NEWARK, N.J. (Jan. 22, 2010) - The Red Flash men's volleyball team, not content to rest on their laurels after an emotional upset of the #11 Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday, played with focus and efficiency in a 3-0 (30-22, 30-27, 30-26) victory over the NJIT Highlanders in the first round of the Golden Dome Tournament, hosted by Rutgers-Newark.
How efficient were the Red Flash? In taking the three-set sweep, they never trailed the Highlanders in the first and third sets, and only allowed the Highlanders the lead twice in the second set - once at 1-0, and again at 3-2.
Saint Francis jumped out to a quick lead in the first set, going up 2-0 on a Highlander attack error and a team block by Patrick McManamon (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon) (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) and Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel). While the Highlanders were able to keep the set close, they were never able to even tie the Red Flash. Leading 9-7, the Flash went on an extended 10-3 run to make the score 19-10. The run was highlighted by the play of Alex Fortney (York, PA/Central York) (York, Pa./Central York), who finished with five kills in the set.
The Highlanders would go on an 8-4 run to pull within 23-18, but the Flash would reach the finish line first thanks to a Fortney kill.
The Red Flash hit an astounding .424 in the first set, notching 18 kills while recording just four errors on 33 swings.
The second set was more of a test for the Flash, as the Highlanders' Doug Battersby gave his team a 3-2 lead with a kill early on. From there, the teams would trade points back and fourth; unlike the first set, the Red Flash hit just .244 in the second set, which allowed the Highlanders to keep it tight.
Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park), the EIVA's leader in hitting percentage, recorded six kills in the second set with two errors on just nine attempts for a .444 hitting percentage, while senior opposite Jordan Varee (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) (Conneautville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) added to his team-leading total with five. Varee ended up tied for the match-high with 12 kills total.
Tied at 13-13, NJIT broke the pattern of point trading when Christian Puszies committed a service error and then an attack error on the next play. That break would give the Flash the breathing room they needed, and they wouldn't relinquish the lead again not just for the set, but for the match as well. With the score 22-20 in favor of Saint Francis, the Flash would edge the Highlanders 10-7 at the end to win the second set 30-27.
Up 2-0, Red Flash head coach Mike Rumbaugh elected bring in some reserves in the third set, and they did not disappoint. Redshirt freshman Ben Wetsell (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) recorded three kills on seven swings in the third set, and junior middle Eric Syty (Clarence, NY/Clarence) (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence) notched three of his own to go alone with two blocks and two digs. The Highlanders would pull it to 10-8, but the Flash went on an 8-2 run to make it 18-10.
The Highlanders showed great resilience, though, and very nearly stole the set from the Red Flash. Glen De Magalhaes sparked a 13-7 to make the score 25-23, and the set was now up for grabs. However, a Charles Bell service error woke the Red Flash, and they followed it with a Tyler Mattera (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) (Conneautville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) kill and a Rivett ace. Sufficiently sparked, the Red Flash took the set 30-26.
The Flash hit a more-than-respectable .298 for the match, notching a total of 55 kills on 121 swings. Varee recorded three aces in the match less than one week after recorded a career-high five against Ohio State; he know has 11 on the season and is among the EIVA's leaders.
Rivett finished with 11 kills and a .276 hitting percentage; he also contributed two assists, two aces, six digs, and four blocks. Seth Katich (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) got the start at the libero position and recorded a match- and season-high 19 digs.
The Red Flash improve to 4-1 overall, 0-1 in the EIVA Tait. The Highlanders fall to 0-1 overall, 0-0 in the EIVA Hay.
