LORETTO, Pa.  (Mar. 19, 2011) – A balanced Ball State attack kept the Saint Francis men's volleyball team off balance in handing the Red Flash a 3-0 defeat on Saturday night at DeGol Arena.

 

The Cardinals hit .324 against SFU's .156 hitting percentage to win it 25-21, 25-19, 25-20.

 

Saint Francis fell to 8-10 on the season and will return to action at 7 p.m. next Friday night, at Rutgers-Newark.

 

Freshman Logan Patterson paced the Red Flash with eight kills, one ace and three digs, while junior John Skarupa (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegehny) contributed six kills and six blocks and junior Ryan Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) had 26 assists and a match-high nine digs.

 

Greg Herceg had a match-high nine kills for the Cardinals, while JD Gasparovic had six kills and four blocks, Larry Wrather added six kills, and two aces, Anders Nelson had seven kills and three blocks and Lee Meyer had six kills and five digs.

 

The Red Flash got off to a quick start in the first set. After the team's traded points through the first four serves, SFU went on a 4-0 run to take a 6-2 lead. Trailing 9-5, the Cardinals reeled off three straight points to bring it within one, 9-8. However, Schulze had a kill off the block and Skarupa had back-to-back blocks with Schulze and then Sherwin to give Saint Francis a 12-8 lead, and force Ball State into a timeout.

 

But the Cardinals refocused and rallied for a 9-4 run to take their first lead of the match at 17-16. A service ace by McIlvaine made it 18-16, BSU, and forced Rumbaugh into a timeout. The Red Flash eventually pulled to within one, 20-19, but Ball State finished on a 5-2 run to take the first set, 25-21.

 

The Cardinals hit .269 in the set, while Saint Francis had a .139 hitting percentage. The Red Flash had four service errors against just two for Ball State.

 

The Cardinals used a 5-1 run to take a 12-8 lead in the second set. SFU responded with three straight points, but couldn't get the tying point as Ball State would hold off the charge. Saint Francis pulled within 16-15 on a service ace by Patterson that went off the tape. However, the Cardinals went on a 4-0 run, which included back-to-back blocks by McIlvaine and Gasparovic,  to force the Red Flash into a timeout with a 20-15 deficit. But Saint Francis wouldn't get any closer than four the rest of the way as Jamion Hartley clinched the Cardinals' 25-19 win with a kill.

 

Ball State opened the third set with an 8-3 lead, but the Red Flash kept battling and pulled even at 10-10.They couldn't overtake the Cardinals until three straight points gave SFU a 19-18 lead to force BSU into a timeout. However, Ball State responded by finishing the set on a 7-1 run to win the final set, 25-20.

For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Saint Francis men's volleyball, follow Director of Athletic Communications Bob Volkert on Twitter (@SFUVolkert) and check www.SFUathletics.com. The Red Flash are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SFUAthletics.