LONG BEACH, Calif. (March 12, 2010) - They started out hot against one of the best teams in the nation, but the Saint Francis men's volleyball team ultimately dropped a 3-0 (30-28, 30-27, 30-17) to the #6 Long Beach State 49ers in the Red Flash's first match at the Active Ankle Tournament, hosted by Long Beach State.
The loss evens the Red Flash's record at 8-8 overall, while the 49ers ascend to 11-7 overall.
The Red Flash were simply no match for the hot-hitting 49ers, who finished the match with a .400 hitting percentage. The Flash, in contrast, hit a decent .276. Leading the charge for the Flash was Jordan Varee (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) (Conneautville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) with a match-high 17 kills and a team-high .441 hitting percentage. Patrick McManamon (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon) (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) and Ryan Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) also garnered praise for their performances by head coach Mike Rumbaugh.
"Pat and Ryan, in particular, have been working really hard in practice," said Rumbaugh. "As well as Jordan played, Pat may have been the best he's been all season. And Ryan is getting more and more confidence setting."
The Red Flash opened the first set with a nifty 4-0 that caught the 49ers off guard. Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) showed that SFU was not to be taken lightly when he got the first set and kill of the night, and Varee and Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) hammered home kills to make it 4-0.
However, the 49ers answered back with a run of their own, ultimately tying the score at eight points apiece. A McManamon kill would cap the SFU lead at 13-10, but from there Long Beach State controlled the show. Finally taking the lead at 24-23 off an Antwain Aguillard kill, the 49ers ultimately took set one 30-28 thanks to an Aguillard/Srdjan Nadazdin block.
The second set began in a similar fashion as the Red Flash raced out to a 4-1 lead that was punctuated by an ace from Varee. This time, though, the Red Flash were able to maintain a sizable lead, keeping control as late as the 20-16 lead they built on a Rivett kill. However, Tommy Pestolesi of Long Beach State thundered away at the Red Flash, finishing with a set-high eight kills and a .400 hitting percentage as the 49ers were able to overtake SFU and win the set 30-27.
The 49ers were in control after that, starting the third set on a 7-3 run. Hitting .500 in comparison to the Red Flash's .233, Long Beach State finally wore out the visiting Red Flash and took the set 30-17.
Rivett extended his streak of consecutive matches with double-digit kills to 14, posting 12 total and also recording four digs. John Wappler (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) (Warrendale, Pa./North Allegheny) had the team-high in digs with 10.
The Red Flash will play their second opponent at the Active Ankle tournament tomorrow when they take on the BYU Cougars at 8 p.m. ET.
