
less kills than the Red Flash.
The first set seesawed back and forth and featured 12 ties. The
Trojans led 16-15 before SFU rattled off 15 of the next 21 points to
take the opener 30-22. SFU hit a gaudy .548 during set one.
Saint Francis jumped out to a 6-2 advantage in the second set only to
watch the visitors chip away and tie the score at 11-11. But the Red
Flash responded with a quick three-point spurt held its biggest lead at
27-19 before winning 30-22.
Mount Olive trailed most of the third set and found themselves down
29-27 at match point. The Trojans knotted the game at 29-29 and
eventually pulled out a 33-31 victory despite numerous serving errors
down the stretch.
The SFU starters returned in set four, and after Mount Olive tied the
score at 4-4, the Red Flash controlled the final set, sending the
Trojans to their fifth loss in 15 outings.
Senior setter Shane Conley (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny) handed
out 38 set assists for the victors, and Freyer notched four of the
squad's 16 block assists on the day.
Mount Olive got 13 kills from Jose Lanier and 12 apiece from Noel
Garcia and Pedro Penate.
Saint Francis returns to action March 20 for a 7:00 P.M. showdown with
Loyola-Chicago at DeGol Arena.
