LORETTO, Pa. (Feb. 13, 2010) - The Red Flash men's volleyball team halted the downward momentum of a four-match losing streak on Saturday, holding on for a 3-2 (28-30, 30-22, 27-30, 30-26, 15-10) win over the Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders on Saturday in Loretto.
The Red Flash improve to 7-4 overall, while the Scarlet Raiders fall to 1-7 overall.
Head coach Mike Rumbaugh said that tonight's win featured one of the important elements of his team, "balance."
"It seems like every night someone new is able to contribute in ways they had not before, and it keeps everyone on their toes," said Rumbaugh. "I thought we did a really good blocking, especially Pete [Freyer]. We did a better job keeping the ball off the floor today."
Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) recorded his first career double-double with ten kills and a season-high 10 blocks. He was one of three players in double-digits in kills for the Red Flash, the others being Jordan Varee (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) (Conneautville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) and Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel).
Saint Francis were much improved in their hitting on Saturday, hitting at a .326 clip, in comparison to just .080 against George Mason the night previous. Varee led the way with 21 kills and on just 31 swings; combined with four errors, that gave him a season-best .548 hitting percentage despite playing just four sets.
The first set featured 16 tie scores and three lead changes, as neither team could run away from the other. The Red Flash took the early at 1-0 before essentially trading points with the Scarlet Raiders. Trailing 9-8, Rutgers-Newark took its first lead of the night on a pair of Nate Stott kills. That turned the tide for the Scarlet Raiders, who then consistently held the lead until a Stott attack error briefly gave Saint Francis the lead back at 25-24.
The Scarlet Raiders were able to close on a 6-3 run, though, finally icing the set on a Marcin Midura kill.
Just like the night before, the Red Flash responded in a big way in the second set. After battling to an 11-11 tie, the Flash went on a prolonged 8-3 run, highlighted by a pair of kills by Rivett. The Flash hit a sparkling .652 in the second set, recording 17 kills on just 23 swings with just two errors. Now up comfortably, the Red Flash coasted through the second set, ultimately winning 30-22.
Rutgers-Newark would fire the next volley in the third set, opening up on a 4-1 lead thanks to a trio of attack errors by the Red Flash. The set was evenly played, but the Scarlet Raiders held the lead nearly the entire set to win 30-27. The closest the Red Flash would get was 23-21 thanks to an Alex Kane (York, Pa./West York) (York, Pa./West York) kill, but it would not be enough to stem the tide.
The offense reached its peak in the fourth set, as Saint Francis and Rutgers-Newark hit .346 and .367 respectively. Varee, who left the second set with an injury and did not play in the third, returned to tie for the team lead with four kills in the set. With the Red Flash up 7-6, Saint Francis went on a 4-1 run that featured kills from Freyer and Tyler Mattera (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) (Conneautville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) and two consecutive double blocks from Varee and Freyer.
The lead was not safe, however, as the Scarlet Raiders dug deep and tied the match at 21-21. Marcin Midura recorded a set-high six kills to keep his team afloat, but a 4-1 Red Flash run gave them the lead they would never relinquish, taking the fourth 30-26.
In the fifth set, the Red Flash forced the court flip by going on an 8-5 opening run. They would add a pair of points to make it 10-5 and force a Rutgers-Newark timeout, and ultimately won the set 15-10 thanks to a Ryan Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour)/Patrick McManamon (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon) (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) block.
Other top performers for the Flash included Rivett, who passed Marc Honore (San Fernando, Trinidad/Naparima) for second on the school's career kill list in the third set. He recorded 17 kills, nine digs, and two blocks. Williams recorded a career-high 57 assists, while Mattera and Kane each recorded a season-high five kills.
The Red Flash will take on the IPFW Mastodons next Friday at 7:30 p.m. in DeGol Arena. It is the third of a five-match homestand.
